As experience grows, so do the demands on the material. Paddle boards for advanced paddlers are often narrower, more stable, and made of better and lighter materials.
Many of the boards also make good secondary boards.
Most paddlers get into Stand Up Paddling with an allrounder. In the beginning, many stand up paddlers gain their first experience with this board.
After one or two seasons, many athletes outgrow their first boards. Either longer tours are planned or the focus should be more on endurance and strength sports.
Another typical thing is that paddlers want to go more in the direction they particularly enjoy with the second board. Advanced paddle boards are often touring paddle boards, paddle boards for surfing or fishing paddle boards.
If you want to buy an advanced paddle board, you have to plan more money for the purchase than for the first board. In some cases, advanced riders also take the step from inflatable SUP boards to fixed SUP boards.
The material costs and transportation costs are significantly higher for hard boards, which is also reflected in the purchase price.
In the following, we will go into what is important for advanced paddle boards and present our favorites among advanced paddle boards.
Table of Contents
Best Paddle Boards for Advanced Paddlers
#1 Cala Ikatere
The Cala Ikatere is a very high-quality paddleboard. Although the board is quite lightweight, it provides lots of stiffness and stability. The touring paddleboard is great for ambitious beginners and intermediate paddlers looking into mid-range and long paddle tours. In terms of design, the Cala Ikatere is a unique board (you'll either love or hate it!).
#2 Penguin Coast Runner
The Penguin Coast Runner is a great touring board, which convinced us with it's very good workmanship and the extreme stiffness due to the carbon reinforced rails. At the same time, the price is very fair for a touring board of this quality. The board tracks well in a straight line, which is enormously important for touring riders.
#3 Penguin Competition
The Penguin Competition is a great race board that meets all criteria advanced paddlers are looking or in a racing paddleboard. Except for a paddle, all accessories are included in the large accessory set. With its extra-long, pointed design, this board reaches high speeds and is a great choice for races and longer tours.
#4 Cala Kanaloa
The CALA Kanaloa is a great-looking, very high-quality touring board with above-average width and reduced length, making it a good option for ambitious beginners to start right away with a glide-friendly alternative to the classic all-rounder and advanced paddlers looking for a great touring board.
#5 Bluefin Sprint
The Bluefin Sprint is one of the best race paddleboards on the market. The very high-quality workmanship, the extensive accessory package and the uncompromising focus on maximum speed are the biggest arguments for the board from Bluefin. This race board also comes with a five-year warranty.
#6 Decathlon Itiwit X500 13′
The Decathlon Itiwit X500 13' is a very good touring paddleboard which comes at a great price. Decathlon's touring paddleboard offers lots of features, is very well-built and tracks well in water. Especially for longer paddle tours as well as multi-day tours, this paddleboard is a great choice.
Checklist: Here’s What’s Important About Advanced Paddle Boards
- Board type and area of use: advanced paddlers attach great importance to sporty running performance, accordingly narrower touring boards and racing models are very popular with this target group.
Due to their streamlined shape (silhouette), they have better straight-line stability and higher speeds can be achieved. Hardboards are also very popular in the professional sector, as they have a very stiff basic construction and glide even smoother through the water. - Dimensions: Tilt stability is less important for advanced riders than gliding performance and high speed. Therefore, suitable models are much narrower and longer than boards for beginners.
When it comes to the thickness of inflatable boards, on the other hand, the tried and tested standard value of approx. 15 cm (6″) is recommended. - Volume and carrying capacity: In terms of volume, the smaller width is in most cases compensated for by the gain in length. Especially for large and heavy paddlers, a high volume is quite important.
Unfortunately, some manufacturers tend to overstate the maximum carrying capacity. With this formula you can always calculate realistic values, besides, we always attach great importance to practical data in our board descriptions. - Weight: Paddle boards for advanced users are often a bit heavier than beginner models due to the very high-quality material construction. Since they are usually larger or longer overall, the material cost is higher.
- Stiffness: Stiffness is very important in terms of performance, so that the board has a good contact surface even under load and glides confidently through the water.
Advanced paddle boards usually have a double or multi-layer outer shell (“double or multi-layer boards”). Sometimes even further reinforcing elements are used (carbon elements etc.). Hardboards made of solid materials, however, are still the measure of all things in this respect. - Kickpad: The boards are less maneuverable due to their length. Some manufacturers try to compensate for this with a so-called “kickpad” (elevation in the rear area of the standing surface).
- Scope of delivery: Advanced paddlers often already have some equipment and attach great importance to high-quality and individual accessories. For this reason, there are also some paddle boards for advanced paddlers with significantly lower scope of delivery.
- Price: Paddle boards for advanced paddlers have to meet the highest requirements and are therefore on average much higher quality. Accordingly, they are also somewhat more expensive than the models for beginners.
FAQ
Are there advanced inflatable paddle boards (iSUPs)?
Of course, plenty! Due to technical advances in manufacturing and material construction, there are now a lot of high-performance inflatable paddle boards (iSUPs).
You can usually recognize suitable models directly by the narrow, streamlined shape (contour) with a pronounced board tip (nose).
More information about paddle boards for advanced can be found here.
Why do many advanced riders choose touring or race paddle boards?
It’s simply because of the much better gliding characteristics. Touring and especially racing boards have much less resistance in the water due to the tapered board tip (nose) and the slim, elongated silhouette and are therefore faster on the water.
They run much truer to the track and you can put more paddle strokes on the same side before you have to switch.
More information about paddle boards for advanced can be found here.
Which paddle board brands offer good advanced paddle boards?
Boards for advanced paddlers are the domain of well-known brand manufacturers. Every company specializing in paddle boards has numerous, suitable models in its range.
This also makes sense in that these companies stand for high quality and have the professional know-how to construct very high-performance specimens. In our best list you will find our current favorites, which also offer you a very good price-performance ratio.
More information about paddle boards for advanced can be found here.
