Choosing a Stand Up Board

Hi, I'm Jimmy Blakeney with Paddling.com Standup, here to talk to you about the great sport of stand up paddleboarding. In this video, we're going to talk about how to choose a board. Behind me are the three general categories of stand up paddleboards.

On the left is the surf specific model. These boards are typically shorter, have a narrower nose and tail, and are less stable than the other boards in the other categories. They're going to be great if you're looking for surf performance, but you're going to sacrifice the stability in order to gain that performance.

The center board is considered an all around board. These boards are great for flat water as well as surfing. They're wider, thicker, and typically longer than the surf specific models. They're a great board if you're just getting into the sport because you can do everything with one board.

The longest board, the one right behind me, is considered a touring board. These boards are designed for flat water. They're longer than the other boards because that gives them more glide and you can get more distance and cover more distance. Some touring boards are narrow, and those boards are considered race boards. They're much faster because they're narrow, but it also makes them less stable, so not as suitable for beginners.

When you're looking for a board, you need to consider a couple different factors. One, the most important, is your size in relation to the board. Volume is a great way to think about a board size. There's a certain amount of volume inside any board. That volume is what floats you. So you need a board with a certain amount of volume so that you'll be comfortable out there and you won't be unstable. You'll also be looking at the width of the board and the thickness of the board, as well as the length.

Of course, the most important question is what do you want to do with the board? We've talked about the three general categories. If you're not sure and you think you might be using your board for a lot of different applications, like taking it to the beach or taking it to a lake house, then an all around board is a great choice. If you think you're going to be sticking to flat water and only cruising around a local body of water or going in the ocean and doing touring, you might want to consider a touring or race board. If you know you're just going to be in the ocean and just going to be surfing, a surf specific model may be the way to go.

There is a huge variety of boards out there. At the end of the day, the best way to decide is to go and try different boards at a demo.