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Basic SUP

Paddle Boarders on the Willamette River
Paddle-boarders on the Willamette River

32 inches. Upwind.

That’s all you need to know about Stand Up Paddleboards (SUP).

And from what we’ve seen all over the world, if you haven’t tried standup paddleboards, you will soon. The darned things are everywhere!

History? Well, according to COG’s research department, tow-in big wave surfer Laird Hamilton (you’ll remember him, a Kauai local, with his infant child posing shirtless for American Express magazine ads) telephoned a correspondent for SUP magazine, Ron House (SoCal surfer/board shaper):

I get a call from Laird Hamilton in 2003 and he tells me he’s been using a big board and a big paddle to catch waves standing, that he doesn’t lie down…I was trying to get my mind around it.

Evidently, House was not alone. Further, we’ve heard dispute about exactly how SUP innovation arose. Big wave “guns,” becalmed sailboarders, kite-boarders, radical Islamists…the waters are murky.

Laird Hamilton 2003
Laird Hamilton

Nor were the big SUP boards universally admired along the point-break line-up. Specifically, we’ve noticed surf locals getting notoriously territorial about sharing “their” waves: Strong words and fisticuffs. But possible conflict here was quashed in a hurry. Early SUP adopters put out word: SUP was here to stay. COG reports Hawaiian strong men (re: the photos of Hamilton) and/or industry mavens applying “gentle” persuasion.

Paddle boarder in the Grand Canyon Colorado River
Paddle-Boarders on a desert river

How gentle? Well, two years ago a dozen SUP exhibitors showed product at Salt Lake City’s summer Outdoor Retailer trade show. This (desert landscape of SLC) is not the Surf Expo in Orlando or the (now defunct) Action Sports Retailer show in San Diego. Last summer over 250 vendors showed SUP product at Salt Lake City. What the heck… that’s a 1000+% increase for vendors over two seasons. And every other vendor, that can make even tenuous connection, leapt on the runaway SUP bandwagon…tsunami?

What gives? Well, during the last year your COG correspondents stepped aboard SUPs in Byron Bay (Australia) and near the Eifel Tower, as well as at COG centers in Moab and Portland. Downtown, out-of-town, across the planet, SUP’s getting ridiculous.

So SUP gets around; lets get back to basics.

The Eiffle Tower with paddle-boarders on the adjacent river
Paddle-Boarders in Paris

Hamilton’s right; SUP’s easy. But make sure the board you step onto is at least 31+ inches wide. Water geeks (“watermen,” in the local, sexist idiom) call this measurement the board’s (or boat’s) “beam.” Narrower boards give better paddling efficiency (for racing), but demand natural “balance” you don’t have right now.

Next, start your SUP paddling adventure upwind. That means, you paddle against the wind on your outward journey from dock or shore. When ready to turn for home, the wind’s a your back and, acting like a sail, you’ll (yep, we’re grammatically correct here…your body is now a sail) cruise effortlessly along. Reverse this itinerary-order to begin with, and you’ll struggle against the wind on the homeward-leg, when you’re most tired. And when you finally beach your board, you may be too tired to drink beer: a COG anathema.

So, besides a short learning curve, why do we see so much SUP now? COG’s guess, again: it’s easy. Plus the gear’s (a little) cheaper than kayaks. Also, they’re easier to maintain, transport and store for users and (here’s the big one) resort operators. If you’ve got a business near water, you MUST have a few SUP boards around; they’re instant revenue for modest investment.

“What can I do on a SUP that I can’t do in a kayak,” complained one of a COG relation after a maiden paddle on a windy Adriatic coast. We replied: ‘Nothing.” But you can see more and better while fully upright than sitting, your legs don’t go to sleep and, let’s be fair, there’s more to admire viewing an upright figure (paddling a SUP) than one sitting in a kayak shell. (We’re eschewing sexism here.) Sorta like the difference between strolling on the beach and sitting below decks on a sailboat…or something. And yes, our OCG correspondent had started his first SUP tour downwind on a very windy Italian afternoon. COG recommends the Grappa remedy.

Paddle boarder at night
Paddle-Boarder at night

Romance and revenue aside, what really caught COG’s eye was paddle boarding at night with the NOCQUA 2000 – White LED Light System, about $350 (http://nocqua.com). Sure you can put the NOCQUA light on a kayak but the view doesn’t compare.

Now CPG’s favorite (intermediate) SUP board is the French-made, BIC, Ace-Tec Classic model, 31.5” beam, $1495.00 MSRP, just over $1000 at retail. http://shop.bicsport.com/c/sup). In business since 1979, BIC offers 35 SUP board configurations for an adventure array. The Ace-Tec SUP line employs fiberglass, EPS-core construction for higher-end boards.  Uniformly, across products lines for kayaks, sailboards, surf, SUP, paddles and small-boats, value, durability and performance predominate. Expect to see BIC SUPs as beach rentals, as well in performance quivers.

(Tech tips for entry-level SUP boards: 32” beam, flat-bottom, hard-rails yield best touring stability.)

Paddle-boarder on the ocean
Paddle-Boarder in the Ocean

By this point, as late-blooming surfers, the COG team thought we’d gained insight into the huge SUP enthusiasm: Surfing—sailboarding—kayaking—the industry needs something haoles can do more easily. Money talks.

Yet, while COG reviewed SUP boards, we noticed some tie-down toggles on the board’s deck.

“For SUP yoga and fitness classes,” the BIC sales rep told us. “It’s really popular at resorts; the guests just raft their boards together and do exercise routines.”

Huh? SUP fitness? Is this possible? What about all those yoga mats?

So disregarding SLC’s midday August heat melting the crosswalk, we hustled outside the Salt Palace to witness OR’s demo tank. The photos show more than you need to know about SUP fitness, which involves core-strengthening as we’d never imagined. COG interviewed professional SUP fitness instructors, for real. We did not get phone numbers.

OK. We’ve captured sunny SUP adventure, romantic lighting, fitness and BIC value. This pretty well defines the COG mission.

Everything else we’ve learned about the SUP craze, we can only outline: It’s not just yoga classes. Evidently, everybody’s doing everything on a SUP board. We think it’s, maybe, over the top.

Stand-Up-Paddleboard event
Stand-Up Paddle-Boarders at an event

Yep! SUP athletes are making first descents of the usual: Amazon, Ganges, Nile Rivers. First to paddle: USA East Coast, West Coast, Aleutians, UK circle, Greenland, Baja….we expect a solo circumnavigation of Australia and other large islands soon.

So naturally, SUP advocates cry out for SUP as the next big, summer Olympic Games sport. (Didn’t we hear this about ski-telemarking in the early 1980s, just before snowboarding “took off?”)

This list isn’t complete. But our SUP attention span is so done.

SUP Specific Gear for your $:

  • Reality TV star and survival expert Bear Grylis “Scout” SUP
  • SUP for Hunting & Fishing.
  • SUP for Whitewater
  • SUP World Tour
  • SUP World Series
  • SUP Rack & Rack Locks
  • SUP PFDs, Hydration packs, Accessories
  • SUP Paddles
  • SUP Waterproof Speakers
  • SUP Floating Hardware/Eyewear
  • SUP Trailers
  • SUP Sunscreen
  • SUP Paddle Holders, Tie-downs, Water-Bottle Holders
  • SUP Tandem
  • SUP Clothing
  • SUP Footwear
  • SUP Fishing
  • SUP Hunting: Blast and Cast

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Surf Mats

Surfing in a Surf Mat
Surfing on a surf mat

How did we miss this wave? Surf Mats! It appears an underground swell has come and we almost missed it. You may see what you think are short air mattresses out in the surf. But no, these surfmatters are serious. And they are out there having some serious fun! Big Dogs love ’em. They say you can surf more conditions from trash to terror, and have more laughs. With your nose next to the waves you really sense the speed. And you’re safer in a crowd. Easier on the beginners. Mat pros wear fins and and twist and contort the slightly under- inflated mats for terrific control.

Surf Mats provide a cushion of air that rides over bumps and chop with comfort and without slowing you down. We’re talking fast. The current models are heat-welded out of the latest tech nylon twill (on the bottom for flexibility) and nylon canvas on the top (for wear and grip). Different matters swear by the classic 4-pontoon models, though others swear by the speed of the 3-pontoon models, and others promote as many as 6 pontoons. Roughly speaking, mats run about  42’’ long by 20” wide, they are 4 1/2 to 5” thick and weigh around a pound and quarter. Something you could roll up with your fins in a backpack and head to the beach. Performance mats are concave in side-to-side cross section and the buffs claim fluid amplification channels create dynamic lift to provide a high speed, frictionless ride.

Surf Mats were developed back around 1933 in Australia and were first known as the “Surf-o-plane.” Even with the technology of the era, that is, rubberized canvas, there was a boom on. At least in Australia. Then it spread to the US. Converse made them and sold them for thirty bucks! A huge US following in the sixties. Then Converse ditched them, boogie boards became the thing and for the most part the fad, as it was, faded.

But a small group of mad mat-ers kept with it, like George Greenough and Mark Thompson. Thompson says, 

When I’m on the mats, I get a more pure surfing experience of gliding effortlessly across the wave. It’s kinda like the way a dolphin surfs or an albatross rides the updraft of a wave. The mat taps the hidden energy potential of a wave not available to a surfboard and massive increases of speed can be obtained with minimal input from the rider. I call it auto acceleration.

They run over chop and bumps in a wave like they don’t exist as they have the ability to bend and conform with the shape of the water. They can be used regardless of surface conditions and can turn a windy, blown out day into a day of high performance riding and fun. 

Thompson designs/promotes the Kryp Surf Mats

Kryp MT5 Surf Mat

Kryp MT5 Surf Mat
Kryp MT5 Surf Mat

Features a Dolpin non-skid Deck with a double coated ultra-slick bottom. Shaped with a Parabolic front end for no catch surfing. Side-to-side concave shape, with a nose-to-tail rocker design for dynamic lift on the waves. Square tail for maximum bite for drive through turns. Here you can see the grey top deck, with the dark grey bottom.

$200

Fourth Gear Flyer Fatty Surf Mat

Fourth Gear Flyer Fatty Surf Mat
Fourth Gear Flyer Fatty Surf Mat

The sturdy upper deck is welded of heavy duty nylon canvas, while the bottoms consist of a thin nylon twill. The top deck is sturdy, stable and grippy, while the thin, slick bottom is perfect for skimming over the waves. Paul Gross has been hand-crafting these mats in the US since 1984. He’s been involved in the sport since the days of riding Converse-Hodgeson mats convinced him he could build a better mat himself. Mats run about 3 1/2 feet by 20 inches wide and weigh some 20 ounces. Can handle surfers up to 200 lbs plus. We’ll be looking for these in the test tank at OR–dream on!

$200

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Oru Folding Kayak

Oru Foldable Kayak
Oru Foldable Kayak

This Kayak is one amazing piece of Origami! Truly folds flat and into an easy-to-carry container that looks like an artist’s portfolio. Designer Anton Willis was inspired by Origami folding and he was able to perfect the curving folds that make the sleek hull of the Oru.

The double-layered plastic skin has creases permanently molded in, so it folds easily between boat and case. There is only one seam at the top of the boat, which closes with buckles and a watertight rubber gasket.
Solid plastic ribs maintain the shape of the hull.

Made of double layered plastic that looks like translucent corrugated plastic (Coroplast). A rigid floorboard (which also becomes the lid of the case) reinforces the cockpit. Simple straps and buckles hold everything together, making assembly quick and intuitive. The Oru Kayak takes standard spray skirts, float bags, and  four-piece paddles to fit the case.

The Oru Kayak measures 12’ long, 25” wide, and 13” high and weighs 25 pounds and takes up to a 260 pound load. The Oru folds into its own 33″x29″x10″, with plenty of extra space to hold a life vest, paddle, and other accessories. The cockpit is reinforced, and the seat and backrest are padded. The plastic skin is manufacturer-rated for 20,000 fold cycles without structural failure. Available for pre-order now for $500.

$500