I’ve been surfing for a long time. Surfing is one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever experienced. Whether it’s on a shortboard, longboard or anything in between, there aren’t a lot of ways to beat the freedom of gliding across a glassy peeler. I have to admit, I’ve only tried SUPing a handful of times, but the few times I tried it I found a huge amount of satisfaction with the new challenges it added to riding waves. For personal reasons, most of them monetary, I would prefer to drop the money needed to get started SUPing on a new longboard. But if I were the richest man in the world, or at least richer than the man I am in this world, I would put up the money to have my very own SUP – and here are my five reasons why…
Number One – The Fun Factor
SUPing is SO much fun. I’ve tried all kinds of boards – fishes, quads, vintage logs, guns, even finless – and even though all of them have great feelings, none of them have what the SUP has: a feeling of floating through the air, like how a hoverboard might feel.
Number Two – Easy To Catch Waves
There’s nothing more frustrating than going out for an epic day of surf and coming home empty-handed because your arms turned into noodles before you even got to the lineup. With a SUP, the amount of energy needed to catch waves is far less than any surfboard, even a big ol’ 10’0” (which can be difficult enough just to get it going). Once you have your balance down, all that’s needed to catch a wave is a few good strokes – and the same goes for getting back out!
Number Three – Flat Days
What do surfers do when it’s flat? Speaking for myself: catch up on work, but in terms of getting in the water… well… nothing, usually. With a SUP, flat days become chances to get out and explore the geography and landscape of all those little coves and crevices that are around the corner from where everybody surfs, and scope out potential new spots to surf.
Number Four – Shark Alert
Without your toes dangling in the water, the dangers to losing limbs to a shark are reduced to pretty much nil. I don’t know about you, but with all the increase in shark sightings, this factor is definitely upping my desire to be standing tall above the water.
If there’s one thing, I would like to get more out of surfing it’s a better leg workout. The small amount of time spent on a wave while surfing just doesn’t ad up to a substantial workout for the legs. With a SUP, the constant standing and balancing provide an ideal way to flex your legs and create muscle. This is a great way to get in the water and keep your legs strong, and not have to put in time in some sweaty gym.
SupBoardGuide Editorial Team
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