Take two on my search for an inexpensive paddle board.
What does anyone think about an inflatable Body Glove Performer? I understand that fiberglass boards perform better, but I also realized that, when I go somewhere with the paddle board, I am also likely to have 2 kayaks on the car, and therefore an inflatable would be much easier to transport at the same time. This inflatable has good reviews, and I can get a good deal on a used one. Opinions on its suitability for a newbie?
Thanks!
The industry trend is clearly toward inflatable SUPs for recreational paddlers (the industry research indicates that’s where consumers’ heads are at). The performance is…not terrible, in most cases, though there are better and worse quality boards out there. Costco was selling the BG board at $499 around here last year, but it was packaged with a POS paddle that no one would want to use.
If you can get one used for $200 or less and it has the bag and pump, it’s probably ok, but plan on spending $120-200 on a decent paddle if you want to get anything out of the experience.
Thank you. But, I’ve been scouring all the usual places for used boards since I returned from my trip in October (when I first tried SUP and decided I wanted one), and have yet to see anything less than $300-400. $200 would be great if I could find one.
With kayaking I basically bought the first decent cheap one I found and have long since flipped it. So I suspect something similar could happen with a cheap SUP. But if I’ve always got 2 kayaks on my (small) car, I might always need an inflatable. We’ll see, I guess!
For an inexpensive beginner board, I’d try to find a decent used one at a cheap price. It really doesn’t matter what kind when your starting out. I’d go check Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, OfferUp, LetGo, etc. and see if I could find either an inflatable or a rigid, that was in somewhat decent shape, that someone was selling for cheap.