The Best SUP Board for You

• Posted on 19 January 2016
• By Robert Stehlik
• 0

How To Choose the Best SUP Board

The only way you will really know if a board is going to work well for you is by trying it.  At Blue Planet it is our goal to help you have more fun on the water and we hate to see customers that wasted their hard earned money by buying a board that is just not right for them.  Buyers often spend a lot of time researching and reading about different models and looking for the "best deal" and think they found the perfect boards for their needs.  Everyone is different, and after spending big bucks to buy a board, they often find out that the board they thought would be the perfect fit is not really right for them.  No matter how cheap the price is or what a great deal you got, it's only a good value if it works well for you and helps you have more fun on the water, right?

Our shop manager, Kevin Fung, made this great video and guide with pointers and tips that can help you choose the right board, but remember that no matter how much research you do, until you try a few boards, it will be hard for us to recommend the perfect board for you.

Tip: Try before you buy!

1) Rent boards:

At the Blue Planet flagship store at 540 Ward Ave. in Honolulu, we have a great rental program with over 50 rental/ demo boards available for rent, with everything from high performance surfing models, to all-round beginner boards, to high performance racing boards and everything in between from many of the top brands in the market.  For our most current list of rental boards (with prices- all our demo boards are available for sale) please check out our: Rental SUP spreadsheet

We always encourage people that are new to the sport to rent a few boards and try them before making a buying decision.  We offer a full credit of rental fees up to $250 towards a new SUP purchase (credits expire after one year from the date of purchase), so this is a great investment and could keep you from making an expensive mistake.  If you are visiting Oahu we have great deals on longer term rentals and offer delivery and pickup service on Oahu.  If your hotel does not have SUP storage available, we partner with Nalu Storage in Waikiki, where you can rent a storage rack by the beach for your stay. For more information on our rental program and to reserve a rental board, please visit:

http://blueplanetsurf.wpengine.com/pages/suprentals

2) Demo boards at our SUP Clinics:

At Blue Planet we also regularly put on SUP demos/ clinics for our customers so they can try as many boards as possible before making a buying decision.  We currently hold these clinics every 6 weeks or so.  Required to participate:  A SUP Clinic pass (pick up at our shop, no purchase necessary), A valid ID, you must also be on time to attend the safety brief, we close the sign up afterwards.

For dates of upcoming clinics and detailed information, please visit:

http://blueplanetsurf.wpengine.com/pages/free-demo-clinic

Below is a video form our most recent clinic at Ala Moana beach on January 17th, 2016.

So, on your quest to find the best Stand Up Paddleboard, don't just choose on price or what you think you need without trying it first, or at least try a board that is similar to the board you intend to buy in terms of length, width, shape and volume.

For some pointers on what volume you need for your weight, height, ability, and intended use, please also watch this video:

We sincerely hope you are successful in finding the perfect board (and paddle!) for your needs and hope to see you at our shop soon!

Aloha,

Robert Stehlik