I don’t get it, but only because it’s
not for me.
Why stand up to paddle when you can sit? Plus it seems kind of slow moving. On the other hand, you can get a better all over tan than you can kayaking.
As far as its longevity, I guess that depends on how many adherents it has. Windsurfing is not exactly a good comparison, since there are still a fair number of windsurfers out there.
Now, kiteboarding looks sort of exciting.
That’s why windsurfing is a fair
Comparison, because when the faddiness of SUP dies down, there still will be a decent number of SUPers out there. It’s here to stay, it just won’t be as high profile as it is now, just as windsurfing isn’t as high profile as it was in the 1980s. And just like windsurfing, the dabblers will sell their boards in garage sales once the buzz dies down, but the true enthusiasts will remain.
Games
Canoeing is a “better” game than kayaking because it requires more skill. SUPing is a better game than canoeing because it requires more skill. Maybe astro-physics is the best game of all. ??
Aaah but canoeing does not teach
many about sea sense.
In a kayak on the ocean I am always learning about that… The only bad type of paddling is spanking.
Some paddling is easy to learn and hard to master. It’s all good.
and if you have the right to call him on
– Last Updated: Jul-16-13 11:12 AM EST –
it, we have the right to call you the self-appointed forum cop.
Carry it with pride, it's quite obvious that it's beyond your ability to control.
I do have to ask why you'd spend so much time in forums you don't care for and conversing with people you think so little of.
you’re missing the point
– Last Updated: Jul-16-13 11:16 AM EST –
The OP wasn't that it didn't take ability. It's not a macho insult. The OP was that people didn't get the draw. I guess I don't see why that's a problem.
I watch F1 racing on TV. It's televised at odd hours on network affiliates because the appeal isn't enough to justify more. Sure they're great athletes. Does that mean everyone has to like it?
I don't get golf, but I'm sure the pros are athletes also.
good comparison
its all good and amusing!
my 18 year old daughter is dating a SUPer. We ran the upper new (Glade to the Sandbar in wv) a few weeks ago. My daughter and I kayaked and the boyfriend had an inflatable SUP. I got the speil at the put in about the great fitness benefits, vision advantages, and general wonderfulness of SUPs along with the myth that there is great whitewater in the middle of Summersville lake (but that’s a different topic).
I rather enjoyed seeing the young man getting worked in “grassy shoals.” It seems the leash was yanking him around pretty good as he swam through the standing waves which comprise the rapid.
In the flats he wasn’t real fast so it made for a nice float. I could talk to my daughter while he paddled to keep up.
The rest of the rapids involved a lot of swimming with the SUP. He seemed to have the most success kneeling.
I gave it a go at the take out. He advised me not to standup when getting on- it was quite rocky and he didn’t want to see me actually bleed. So I paddled out on my knees. I ferried a little bit but never even tried standing up. SUPs aren’t made for fat, over the hill guys, with bad knees. Its all I can do to climb out of bed in the morning with them knees so you think I’m gonna actually try standing up on board floatin’ out in the middle of the new river? It ain’t happenin’.
I’ve seen some very talented SUPers that I admire shredding playspots but these individuals are “park and players” as opposed to river runners.
Its all good. As long as it ain’t me tryin’ to do it.
If the “boyfriend” gets spanked a little bit bein’ hip that’s ok too. Bein’ cool has always had its price.
As a spectator, I believe I could learn to embrace the sport. Just as I embrace women’s beach volleyball purely for the athletic prowess these ladies possess.
As far as my own daughter, she would be allowed to compete. In a berkini- a berka with a bikini underneath. SUPs??? they beat the piercings, tats, dreads, texting, and some of the other stuff my daughter is into. Her boyfriend seems nice enough, so its all good. That bein’ said, seein’ a good beat down
was kinda nice …especially when it involves my daughters boyfriend.
i get it
I was just addressing the issues in the op and that others raised as to why they don’t get it.
In not sure I get it either, but its still cool, and not because of any of the reasons most people here have listed.
I don’t get mini coopers.
Ryan L.
ok that was a good read
Thanks.
Yep
Again, let me clarify that I am not “mocking” SUPPERS or the experience of paddleboarding. I just find it odd that I don’t understand the appeal, and yet SO MANY seem so enthusiastic about it
Kiteboarding - looks fun, not my thing
Golf - nice walk outdoors hitting a ball
Sailing - fun!
Windsurfing - looks like a blast
Innertubing - what’s not to like?
Swimming - water, goggles, fun!
Canoeing - love it
Kayaking - full bore addict
Then we come to SUPPING…standing on a large flat board with no cargo space and tripping around. It just has zero appeal to me, and I can find the appeal in most any watersport activity.
Also, the four people in my circle of friends who bought boards and “stopped liking it” almost immediately tends to cement my opinion that it is a fad.
When I questioned a couple of them on more detail they said:
“kindof a hassle to transport”
“more of a workout than a leisure activity”
“kayaking is more fun”
“felt kindof like a douche on the thing”
If SUPPING is yer thing, it’s cool…any time on the water is time well spent. I was just trying to get my head around what drives the SUP crowd.
Get it ?
I don’t get it…
It doesn’t matter whether I get it or not.
If you get it; go for it.
They’ve certainly done one hell of a marketing job.
BOB
that’s what folks have said for years
Each year people say that “paddle board will be for sale everywhere for cheap next year”. But we’re not there yet.
Personally, I have enjoyed a day or two on a paddleboard. It’s a blast surfing them. If I lived in Southern Ca, I’d buy one, but around here (eastern ME) I think a kayak meets my needs better.
I know a number of people who are quite serious about it, and race them, surf them, and are very skilled on them.
It’s another kind of paddling in my mind, and they’re all good. People say it takes no skill, but I think the same can be said of kayaking. Most folks can get in a boat and make it go forward. Nearly all of them are pretty sure that they “know how to kayak”. I think the same is true of any sport. Lots of people do it in a fairly basic way, and a very small proportion really get into the technical aspects of the sport, get training, and realize the full potential of whatever it is.
i understand you arent mocking it
I’m just saying your reasons and most of the other reasons are dumb reasons.
Tell me your balance is sub par, or your back hurts from standing, or you just like sitting and paddling.
Because these reasons:
“kind of a hassle to transport” “more of a workout than a leisure activity” “kayaking is more fun” “felt kind of like a douche on the thing”
Could be said about any endeavour.
With the right rack a board takes about 1 min to lock down if you are going slow. They are lighter than most paddlecraft. If you view it as a workout then it is a workout. If you think kayaking is more fun, fine, I do too, but not a reason to think others wont. I feel like a douche everytime I put a skirt on.
Sidenote, there is plenty of cargo space, its just different than a canoe or kayak.
In the interest of full disclosure, I don’t SUP. I just like good arguments.
Ryan L.
So, you’re the odd one? 
“I just find it odd that I don’t understand the appeal, and yet SO MANY seem so enthusiastic about it”
Nothing odd about that. I don’t get the huge attraction to most ball sports. I get the appeal of golf, but I don’t get why everyone who golfs thinks I’m sub-human because I don’t.
I don’t worry myself over it, and I don’t hassle anyone for golfing (much).
I hear you on golf
I don’t know why people look at me like I just poured a sack of dead kittens on the table at a dinner party when they ask me about golfing and I say that I don’t play.
I was happy the other day because my boss (a cool guy) and the owner of this company (also a cool guy( we are working on a project with and I were sitting around talking. The other guy had just lost a lot of weight, and my boss asked him “how did it affect your golf game?” The other guy replied “I have only played like once. I’d rather go fishing.” A guy after my own heart, and for once I didn’t feel like the odd man out when golf was brought up in a business discussion.
I think this speaks to the reason why I feel the way I do about people going on and on about how they don’t “get” SUP, even though it doesn’t appeal to me. I find it annoying that in our society there are apparently these default hobbies that you are supposed to like, and if you don’t, it’s okay for people to look at you like you are weird. I don’t do that to people who don’t like camping, or fishing, or hiking, or paddling, or pondkeeping. I feel like if it is obnoxious to question people’s motives for not liking a hobby you like, then it’s also obnoxious to question people’s motives for liking a hobby you don’t.
USCG and paddle boards
At least in the Northeast sector, the USCG has decided that SUPs are “vessels” (subject to all the same carriage requirements as a kayak) only when outside of the surf zone.
In the surf zone they are basically a pool toy, and no PFD is required - just like a surf board.
Yes!
I love it when some guy in a kayak says SUPs are slow.
You are not the target market
A local paddling shop is thinking of going big into SUPs and asked me to assess the market for them. My research revealed that current paddlers aren’t the primary market. They don’t expect to convert a significant portion of paddlers who embrace the virtues of kayaks and canoes.
Their primary target is people who want to exercise for fitness and think it would be cool to do it with “surfer” motif. A secondary segment would be those who live in warmer climates with clear waters and stuff to see under the water, which would include paddlers in those areas. Paddlers get some of the marketing budget but the makers who go about this methodically are looking more mainstream for the volume.
I tried it and was not bowled over. Of course, when the murk clears around here, the view is old washing machines and engine blocks.
I though it was just me
Glad I’m not the only one that doesn’t get the attraction to stand up and paddling. My wife thinks it’s the greatest thing going. I just think it’s a dumb idea.