By Everett Potter

If it’s summer and there’s water around, there must be a stand-up paddleboard (SUP) on the horizon. This sport that grew out of the surfing culture shows no sign of stopping. You can use a SUP to go for a quiet paddle on a lake, test your skills on an ocean bay and maybe attempt gently rolling surf before you know it. Use it for SUP yoga or take your kid or dog along for a paddle.

It’s an egalitarian piece of sporting equipment that most reasonably fit people can use. They can also use it to develop a higher level of fitness.

My first experience with SUP’s was maybe 15 years ago, when I plied a lake on a heavy, solid SUP. Those boards closely resembled a seriously heavy surfboard and were the only way to go back then. It took two of us to car top it, and while we had rented it, it was clear that storage would be a major issue.

Here’s to the genius who came along and decided that an inflatable SUP was what we needed … continue reading