What makes a board “bad”?

Lots of boards out there. Lots. And when you’re trying to find a new (or used) paddleboard for yourself, the first question everyone asks is, “Is this a good board?” So let’s talk a little bit about what makes a board “good” or “bad”.

First thing is, most boards you will buy will be fine. As long as a board has a shape that works for its intended purpose and its build quality is such that it stays together, the board is adequate. This goes for cheap inflatables as well as high-end race boards. They are pretty much all fine. They may not be perfect for you, but they have an intended purpose with an intended rider, and they do that.

A bad board is one that has a design flaw. That means it has something wrong with the design or construction that makes it inadequate for its purpose: it may be too fragile; it may have an inadequate fin; or there may be something else wrong that interferes with its function. I have personally dealt with three boards that had serious flaws. All of these were from established brands, which made them doubly disappointing.

The worst board I ever bought was from a (now) defunct brand called Exocet. When I saw this brand getting into paddleboards, I was excited. I owned one of their windsurfers (Kona) and really liked it. They had a 14′ touring board which seemed perfect for me: dugout deck, plenty of tie-downs, and a shape that could deal with chop. However the first thing I noticed was that it had a tiny fin. The salmon told me it was for downwinding, which was definitely not in the description, nor the multiple tie-downs tell me that this was a downwinding board. Then I paddled it with a friend a few months later and when I emerged from the water it had five holes torn in the bottom. I vaguely remember paddling near a drifting tree, but to get that extensive amount of damage from casual contact was ridiculous. (I complained so loudly about this BTW that I think I was partially responsible for the brand’s demise, which happened not long after.)

The seller wasn’t willing to admit the board was fragile, although I could clearly depress the skin with my thumb. What this meant to me was that I had a board that had a very thin skin, clearly inadequate for the rocky shores of the Hudson River. When you combine this with the tiny fin and a fin box too small for a larger one, this was a bad board. Definitely the worst I have owned. (And a seller who wouldn’t admit it, no matter what I said.) Two design flaws means the board was not suitable for its purpose. After getting it repaired, I sold it for 1/3 the price I bought it. And Exocet Paddleboards don’t exist anymore. I wonder why.

This experience led me to pursue durable boards, and that led me to Pau Hana. They were advertising a new build called Ricochet, which was advertised as able to take a hit from a rock. I bought on of their Big EZ boards and spent a lot of time on it. The durable skin was pretty much that — durable. The rails especially were tough. Unfortunately the deck was painted with a gel paint which had issues. I learned this when attending a beach race and left the board in the sun for half an hour. Now you could not leave your board in the sun — that’s basic care — but a little while shouldn’t be very serious. Unfortunately for this board, it was. I returned to the board and found the desk was covered in bubbles. The sun’s heat was causing the paint to separate from the skin. There was also a large bubble underneath the deck pad. What this mean was that a board — designed to operate, you know, outside — couldn’t take the sun.

Paint was the bugbear of the third board too. This time it was an NSP Elements surf 9’8″. It was a nice board, a really nice little board. Surfed great and was fine for light paddling too. One reason I bought that model was because of the cool lime green color — I’m a sucker for that. But then the paint started flaking off. That gorgeous green color just chipped away! Now don’t start accusing me of not taking good care of it! I always my boards and baby them. It’s just that this board had bad paint! I eventually sold it to a man who did a good job with dealing with the paint, but that was out of my skill level. I still miss that board though. Surfed great, nifty ride.

This topic brings me to the cheap inflatables which have flooded the market recently. I am not a big fan, but are these bad boards? With the rising cost of paddleboards in general, am I being too elitist by disparaging them? My own inflatable (Okeanos 12’6′ Air — a very good board) is now about about $950, which is a lot of money? Is it fair to expect people to spend close $1,000 on a new board? Yes, the cheap inflatables don’t paddle very well, but they do seem to be filling a need, and beginners seem to be enjoying them (a lot). I personally don’t like them very much, but I don’t think it’s fair to say they are bad boards. They aren’t very durable and don’t paddle very well, but they are fulfilling a need. They also do the job of getting people into paddleboarding at a fairly low risk.

So a bad board really is one with a design flaw. This flaw can prevent people from using it or it degrades the board itself. From my limited experience, paint and durability seem to be a real issues. Durability is a tough thing to design. Boards are exposed to all sorts of elements and temperatures and impacts, and it’s hard to design for all of them. Raceboards are fragile because more weight = less speed. I hate paddling them because I crack them about every five minutes, that’s what makes them fast. High performance surf SUPs are squirrelly and hard to just paddle, but that’s what makes them fun on a big wave. These “flaws” are part of the design.

The good thing is that bad boards aren’t that common. Clearly I’ve encountered a few, but I think boards with real flaws are relatively rare. Most of the time boards are fine — maybe some don’t perform as well as they should, but they aren’t seriously flawed. But as you can see, flawed boards do occur. How do you avoid them? When you’re looking for a board, make sure to do a Google search on it and look for personal reviews. Reviews hosted on a company website probably only exist to help sales, so look more to experienced paddlers who have nothing to gain from the review. Forums are often the best way to find that.