If you are looking for stand up paddle boards for sale in todays market it can be very tricky and in some cases misleading. There are so many different types of paddle boards out there now and there are so many new “pop-up” companies flooding the market with sub-par boards. So how do you find a good board at a reasonable price?

When we first started selling paddle boards, the most common question we were asked was,”What is a Paddleboard”? Now it is hard to drive through any town with out seeing a sign that says, “Stand Up Paddle Boards for sale.” If you are new to the sport and looking to buy a stand up paddle board, you may think that all paddle boards are the same and you just need to find a good price on one. Unfortunately, its not that easy to find quality stand up paddle boards for sale at a fair or reasonable price. In the surfboard industry, at the most basic level, there are two main types of board constructions; polyester resin on polyurethane foam or epoxy resin on E.P.S. foam. EPS resin is lighter, more durable and ages better than polyester resin and E.P.S. foam is less susceptible to water damage and is made with far less toxic materials than polyurethane foam. For the most part, you can assume that an Epoxy/EPS board is superior to a polyester/polyurethane board. However, there are many different types of Epoxy and many different types of polystyrene foam. I have done ding repairs on SUP boards that are made with the cheapest, most brittle foam I have ever seen. Unfortunately, many new “pop-up” companies advertise boards that are made with epoxy resin and EPS foam and the customer thinks that all epoxy resin and EPS foam are the same. So how do you buys quality stand up paddle board at a fair or reasonable price?

There are a couple of things that you can do to protect your self from buying a stand up paddle board that will only last you a couple months or a single season. First, look at how long a company has been making board. If a company is making boards with cheap unreliable materials they will probably not be around for to long. If they have been around for more than a few years they are probably making good boards. Second, if you know someone who has been surfing for a long time or is familiar with board construction, bring them with you to check out the board or ask them to go to the companies website and take a look. To the untrained eye, it is very hard to tell the difference between good or bad materials. If you bring someone knowledgeable with you, take out the vent plug and see if you can get a look at the foam, look for air in the fiberglass or anything that shows signs of poor craftsmanship. Third, call and ask to talk to someone in charge. A lot of times it is very easy to get a feeling that someone or something isn’t right. I once called an Stand UP Paddleboard company and asked them what type of glass layup they have on their boards and the response was,”I’m not sure, what should it be?” Sadly, this was the owner of the company I was speaking with. Lastly, get on the board. The only way to know if a board is right for you is to actually get on it and see how it feels to you.

There are many great companies out there making great boards. I hope that something you read in this blog post will help you identify between the good stand up paddle boards for sale and the bad stand up paddle boards for sale.