ISUP: Beginner board advice.

[ipup]

Personally, I'd recommend a 14' board.
With your weight, I believe that you will be a lot more comfortable.

You can't really go wrong with:
Starboard
Naish
Red Paddle

Am I overlooking something?  I can't find any Naish 14' inflatables, and I could find only one Red Paddle inflatable, the 14'0" ELITE, and it's a narrower race board.

[deepmud]

photofr might have an early model 14 footer - it seems like a good board but not sure where he got it.

I'm 5 10, 285 - I just paddle my local lakes for fun and excercise  - the pump that made my life easier was the Seyvlor 12 volt and the price is great:
http://www.amazon.com/Sevylor-Volt-Water-Sport-Pump/dp/B00VWA6O2U

I have a 14' Tower, and 12'5" Blue Planet. For burning calories and enjoying the lakes either will do. I think any iSup will work for getting exercise. You may decide you need a hard board later because they are quite a bit faster - but you said "excercise" so......

I drive around with a board in the car all summer (not so hot in Alaska so ? ) and drop it on in lake 2-4 times a week, sometimes more. The 12v pump made it easier to "steal" time after work - I often have less than 1 hour to spare.

I think if you do any surfing then the board stiffness matters a lot more - that is, I don't surf, it doesn't matter to me. It might to you. I've done one "down-breeze" on my lake - it was a blast. You can't tell from the pic, but the wind was whipping me along at a good pace - and once in awhile I got on a wave, and I had just a taste "downwinding" - I that THAT would be awesome and addicting to get into.



Here I am pushing hard, maybe 4.5mph ( my GPS says I can't average much past 4mph on either of my boards)  and the Blue Planet is flexing a bit:


my son, about 120lbs, shows there is a bit of pre-curve to it even when not holding up a horse:



Buy a sup! have some fun Save money on the board if you want, but buy a good paddle. You might be buying a better board later anyway and a good paddle will still be good to have. I think for starting, a stable board is the most important, so you don't spend a lot of time falling in The advice for "all rounder" type boards is probably good advice.

[surfcowboy]

Seems like your answer is right below this post.

To answer from experience, heat won't be a problem rolled up in a car. I've even left mine inflated on the beach in the sun and not had an issue, though I wouldn't make a habit of it.

I love hard boards too but it's really cool to be able to take a board anywhere you like. I'll always have one in my quiver.

[Quickbeam]

Personally, I'd recommend a 14' board.
With your weight, I believe that you will be a lot more comfortable.

You can't really go wrong with:
Starboard
Naish
Red Paddle

Am I overlooking something?  I can't find any Naish 14' inflatables, and I could find only one Red Paddle inflatable, the 14'0" ELITE, and it's a narrower race board.

You really do not want a narrow race board for your first board. I started off with a Red 12’6” x 30” and a short while after buying that board, decided I wanted a hard board. My choice was between a 12’6” x 27” race board and a 12’6” x 29” race / touring board. The fellow I was buying from also had a 12’6” x 25” race board he let me try. I went out on it for about 30 seconds and came back and said there was no way.

Anyway, I ended up buying the 12’6” x 29” race / touring board. I used that board all last summer and that’s the board I really learned to paddle on. I had a blast on that board. Then at the end of the summer, I had another chance to try the 12’6” x 25” race board. Fell in love with it and traded in my 12’6” x 29” board on it. So a couple of months after I could hardly stand up on it, I now own it and really enjoy it. But I got to that point by learning on a more stable board.

[photofr]

Here's an entire Virtual Tour I created for my brand new Starboard iSUP:
www.tourfr.com/56104/plan.html

Bag is top notch, pump is a flat 5 minutes to inflate with a double action and a handy switch. Speed will blow you away. Stability is actually pretty good if you get started in flat water (which you should anyway).

[Green Water Sports]

I wouldn't get too carried away with length. In a first board you want stability but something you can grow into. You don't want to be discouraged by a steep learning curve but then again you don't want a barge that you'll grow out of in a week. Maybe the Red 13'2" x 30" Explorer+ is the way forward?

http://greenwatersports.com/shop/red-paddle-co-13-2-explorer-plus

[comeu]

Do you really need to buy a board?? You should rent different boards and make your opinion, know what you want before thinking of buying a board.
If you don't have the possibility to rent a board, find an old windsurfing board, learn how to paddle and then buy a good board.


Envoyι de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk

[Quickbeam]

I wouldn't get too carried away with length. In a first board you want stability but something you can grow into. You don't want to be discouraged by a steep learning curve but then again you don't want a barge that you'll grow out of in a week. Maybe the Red 13'2" x 30" Explorer+ is the way forward?

http://greenwatersports.com/shop/red-paddle-co-13-2-explorer-plus

+1 Excellent advice! I'd also be taking a good look at the Red 12'6" x 30" Sport. To me this looks like a good first board that you would still want to keep after your skills  improve.

[surfcowboy]

I agree on demo-ing. But, truthfully, almost all of us kept our first board for others to use/borrow and none of those are a problem board. I learned on a horrible Seyvlor inflatable and built my skills for a year on that raft.

I still can't get rid of it, and every summer someone learns to paddle on it or some group of kids bounces around on it. You really can't go wrong with any of these options.

I'd also say to not worry about length. Think about being a beginner and learning to turn a 14'er. He's not looking to win a race, just enjoy the water and get his legs under him.