Board's aint board's

Stand Up Paddle (SUP) boards are available from several one-man band businesses priced as low as $500-$600’s. Well as good as it sounds……and as the old saying goes “You get what you pay for”. Speaking from experience this is correct. Not to mention the hidden freight costs.

Cheap boards are exactly that……cheap. They use inferior, heavy materials, have minimal fibreglass and poor quality epoxy resins. Quality control of the product is limited or non-existent and the first sign of problems is when the customer opens the box and notices imperfections or damage from poor packaging/mishandling. All of a sudden the bargain buy is not anymore and your supplier who happily took your money is nowhere to be seen, as half of their shipment is the same. In the SUP industry we call this a “race to the bottom”, as it’s not sustainable.

However, in the world of SUP boards there are good quality, durable boards available at good price points. Reputable SUP companies have strong brand development and good quality control of their product and only supply reputable retailers. The beauty about bigger brands, is that in the event there is a warranty issue with a board they will replace it at no charge to the customer. All reputable brands have a minimum of 1-year warranty against manufactures defects.

So you ask……. what’s a good price point? Well, $1200 will get you a starter package including carbon paddle. From there, pricing increases in relation to enhanced construction and materials used. From basic fibre glassing and reinforcements to AST (Advanced Sandwich Technology), to Carbon Sandwich. Increasing price reflects greater technology and materials used.

So you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to get into the sport you love, but you just might spend a lot more than you bargain for if you buy the cheapest board on the market.... only to have to replace it in a few months. If you need any advice or want to check out different price points then head into our shop and have a chat with us.