My friend recently let me borrow her SUP over the weekend and I fell in love with it. I feel like I’m ready to invest in my own SUP and am looking for advice on a good SUP for beginners.
I also really enjoy Yoga and want to combine both. I was looking around and saw this gorgeous Synergy - Yoga iSup Board on sale on outdoormaster recently but I’m not really sure about the brand and whether or not it’s stable enough to support yoga.
Any suggestions on brands, sizing, and tips on how to choose a paddle board for sup yoga are welcome!
What is your budget? There are a LOT of fly by night companies selling SUPs right now since they are so popular. I’m not familiar with the one you mentioned - I don’t know the specs on that board. For your height and weight something around 10’6” would probably be a good starting point. Generally for yoga the most important factor is a deck pad that extends the entire deck of the board from nose to tail - you don’t want your hands and feet on a slippery surface! Otherwise most boards can be used for yoga but something a little wider and more stable than a performance touring board would be good.
Are you set on an inflatable? I find cheap inflatables can be “wiggly” in the water, but if storage is a concern then inflatable is the way to go. Transporting a rigid SUP board is relatively simple compared to a kayak or canoe and can be done on almost any vehicle short of a convertible - so don’t necessarily rule out a rigid board unless storage is a limiting factor.
I’m not familiar with that brand, but as @Brodie said, there are a lot of fly-by-night types popping up and selling iSUPs. I’ve seen enough reports of iSUPs exploding at the seams - even those made by so-called reputable but newer companies - that I would base a large part of my decision on the company’s reputation and the included warranty. Just my 2 cents. For reference, I have an NRS inflatable that I’ve used the heck out of and completely abused for about a decade. It has never given me a single problem. I’m waiting on my new high performance rigid board (from SIC) but will keep this NRS for easy whitewater and for when I take my dog out. It’s more than proven itself to have been a great investment.
I am an utter novice when it comes to SUP, so please take this with a grain of salt: I also tried paddle boarding and really enjoyed it, but I’m mostly a kayaker, so I didn’t want to spend too much. I needed an inflatable, because wherever I take my paddle board, we’re also taking two kayaks, and our car is too small to fit all three on the roof. I bought a used Body Glove Performer 11 on eBay for $300, shipping included. I’ve used it a decent amount, it seems very sturdy and rigid, and, even though I can tell it’s a total newbie board, I’ve enjoyed it. Totally worth $300, and I think I could always resell it for at least a few hundred if I decide I want to buy a more advanced board. The same deal seems always to be available on eBay.
Thanks for the info @Brodie ! I really appreciate it! My budget is no more than $1,000. So far I’ve only tried out an inflatable SUP board, and space is definitely a concern. I move around a lot, so lugging it everywhere would be a little difficult. @Pru, a decade seems like a really long time! That’s amazing. Where did you get for yours online or in store?
I got it online, directly from NRS. I’ve never regretted getting it for one second. Things I really like about it other than the fact that it is apparently indestructible are that it has a full length deck pad and also has 3 fin boxes. Mine came with a nice assortment of fins, too.
All of these options look pretty solid too. I guess I have a few choices to consider over the weekend. Thanks so much everyone for all your input ! I really appreciate it.
You’d definitely want to look into a board that is at least 32" wide so it is stable enough for Yoga. Advanced Elements and ISLE are good brands to look at for beginner inflatable boards. Specifically the Lotus YSUP and the ISLE Pioneer
