Wooden SUP paddles from Cedar Surfboards.

SUP (Stand Up Paddlesurfing) has caught our attention in a big way in recent times. This new sport has been hailed by many as a “fad” or a surfing offshoot, that the industry is trying to push to make more money.

I would challenge any of the sport’s detractors to give it a try. When we tried it we were instantly hooked. The basics are  easy to learn, and from there you can take it where you want. Not only can you use it as a wave riding platform, it’s much more versatile than that. On a crappy flat day you can go for a distance paddle for fitness, you can spearfish from it, you can race it, cruise it even on inland waters.

I personally am having so much fun on my stand up paddleboard that I’m in the water more with it than any other form of board. One of the biggest draws for me is that when the popular waves are crowded, you can just jump on your SUP and easily paddle out to that out of the way break, or surf a wave that wouldn’t suit regular surfing, but on an SUP is really fun.

My girlfriend recently took it up too. She’s totally into it because for whatever reason, whenever she goes out she meets seals. They come up really close to check her out and don’t seem to be intimidated at all.

We’ve been thinking about our SUP gear (naturally) and started to improve on it, making our own paddles, with plans for Cedar Surfboards Hollow SUP’s in the pipeline. We built our paddles using 7 layers of Ash and Cedar laminated together to form a super strong, light and springy shaft. This is the basis of a good paddle. We’ve tested them and find them great. The flex in the wood is much kinder to your shoulders on longer paddles, and the warmth and feel of the wood in your hand as you paddle is a great feeling. So far feedback on the paddles has been great and there’s a lot of interest from the U.S.

Watch this space for more on this totally addictive new sport.