What Makes a Good Touring Stand Up Paddle Board?
Firstly what does touring mean? Touring basically just means how the stand up paddle board tracks and glides across the water.
The Shape Of The Board
Arguably the most important aspect of a great touring stand up paddle board, the shape of the board will determine how quickly you glide over the water. Much like racing stand up paddle boards, touring boards need to be narrow in shape to do what they were built to do!
The Fins on the Bottom
The job of your fins on your touring stand up paddle board are to take you in the right direction. It is important to have a fin system that does not create any resistance between your board and the water, or you’ll be lugging along, not touring!
The Type of Paddle That Comes With the Board
So the paddle is not actually a part of the board, but good luck touring well with an inadequate one! The design of your paddle is going to determine how fast and effectively it will slice through the water, and this can seriously determine your touring speed.
The Type of Hull
So in order to be a well performing touring stand up paddle board, the board will need to have a displacement hull (a hull that pretty much displaces the water, hence the name), which will give a smoother, quicker and more effective tracking performance.
The Comfort of Standing For A Few Hours On The Board
When you are touring on a stand up paddle board, you are going to be out on the water for a few hours at a time. Your board needs to have good grip for when you get wet, but it also needs to be comfortable!
Reviews of the Best Touring Stand Up Paddle Boards Available
The range of options are wide, so we’ve taken it upon ourselves to test and try what we we believe to the the best touring stand up paddle boards out there!
Xterra Inflatable 10’ Stand Up Paddle Board For Touring
The Xterra Inflatable 10’ Stand Up Paddle Board is a product of a company that totes itself as one that makes the best paddle boards in the world! So, does it live up to the hype?
This touring board is constructed out of military grade drop stitch material, and as the word “military” suggests, it’s as nails. This material is also doubly reinforced, so you can really be confident in never having to deal with an unexpected puncture or the like. A really nice aspect of this board is that it is by far strong enough to support the weight of more than one person, so you could take your kids out with you and teach them what you know!
The Xterra Inflatable 10’ Stand Up Paddle Board For Touring is 10 feet and 30 by 6 inches of pure stability. This inflatable board could easily be mistaken for a rigid paddle board.
So apart from the patch and repair kit (that you are probably not ever going to need, but hey, free stuff!), when you purchase this touring stand up paddle board, you will also be getting a hand pump as well as an air pressure gauge so that you don’t ever over pump your board, a mini dry bag for valuables and electronics you’re taking out with you, a paddle, 3 fins and not just a backpack, but a roller backpack to easily transport it all in.
The hand pump mentioned above will inflate your board in just 5 minutes, meaning less time setting up, and more time out on the water doing what you love to do! We appreciate aspects like this, because let’s face it, most of us don’t get paid to paddle, so we like to maximize our touring time.
Overall, the Xterra Inflatable 10’ Stand Up Paddle Board For Touring is a great board for a novice or a seasoned stand up paddle boarder, at a medium to low range price. The 30 day money back guarantee, 1 year workmanship and material defect guarantee, and lastly the impressive 5 year repair warranty makes this touring board all the more attractive and option.
Isle 12’6 Airtech Inflatable Touring Stand Up Paddle Board
The Isle 12’6 Airtech Inflatable Touring Stand Up Paddle Board is the perfectly narrow shape for touring, but it has a bit of a wider nose and tail outline, which make it a double threat as a great yoga stand up paddle board, if that’s what you’re into. This board is noticeably long, coming in at just under 13 feet long, it’ll cut through the water like a knife through butter.
This touring stand up paddle board is stable and rugged. Made from military grade PVC, this thiskc inch thick inflatable board can withstand whatever any river, lake, or rough waves have to throw at it! However, if by some freak accident you do happen to tear or puncture this seriously durable board within the first year of owning it, you can use your 1 year material warranty.
Along with the board, you’ll also be getting your hands on a long paddle (3 piece aluminum), a hand pump with a pressure gauge, a removable fin, and a carry backpack. This is a smaller bundle than most other touring boards are sold with, but it’s nothing more and nothing less than what you need for this no frills touring stand up paddle board. The aluminum paddle is seriously lightweight and fully adjustable, which means that no matter how tall or short you are, this paddle is going to be comfortable.
You may not think it would be, but this nearly 13 foot long touring stand up paddle board is incredibly lightweight. It weighs only 20.5 pounds (or just over 9 kilograms), which is basically nothing! This feather light board can also safely support up to 275 pounds (or just under 125 kilograms). If you are really social, you could easily throw your furry (or non furry) friend on there for a tour!
Overall, the Isle 12’6 Airtech Inflatable Touring Stand Up Paddle Board is on the lower side price wise, which is surprising for what a great quality board it is! Stability is the name of the game for this extra long board, and it has been consistently highly rated across numerous platforms. So why don’t you see why for yourself!
Aqua Marina Vapor Inflatable Stand Up paddle Board For Touring
The Aqua Marina Vapor Inflatable Stand Up Paddle Board is constructed with really strong drop stitch PVC material (4 inch double core drop stitch material, to be concise), but stands apart from other inflatable tourings boards as this material includes UV ray and abrasion resistant polyester, which is reinforced with PVC rail bands. This means that not only is your board protected from scrapes, scratches and punctures, but that the sun damage that is inevitable in this sport won’t diminish the material of your touring stand up paddle board either.
This touring stand up paddle board is characterized by its sculpted balance flow curve design. This design ensures that this touring board will stay stable and balanced even when taking on small to medium waves, whether it’s just you, or you have a guest on your board. This will make touring on larger lakes and open waters a total pleasure!
The deck of this touring stand up paddle board is almost completely covered by an EVA covering. This EVA deck is heat embossed and has a honeycomb groove that offers unrivaled durability (no matter how many times you walk across it or jump onto it, I mean, they have driven a car over one of these bad boys and it came out the other side unscathed!), and impressive traction. Getting wet is not going to affect your grip on this board even one bit!
This inflatable touring board is sold alongside an adjustable 3 piece paddle to comfortably match your height, two removable fins, a hand pump that is fitted with an air pressure gauge and a backpack to roll it all up into for easy transportation. This board operates on a tri fin system, so the tracking of this touring stand up paddle board is really quite excellent.
Overall, the Aqua Marina Vapor Inflatable Stand Up paddle Board For Touring is a great starter touring board (although it is by no means exclusively for beginners), because it is an inflatable and therefore really easy to transport, take care of and carry even when fully inflated. It’s safe and the material is tough so there is almost zero chance of any kind of accident due to damage, and lastly, the price is completely insane! You will not find a board this good for such a low price anywhere else you look!