Red Paddle Co has a wide range of inflatable boards, but the “Compact” range is particularly intriguing as a portable solution for those without a car to ferry about their kit. It’s well-equipped to take you wherever you want to go, whether that’s exploring the coast from the water, going point to point or just messing about with some friends. The company includes everything needed for a beginner to get on the water and learn to SUP, including a paddle, pump, leash, and a nice backpack with pockets for the fins and other gear. A recipient of 14 North American Travel Journalists Association awards, when she’s not recovering from high alpine or jungle expeditions she’s usually trail running, mountain biking, or splitboarding in Southwest Colorado, where she grew up and lives today. If the spring-loaded fin comes into contact with the river bottom or rocks, it slides up into the board.

If you weigh at or over 180-200 pounds — or if you want to paddle with a dog, child, or partner — consider a longer length and wider board. Handily, the paddle board comes with all the key accessories you need to hit the water, including an adjustable paddle. Some of these bags claim they can keep the temperature for up to 48 hours, which is a very long time. The lowest weight capacities among our choice SUPs are the NRS Thrive Inflatable SUP Board and the NRS STAR Phase Inflatable SUP Board that can each carry 180 pounds. For greater stability, fishing-oriented SUPs are often wider, which makes them a tad slower than narrower boards.The Waikiki Inflatable SUP is another really cheap paddle board that we've been really impressed with - it's quite short at just 10ft which makes it really well suited to carving and makes it very easy to control. The anti-twist channel system fortifies the paddle’s handle and shaft connection making the paddle very solid and reliable in the water. Prior to that, Mary wrote for 5280 Magazine in Denver while working as an outdoor instructor teaching climbing, kayaking, paddleboarding, and mountain biking. This 15ft whopper from Red Paddle Co, a company which has had miscellaneous other models featured on this round-up, is a roomy model designed with duos in mind. Generally this means that the paddle is made out of carbon fiber or fiberglass and that the paddle blade has a relatively large surface area.

As the name suggests, it’s built to be adventurous, and the increased volume means it can cope brilliantly with choppy sections of the sea and stays stable in the wind – it even performs against a turning tide.Composed of a translucent compression molded fiberglass the Malta guarantees you quick movements while reducing energy consumption.