The sport of SUP (using a paddle with a surfboard, or Hoe he’e nalu) has exploded in the past few years. The paddle allows you to move around to help catch a wave, or just tour like a kayak if the water is flat.  There are SUP races all over the country now too.

My particular take on it is as a minimalist platform for freediving.  When speed and storage are not issues, e.g., when you’re looking to freedive or spearfishing a few hundred meters from shore, what better platform is there than a “boat” that weighs about 20 pounds and can be launched from anywhere.

You can read about my freediving here, and my work here.

Right now, I’m using an inflatable Sea Eagle Long Board 11 for convenience, even though it’s a bit slow.

Sea Eagle

C4 Waterman looks like they have a high-performance inflatable, the iSUP.

C4 Waterman iSUP

Check out an iSUP review.

I have my eye on a few non-inflatable boards, including:

Hypr Nalu

Hypr Nalu

Imagine

Imagine

Check out Imagine’s Take Apart Split Boards

Split Boards