Glide Wander 10’6 Inflatable Paddleboard
Pros
- Stable design is beginner friendly and great for sharing with pets or friends
- Very good tracking for a wide paddle board
- Woven drop stitch and welded rails for a high-end feel
- Universal fin box
- Surprisingly low cost for the construction and accessories
Cons
- The included bag is very spacious - almost too much (making it harder to carry) and does not have wheels
At a time where it seems like prices are creeping up everywhere, Glide has come out with a new set of inflatable paddle boards that make you scratch your head on how they can pack so much value into such a reasonably priced kit.
The Wander 10’6 is a wallet-friendly alternative to their extremely popular Retro 10’6 Elite paddle board. These two iSUPs share the same shape and size with a few differences in their construction, features, and accessories. But there’s no compromise in performance with the Wander. It’s still a great board for paddlers of all skill levels and sizes looking for a cruiser style board with more to offer than just great stability.
We think the Glide Wander 10’6 would be great for paddlers who
- Want a stable cruiser iSUP that is also easy to paddle straight for occasional long-distances
- Want high quality construction backed with a 5-year warranty
- Are on a budget and don’t want to sacrifice quality for more included “stuff” with their kit
- Looking for a paddleboard they can easily share with a pet or a kid
Glide Wander 10’6 iSUP: Spec Sheet
- Main Category: All-Around, Inflatable
- Board Dimensions: 10’6 x 34” x 6”
- Listed Board Weight: 23 lbs
- Listed Max Capacity: 350 lbs
- Recommended PSI: 20 PSI
- Fins: 9” All Around (US fin box)
- Paddle: 3-piece fiberglass shaft and nylon blade
- Materials: Fusion PVC w/ woven dropstitch core; welded seams
- Price Range: Low
- Warranty: 5 years
Performance Review of the Glide Wander 10’6 Stand Up Paddle Board
Overall Score: [9.2/10]
- Stability: 9.2/10
- Speed: 8.7/10
- Tracking: 9.0
- Maneuverability: 8.8/10
- Construction Quality: 9.2/10
- Features/Accessories: 8.9/10
Stability Rating: 9.2/10
The 34” wide Wander has a nice rounded shape in the front with a narrower square tail in the back. This gives it a really good balance of stability and performance by keeping the board wide where you need it (under your feet and in front of you) for stability, but reducing drag at the rear of the board.
The high quality construction also gives it a nice firm feeling under your feet, so the board doesn’t bend or squish unless you are jumping up and down on it.
If you load the front of the board with coolers, fishing equipment, a dog, or a passenger, the round nose gives you plenty of support and capacity without getting twitchy. You can load up the back of the board as well, but there isn’t as much room on the deck or under the bungee cords.
Stepping to the tail of the board does feel less stable than in the main standing area. The narrower tail is easy to push down into the water when you want to lift the nose for a quick turn, and the deck pad provides comfortable traction all the way back to the end of the board.
Speed: 8.7/10
Glide’s Retro Elite is surprisingly quick on the water, so this time around I wasn’t as surprised when the Wander 10’6 was also a spry SUP. Now, it is still a 34” wide cruiser, so I’m not going to take it racing, but when you get down to it, the Wander accelerates easily and paddles smoothly even at a hard pace. There is some flex in the board when paddling like this, but more noteworthy is the flex in the fiberglass-shaft paddle. While the paddle does make it harder to sprint on the Wander, the up-side is that it is extremely comfortable on your joints. Glide has done this on purpose to focus on a more comfortable paddling experience overall.
But, like I said, I’m not taking this thing racing, so how fast I can go in a sprint doesn’t really matter. What does matter is how it feels paddling at a more regular pace. With normal casual paddling (slower, but continuous strokes) the Wander 10’6 glides smoothly across the water and moves along at a high speed for its size. That smaller tail does a great job of reducing drag behind the board and you really can glide for a good distance between strokes.
Tracking: 9.0/10
Over the years Glide has used a number of different styles of fin boxes and setups on their paddle boards – everything from fixed side fins to custom snap-lock fins, slide-in fins, and standard fin boxes as well. The Wander has a single US (Universal Standard) fin box under the tail and comes with a pretty typical 9” all-around style fin.
The fin and its placement work along with the shape and rigidity of the board to make tracking straight a breeze. I can easily paddle 5-7 strokes on a single side before I notice any drifting or turning and I was only slightly off course by 10 strokes. The Wander does respond well to simple steering strokes, thorough, so it is easy to keep on course with minor adjustments.
Maneuverability: 8.8/10
This is where the Wander 10’6 breaks from other cruiser style paddle boards. The same design features that give it great tracking performance for its size also make it harder to turn.
But that is in comparison with other cruisers. Turning the Wander 10’6 with basic paddle strokes is a bit like turning a longer all-around board with a triple fin setup. The first 90° are pretty quick, but turning more than that at once takes some effort as the board begins to naturally pick up forward movement.
The Wander does respond well to reverse sweep turning strokes, though. These strokes start at the tail and go to the nose both slowing you down and turning the board at the same time. This style of turning is much faster and only takes 4-5 strokes to turn in a full circle.
The extra width in the front of the board gives it a lot of stability for paddling, and even though the tail narrows quite a bit for this style of paddle board, it still feels easy to step back on the tail for a pivot turn – just not quite as easy as some cruisers with wider tails.
Overall, the maneuverability of the Wander 10’6 is good, it’s just not quite as agile as most other 10’6 cruiser SUPs.
Construction Quality: 9.2/10
Glide has taken their iSUP construction to the next level – and a level that we’ve not seen at this price point before!
The Wander 10’6 uses a combination of modern materials and techniques to create a strong, rigid, durable, and lightweight build. Inside is a woven drop-stitch core that helps reduce stretch and flex throughout the board while also eliminating weight.
The outer shell of the board is made with a dual-layer fusion PVC material that’s laminated directly to the core. Then the rail gets heat-welded to the top and bottom layers to seal the board. Welding is considered to be a generally better method of construction than gluing as it holds up better in heat by physically bonding the two layers together. Glide also glues on an outer protective rail layer to give the Wander improved durability and rigidity.
When it’s all built up, the Wander 10’6 weighs just over 23 pounds and has a maximum inflation pressure of 20 PSI. I can’t think of another paddle board in this price range with the same level of quality and pressure rating as the Wander 10’6.
Board Stiffness
Stiffness Test: 1.34” Bend
Our stiffness test is performed by placing the SUP on top of two sawhorses that are set 7’ apart. We then measure the board before and after loading 150 lbs onto the board’s midpoint (usually across the center handle). Of course, this test does not mimic the SUP’s behavior on the water, but it’s an unbiased way for us to understand how certain construction methods affect stiffness and overall performance of each paddleboard.
The Glide Wander 10’6 did well in our 150 pound bend test, bending just over 1.3”. On the water, the Wander has basically no flex when you are paddling normally and just a small amount when paddling hard for a sprint. The combination of the woven core fabric, laminated PVC skin, and double-layer rails do an excellent job of creating a rigid platform without weighing a ton.
Features/Accessory Review: 9.8/10
The Glide Wander offers a large variety of fittings and accessories to accompany you on your SUP adventures. The large deck, large cargo areas, and numerous D-rings allow you to arrange the board however you like.
The Glide Wander has 16 D-rings (plus a leash D-ring on the tail), three handles, two cargo bungees, and is compatible with kayak seats for a sit-down conversion.
The deck pad features a comfortable brushed EVA foam texture with grooves for drainage and additional traction. It covers nearly ¾ of the entire board, making it easy to stretch out or share with a friend or pet. The three padded carry handles and compatibility with shoulder straps make it easy to get to the water by yourself or with a friend. Under the board is a Universal Standard fin box that allows for alternate or replacement fins sourced from any SUP or surf shop.
Included Accessories
Glide has packed the Wander 10’6’s kit with everything you need for a day on the water, in the kit you get:
- 3-piece fiberglass shaft paddle w/ a nylon blade
- Dual-action hand pump
- 9” all-around fin
- 10’ coiled leash
- Repair and maintenance kit
- Heavy-duty and spacious iSUP backpack
This accessory kit hits the sweet spot between price and function for an excellent value. The fiberglass paddle is lightweight and comfortable to use on the water (and more durable than aluminum), and the dual-action pump does a great job at inflating the board easily.
The only thing you’ll really need to add to this kit to get out on the water is a life jacket!
Glide does make an inflatable kayak seat if you want to convert the Wander for sit-down use, and the paddle is compatible with Glide’s second paddle blade conversion as well. However, if you do plan to use this system regularly, you may want to consider the Glide Retro 3.0 as these extra accessories are already included with the board along with a roller bag and upgraded board construction.
Summary Review of the Glide Wander 10’6
The Glide Wander 10’6 has quickly become one of our most regularly recommended iSUPs for many reasons. It’s built very well, has great performance on the water, comes with a good kit of accessories, and is available at a very reasonable price. It really is impressive that Glide is able to offer all of this at the $500 price point, and we fully support them!
If you love the idea of a stable, efficient cruiser paddle board with durable construction and upgraded accessories, give the Glide Wander 10’6 a look, and use our link below to let them know where you heard about it!
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading through our review of the Glide Wander 10’6, and encourage you to hit us with any questions or suggestions in the comments below.
Until next time, stay safe and happy paddling!
SupBoardGuide
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