Enjoying the outdoors while keeping your body healthy and active, getting your daily dose of vitamin D while releasing stress behind each stroke – what else paddle boarding cannot do?
Paddle boarding is a water sport that is becoming more and more popular. The increasing popularity of the sport keeps the demand for paddle boards high and yet stressful for new paddlers.
Looking for the best inflatable stand up paddle board is a time-consuming and challenging task. Paddlers face hundreds of search results online, weighing on which brands to choose from. Rather than providing which boards to buy, this article focuses more on paddle board pricing and the factors that influence their overall
How much does a good inflatable paddle board cost?
Regular inflatable boards will cost you around $900-$1200. With these price rates, you can expect a solidly performing SUP board with unique designs and features for specialty uses. Paddlers who wish to have more performing gear and features such as configurable fin setups and high-end materials may spend a little more than the regular price.
If you're on a tight budget or still trying to see how stand up paddle boarding works for you, you may settle for an $800 SUP board or less. However, manufacturers selling within this price range had to minimize construction materials and production, which results in low-performance boards.
The essential factors that affect the pricing of SUP boards are sales taxes, brand location, insurances, shipping/storage, demand, etc.
Researching for the prices online may give you a reasonable estimation. However, prices and guidelines may vary in each country. List down what you consider to be a good SUP board by understanding and defining the criteria that makes it a good one.
How much do paddle boards cost overall?
Inflatable paddle boards are just a few of the boards in the market. Also, inflatable boards have a wider range of prices. Epoxy SUP board prices range from $700-$1200. Soft Top paddle boards are available for as low as $400. Some paddle boards may even go down for as low as $200. You can find cheap SUP boards on Walmart or Amazon.
Why are paddle boards expensive?
Creating SUP boards that perform well and are durable will require manufacturers costly materials and labor. Another reason that makes SUP boards expensive is that most paddle boards are built overseas. Regardless of quality, you must consider high transport costs, storage, and logistics when buying SUP boards, especially with foldable stand up paddle boards.
Before getting to the other factors that influence the costs of SUP boards, let us first revisit the three types of paddle boards and what goes into their costs:
Epoxy SUP Boards – Epoxy boards are made from an inner core shaped covered by a fiberglass shell. The quality of the inner foam is vital to the weight and strength of the SUP board. Machines make the inner foams, but considerable manual labor is used to furnish the board. It will cost a lot for manufacturers to ship epoxy boards overseas, warehouses, down to retail stores.
Soft Top Paddle Boards – Soft top paddle boards are cheaper and are made of a molded piece of polystyrene foam rubbery foam for strength and surface. Regardless of soft-top SUP's low price, their durability excels among other brands.
Molded Plastic SUPs – Molded SUPs are built in a plastic molding operation. The raw plastic used in Molded Plastic SUPs makes it among the least expensive option. Plastic boards are heavy to lift, making them a less accessible choice.
Excellent SUP boards can be expensive since producing them involves quality-based materials. These materials that build SUP boards keep them inflated and durable. Cheaper boards, on the other hand, use weak fibers and poor construction that result in bouncy SUP boards. Videos around the web showing influencers throwing SUP boards off buildings or hitting them with mallets have absolutely nothing to do with the strength of boards on the water.
Inexpensive paddle boards speak for their costs. They are usually made from single-layer material that produces weak durability and deflates the board quickly.
Paddle boards found in warehouse stores such as Costco are sold at low prices. These cheap paddle boards can do the job if your only purpose is to use them around kids. If you wish to spend more time on the water and achieve paddling aspirations, you will need a higher-quality board that will last many times longer.
Why are paddle boards more expensive than kayaks?
Kayaks are made of molded plastic that doesn't involve much labor. There is not a lot of construction materials or production cost needed to create Kayaks. On the other hand, paddle boards are made with more complex materials and manufacturing processes. Most significantly for creating rigid paddle boards that involve epoxy resin used to contour foam core.
Manufacturers also use unique drop stitch fabrics that require precision to maintain a proper board shape. Another reason that makes quality inflatable paddle boards more expensive is that they are entirely hand-made. SUPs formed by machines are less expensive and results to lower quality and performance.
Conclusion
To sum it up, a quality inflatable SUP is an excellent investment that is accessible, durable, and doesn't require a huge amount of space. Factors such as materials used, labor, and shipping costs will define the price of an SUP paddle board.
Since the sport is earning more popularity worldwide, innovative designs and materials are constantly improving to provide better results. We recommend you to choose the SUP board that meets your specific needs and your budget.