Any SUP people here ?

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Thinking about buying one of these for a toy at the beach:

https://www.costco.ca/body-glove-performer-11-inflatable-3.35-m-(11-ft.)-stand-up-paddle-board-with-12v-electric-pump.product.100776935.html

A few ppl say it’s the best value for $ for an inflatable paddle board going right now.

Curious if it actually is and I should just go grab one from Costco ? (In part also for their return policy if it fails.) or if there’s a better product for the $ ?

Last edited by Cornflake on 01 Aug 2022, 10:13 am, edited 1 time in total.: Fixed link

Love my iSUP.
Prefer it hands down to my epoxy board.
Its more stable and you won't crack vertebrae if you happen to fall back onto the board, which I've done a couple of times in the surf.
I keep mine inflated permanently because I couldn't be arsed spending half an hour doing that when I could be out there paddling.

Not sure why the link doesn't work here ? maybe some characters in it don't work with the forum. Copy and paste I guess.

I'd likely deflate it each time because beach access is via ~490 stairs down clay cliffs. Very annoying to carry an inflated board back up. (or down.)

Just had a read through this as with coupon the yellow one is only $209!!

https://www.amazon.ca/AMOR-AQUA-Inflata ... 07CCFXB3J/

Downsides: dual layer rails and top stringer vs. triple for strength, and the biggest downside is single large fin vs. triple fins -> after reading this https://aquasportsplanet.com/how-to-dec ... ddleboard/ it seems single fins are best on lakes where water doesn't really move, and triple fins are better for the ocean where there's tide and small waves breaking. Not gonna be any fun of the slightest of motion means it's difficult to track & turn. Shame, otherwise I'd have saved a few hundred dollars.

I've had two aqua marina inflatables and the last one I had was a $600usd Bote Breeze Aero. For surf, you definitely want three fins. The downside to the body glove isup is that the fins are really short, so tracking isn't the best even in flat water. I'd search on eBay for an Aqua Marina or get the Bote Wulf Aero

Q: What is SUP?

A: Not much. What is up with you?

Aqua Marina seems to be only single fin designs and they're at least a few hundred dollars more + shipping etc = ~$1000cdn - more than I want to spend for a casual beach toy. Bote Wulf Aero isn't on amazon or ebay, only their website, and they only ship to the USA and I don't have a passport to go cross the line and pickup/import parcels so I'd have to have someone else have the hassle of doing that. Plus with tax and import it's also more expensive.

I bought the bodyglove performer at Costco yesterday - their full retail is $130 cheaper than prices on amazon. I think I'm gonna try it out and then if I have any major complaints about it I'll just take it back to costco since they'll take anything back. I do have some experience with boardsports on water - mostly kiteboarding + a day of wakeboarding and another day of wakesurfing. So, I'm used to teeny tiny 1.5-2" fins at higher speeds.. MAYBE that'll make the bodyglove fins feel Okay under my feet at the beach ?? I dunno yet. But for the price, convenience, return policy.. I'll give it a go and then if I think it sucks and is too difficult to track I'll get some use out of it while we still have nice weather then find an excuse to return it to costco a the end of the summer and then eyeball something better, and perhaps more expensive, if I Know myself and others are gonna get good use out of it.

There are many of the bodyglove ones at the beach this year (bless costco!) and so far all the guys love 'em - possibly because they've never tried anything else tho. I did ask a couple beach friends if I buy one if they'd use it and they'd jump at the opportunity, so I'm sure others will use it, too. I don't wanna pack ~30 extra lbs down 490 stairs and set it up only to use it for a short while myself, then be tired, and have it sit on the beach until sunset or so, deflate it and carry it up. Much better use of boardage if others are out paddling on it when I'm not!

Time will tell if the costco dealy does the job or if we collectively decide it's no bueno and should try something else. But as long as I didn't get one of the few with a bad batch of glue or something, I think it'll serve my/our purposes just fine. (But if it doesn't, costco can have it back - and there's no hassles or international shipping to deal with.)

When I read the tittle, I actually thought this thread was talking about people using the slang acronym for What's Up that goes SUP

Carried it down the ~490 steps to the beach yesterday. Tried it out.. paddled out passed the party boats and back a couple times - fell off it a half dozen times. It's deceptively difficult to constantly keep your balance on it.. but I'm sure with practice it'll get easier.

6-7+ other people gave it a shot, too, which made it much more worth carrying down/up the stairs. People had fun and were appreciative of being able to use it.

I think my one friend is right - it tracks straight w/ skilful paddling. I just need more practice to keep it going straighter than I managed. Also, I learned that if you use a bit more force and paddle harder and get it moving a bit quicker it's more stable and easier to keep straighter. Like so many other things - snowboards, motorcycles, bicycles etc - super slow speed is difficult.. pick up the pace and things smooth out.

I did that sort of thing when I was younger.

There's no way I'd be able to stand up, balance on and paddle one of those things.

I like being in the water much more than being on top of it, anyway.

How much younger?

You're 60 years old now, and iSUPs have only been around for maybe a decade. So, in your mid 50's?

OR do you mean you paddled around on a rigid paddle board 40 years ago ? Paddling on a board isn't exactly new - according to google it's been done for over 5,000 years, but the modern iteration kicked off in the 1950/60's in Waikiki.

Not with that attitude! :p

I've taken it out a few times now. Getting better and easier each time. Feels more stable. Learned to paddle harder and deeper to get it moving quicker - once it's gliding it's much more stable vs. super low speed it's quite.. unstable. Also getting used to applying foot pressure side to side a bit as I paddle to get the board sort of planing on one rail at a time vs. trying to keep it dead flat.

There are other board shapes that are probably a lot more stable like standing on a dock kind of stable. Maybe better suited to Very Long trips - like one girl I know likes to go paddle for 30km at a time. Could be done on this board, but probably much more comfortably done on a board made for loooong trips. I kinda like that this board is more directional with a narrow tip that makes it a bit more challenging to use - forces a better balance and core workout.

I miiiight take it to the beach today - kinda cloudy though so not 100% sure I wanna get wet hmm. Also, I ordered some 60" rokstraps from Amazon so I can strap it down across the passenger seat & saddle bags of my motorcycle - maybe strap it to the frame, maybe to the passenger grab handles.. but either way, soon I'll have a way to take it to the beach on my bike so I can save gas and get rockstar parking.

That's a very cool looking SUP.

What's "SUP"?

"Stand Up Paddleboarding"

Google is your friend!