Show Posts
1
Gear Talk / Need Paddleboard Advice
« on: August 16, 2019, 05:20:53 AM »
Hello all, new to the forum. My wife and I just recently got into paddleboarding. I'm in the military stationed in Panama City, FL and the marina here on base rents them out for a reasonable $10 for the day. Can't really beat that price. That said, being brand new to it, we've gotten the hang of it pretty decently. No falls yet anyway...The boards that the base rents are clearly well used and must be of foam core because they're awfully heavy and feel pretty water logged. Do they float and work? Yes. Long story short, we're looking to purchse our own boards as this is a sport/hobby that we can take anywhere and is something to relax and enjoy wherever life takes us.
My wife and I stopped in a Yolo board store in Destin, FL, and though they had many varieties and really neat styles, I think we've got our hearts set on Bote. We walked into the Bote store in Grayton Beach, FL and instantly fell in love with the many boards they have, but primarily it looks like Bote put a lot of thought into quality of life things such as tie down hooks for a cooler, or or a place to store keys in a small cupholder type cubby.
I've tried reading through some of this forum, and through all the research I've done, we don't want inflatable. So that's instantly out of the equation. I know the pros of being able to roll them up and throw them into a bag, but we're just not interested. We definitely want a rigid board. The boards we are looking at is the Bote HD 12' or the Bote Traveller 12.5'. Honestly, what is the difference? One is a little longer obviously, and the Traveller is a little more narrow. What do you all recommend? My wife and I will be primarily riding in the ocean, with some bay riding too. We're not necessarily "hardcore" about it, but if the weather isn't bad, we plan to go for several hours. St. Andrews Bay has some light chop in the afternoons when the wind picks up and the Gulf can be sporadic, but mostly pretty calm (2-3' swells at most if not storming, usually calmer).
We are a little skeptical by the sticker shock of the prices on nice rigid boards, but have the funds to do so. I just want to make sure that when we spend upwards of $4,000 out the door at Bote (Or wherever we buy) that a year or two down the road, our boards won't end up like the boards we rent or break on us. As in most hobbies, we completely understand and respect that they can get expensive, but willing to pay for it as long as it isn't something that we need to keep reinvesting in.
Sorry for the lengthy post, but I suppose just looking for either validation on the boards before we buy them, or what you all recommend first. Thank you!
My wife and I stopped in a Yolo board store in Destin, FL, and though they had many varieties and really neat styles, I think we've got our hearts set on Bote. We walked into the Bote store in Grayton Beach, FL and instantly fell in love with the many boards they have, but primarily it looks like Bote put a lot of thought into quality of life things such as tie down hooks for a cooler, or or a place to store keys in a small cupholder type cubby.
I've tried reading through some of this forum, and through all the research I've done, we don't want inflatable. So that's instantly out of the equation. I know the pros of being able to roll them up and throw them into a bag, but we're just not interested. We definitely want a rigid board. The boards we are looking at is the Bote HD 12' or the Bote Traveller 12.5'. Honestly, what is the difference? One is a little longer obviously, and the Traveller is a little more narrow. What do you all recommend? My wife and I will be primarily riding in the ocean, with some bay riding too. We're not necessarily "hardcore" about it, but if the weather isn't bad, we plan to go for several hours. St. Andrews Bay has some light chop in the afternoons when the wind picks up and the Gulf can be sporadic, but mostly pretty calm (2-3' swells at most if not storming, usually calmer).
We are a little skeptical by the sticker shock of the prices on nice rigid boards, but have the funds to do so. I just want to make sure that when we spend upwards of $4,000 out the door at Bote (Or wherever we buy) that a year or two down the road, our boards won't end up like the boards we rent or break on us. As in most hobbies, we completely understand and respect that they can get expensive, but willing to pay for it as long as it isn't something that we need to keep reinvesting in.
Sorry for the lengthy post, but I suppose just looking for either validation on the boards before we buy them, or what you all recommend first. Thank you!
