Best Beginner Board
This is probably the most popular question that people ask when starting standup paddling. “What’s the best beginner board?” or “What’s the best board for me to start on.” There’s a lot of conflicting information on this, but I want to give beginners a guide to what I think is the best way to start. My bias is that I’m thinking of this as a board where you can improve your skills on.
My basic answer to this question is to get an all-around hard board between 10’–11’ long and 30”–32” wide. Simple. This is a board stable enough that you won’t be falling over and over, long enough to get a good glide, flexible enough to try longer paddles (3+ miles) and small enough to surf. Make sure it has tie-downs in the front for a some gear. I like one that has three fins in the back for better traction on waves, but that’s not necessary. If you see one with a single fin, that’s fine.
Why a hard board as opposed to an inflatable? This is a long answer, and one of degrees. You can learn to standup paddle on an inflatable. You can also increase your skills on an inflatable board. However an inflatable, especially an inexpensive model, isn’t your best choice. The most important reason is that a hard board behaves like a “board”. It will be stiff and responsive to your paddling. Its thin profile will also be resistant to the weather. When the wind comes up, wind won’t blow it around so much. A thick and relatively light inflatable is also much more at the mercy of the elements.
Selecting the specific model is up to you. Pretty much every major manufacturer makes an all-around model.(These are the most popular models of paddleboard.) If you are smaller in stature and weight, a board in the 10’ range and 30” wide is a great start, but if you are taller, larger, or have poor balance, than go for bigger. There are boards that go beyond 32” wide, but these are less common. 32” is will be wide enough for most people. If you’re curious, a board like this tends to top out at about 3.5 miles per hour, fast enough for a nice cruise.
One thing that’s important to remember about a board of these dimensions is that they aren’t fall-proof. There are boards that pretty much are for a normal-sized person — 34” wide and more — but these tend to be very slow. The stability is reassuring in the beginning, but once you paddle a few sessions and get used to standing on water, the very wide board is going to feel slow and ungainly. 30”–32” wide is a great compromise between stability and glide. Yes, you’re going to fall a few times, but after adjusting to the width (with an instructor this usually takes just one session) you will be fine. You’ll still fall, but everybody falls. It’s part of the sport.
By the way, this is a forever board. Even if you become an expert standup paddler, there will always be a need for a board like this. It’s perfect for teaching a friend. If you can only bring one board on vacation and want to surf and paddle, this will do the trick. A board like this is also perfect for paddling with a child. I’ve been standup paddling for over ten years, and there’s always all-around in my board quiver. Sometimes you just want a board to throw on the water and have fun, and those are some of the best memories of all.
