Have they got past the backlog of orders? Lockdown and the Suez issue meant some suppliers were sold out before they’d even got the stock in.
McConks will do a discount for you (I think) and are really good quality. We bought the Sqn some from 2 Barefeet (one of the ones on your assessment was that, the one I travelled with [without giving away who that was]). I love the 2BF ones because they’re a bit wider than McConks and more stable for a biff like me. Downside is their build quality isn’t as good. Cheap ones from Decathlon I think are OK, or Aquaplanet.
I’ve heard some awful feedback on the CoolSurf boards. Great when they work. Terrible when you need to return them. And they have a lot of returns!
Rather than buying outright, and I appreciate the challenge with little people and balancing everything else, go and do a weekend Sheltered Water SUP PPA - or join a club. You should get to play with some different boards as part of the course, plus it’ll give you some more coaching ideas to take it further.
My club has little in the way if boards right now, and it’s something we need to expand into, because its so popular.
I’d much rather buy something which will hold value for a while as well. The problem with buying cheap is you often end up needing to buy twice, (something my father taught me by always buying cheap tools!)
I quite like the irocker and the black fin ranges. If you are just looking at flat water an 11 foot all round board would probably be about right. Longer boards are faster but less stable.
Pretty straightforward. It’s aimed at extending your safe coaching practice into the SUP arena - rather than building your SUP skills and personal performance. It goes through rescues, recoveries, group management, sessions, risk management and differences between SUP and other craft etc.
However, lots of people show up with limited experience and expect it to be easy. But, if you can’t paddle yourself, you’ll struggle to launch, to tow, to rescue and to land safely.
Its so bad I’ve seen two local DSM providers who now only taking candidates who hold a SUP PPA or offer log book experience - they’ve found they spend too long teaching people to SUP it’s detracting from the actual course content. Thankfully, there are others out there who are more forgiving.
My understanding is that a PSLA allows you to lead trips in the craft you were assessed in. If you want to lead in another craft get a PPA in that discipline and that will cover you. Happy to be proven wrong though.
That’s it, I’m just confusing myself over which level is which with the new awards.
That’s what the other assessee realised on the weekend, he got assessed in the craft he already has a 3* in, he’d have been better off on SUP, then able to lead both.
I can now lead in Open, Sea and WW Kayak. But not OC1.
Like @Batfink if you can, try a few different boards first. Much like your first boat, it probably won’t be right for what you end up wanting to do if you get into it properly.
I own a Red Ride and a Voyager - the Ride is perfect for mucking about on and developing skills such as step back turns, moving up and down the board etc. It will also manage 10k journeys but it’s hard work because it’s a GP board.
If journeys are your bag then something a it more streamlined is a good idea. The Voyager is the more extreme end of the scale, more designed for expeditions but it is quick when you put it next to a lot of ‘intermediate’ shape boards - we left much of the group behind on the sea when we were guinea pigs for a coastal SUP leader assessment. It handles more like a sea kayak and responds to outside edge turns etc. The downside is the big touring fin sometimes makes it difficult to use on rivers; I’ve got a small flexible fin that I’ve not tried yet to see how that affects it’s handling.
I’m currently at a place where I’m considering selling the Ride and replacing with a white water board such as the Fanatic Rapid Air - more designed for what I actually want to do, but will also cover the Ride use cases.
So it’s a bit of a toss up really - if you want something now to develop on, think about which type of paddling you enjoy most and maybe steer towards that style of board. Otherwise take the time to try different styles.
O’Shea boards are also a good shout, as are Fanatic.
Yeap - I’m now seeing some SUPs as an investment in the same way a decent canoe is! Red boards are definitely holding their value far better than others. I think this years supply/demand issues have - coupled with covid tax - inflated the prices; even more than last years issues.
Just avoid the second hand Mistral boards which capitalists profiteered from earlier this year!
Yep… if anything my Royalex canoe has gone UP in value from when I bought it second hand… #winning
I would agree though - see it as an investment if you know where you want to get to - there is an element of you get what you pay for in these things, and whilst a cheaper board is absolutely fine for flat water stuff /basic sessions, it’s unlikely to stretch to more advanced work. I’ve been comfortable using my Ride on G2/3 water which I’m not so sure I’d be happy doing with a cheaper board.
Sometimes the cheaper boards don’t go up to high enough pressures which can be a bit of a drawback. You will benefit greatly from a board that will go to 20psi+ because it is much more rigid - lower pressures make the board a bit more difficult to handle sometimes as it’s more bendy!
Having studied and having to be well versed in ship stability, rather geekily I’m going to have to have a proper read of that and look further into the cross overs between the two.
Although I doubt it will be able to use it to constructively to help SWMBO fall off her board as much. Still, at least it won’t rob me off the amusement of said event!
