There are a few crucial things to consider before going out and buying a new Stand Up Paddle board. We have outlined all of the main points that you need to take into account before purchasing your new board to ensure that you are getting the correct board.
Talk to the professionals…we will save you $$$
Come in and talk to the team here at Ocean Addicts. All of our professional staff have an extensive knowledge base along with a wealth of experience in the sport and will custom fit you out with the board and paddle that will work best for your specific individual needs. We will ensure that you are not buying a board that you will grow out of, or will want to change in a couple of months down the track! Our goal is to get you on a board that will be 100% perfect for your needs! All of the team are out there paddling these boards every day and know exactly how each board work in different conditions and what will work best for you!
Try before you buy
Our store is only a short walk away from the Maroochy River which allows us to give you the opportunity to demo boards before you buy them! If you don’t have the opportunity to demo a board, we are so confident that we’ll be putting you onto your perfect match that we give you the guarantee that if the board does not suit you we will change it for a different board.
Length isn’t everything
There is a common misconception that you should buy a board purely on the board length. This is a myth. Length is definitely one thing that we need to take into account however we also need to consider the overall volume, width, thickness, rail shape, fin configuration and the outline of the board. It is these elements that combined will come together to make a board that works for you! Don’t get caught up too much on numbers, what may appear to be on paper may not be in real life.
Choose a board that fits your lifestyle
Stand Up Paddle boards come is so many different shapes and sizes which can get a little confusing for most people. When we break this down, essentially there are only 3 main types of boards.
All-round shape
High performance wave shape
All-round shape: This is the most popular shape of board. It is typically used for someone wanting to paddle on the flat water and also do a little bit of paddling in the surf. This is a great family-style of board.
Performance surf shape: These types of boards are usually ridden by those who are coming from a surfing background of someone who has a prior Stand Up paddle boarding experience. This shape is designed for catching waves and surfing with an element of performance.
Race: Race shaped boards are not only suited to racing, they are also a really fun shape of board to paddle for over any distance on the flat water or even going off-shore and doing a downwind runs. Race style board maintain lots of glide speed making paddling effortless.
Race board shapes
Within these three main categories there are hundreds of different individually different shaped boards with minor differences. You may want your board to do a little bit of each of these categories, this is easily achievable with the right shape and size board!
Construction
With a rapid growing market, construction is forever evolving. The industry standard as far as construction is concerned is a moulded Expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam core with an epoxy lay-up. With this type of construction there are a lot of different variations and many different ways that these materials can be put together. A big part of a boards strength comes directly from the foam that is used in the core. A lot of the cheaper made boards will use lower density cores that are not actually moulded, making for a far more fragile and susceptible board.
One other key thing that you will find in a better quality boards is support around the fin boxes and handles. This usually comes in the form of a divinycell bock that is placed around the area during the construction process. Divinycell is a high density PVC material that is really strong, light and perfect for the production the support of of such in boards! Don’t make the mistake of buying a cheap board based on price. YOU WILL END UP PAYING TWICE AS MUCH! Not only will most cheaper board never give you the performance that you really desire they simply won’t last. This doesn’t mean that you have to spend your life savings to get a good board… a lot of the top brands are now making boards at a very reasonable price point with the construction durability and performance shape that everyone needs! Stick to the guys that have been building boards for 20-30 years. Steer clear of pop-up china shops.
Cheap boards are cheap for a reason!
When looking at buying a stand up paddle board, chances are you will probably come across a few cheap brands that have recently come onto the market. These boards are cheap for a reason. When producing boards a lot of shortcuts are taken to get them out onto the shelves at that price! This then results in de-laminations and boards snapping and dinging for the smallest of impacts. With any reputable brand you can be confident that it will hold a good amount of its value forever and will have no troubles selling it when you upgrade or if you ever have to get rid of it. But we know one your on the water you will never want to sell your board!
Warranty
Before committing to purchasing a board ensure that is a has at least a12 month manufacturers warranty. All companies that supply a good quality board will be happy to guarantee a 12 month warranty on their product. This give you piece of mind that if anything goes wrong you wont be left in the dark!
