Board Review

We took our first shipment of Stand Up Paddle Boards about a month ago. I have to admit, when I first heard about this "new" sport (which comes out of an ancient Hawaiian tradition), I thought to myself, "That looks pretty boring. So let me get this straight, you just stand there and paddle?" But I brought them in because the outdoor industry has been saying that it's the next big thing. Who am I to boycot something I haven't tried? So here they are on the mainland.

I've been out a few times on Greenlake and went for a quick one the other day at Concrete Beach. But on Saturday, I was able to make my first distance paddle on a SUB. For a kayaker like me, the value was quickly apparent.

I moved to Seattle 11 years ago- mostly to paddle. As the years have gone by, responsibilities have increased, disposible time has decreased, I can really see the hype around these things. Some sunblock, a pair of shorts, bare feet, and off you go.

The boards and paddles themselves are very light. They're big, and can be slightly awkward to carry, but light. Off the car, on the head, to the beach. Or if you're carrying some distance, like in my case- two blocks to Greenlake- you can tie the paddle lengthwise to the board and use it as a handle.

Once you're there, you're ready.

That's the cool part for me. It doesn't take anything...no gear, no lessons, no shoes, nada. Sure you can watch a YouTube video on SUPing, but you don't have to. In a minute or two, you'll have it.

Wait, did you say a minute or two? Yep. You know how you've heard that you can master snowboarding in 2-3 days? Or that it takes a day or two to learn to pop up on a surf board...then there's the surfing part? Well in SUP, you just stand up (which you probably already know how to do) and paddle.

So if you want a great work out- and I mean great...arms, shoulders, lats, core- just stand up for 20 minutes on Greenlake, Lake Samammish, or any body of water.

Wait, did you say any body of water? Yep. Another plus. Any body of water. Close to home, after work, want to travel, quick workout, overnight camping, like the woods, love running rapids, like dodging floatplanes- it doesn't matter. Just drop in and go.

Wait, did you say running rapids? Yep. One of the boards we tested on Saturday was the C-Mac ATB (All Terrain Board) from C4 Waterman. The ATB is designed for the "rapidly growing sport of Stand up Whitewater River Paddling." While our Lake Washington test may not have pushed the ATB to perform like it wants to, it was still fun. We also tested the 12' Holoholo, C4's long distance touring board. Here's what we learned...

C-Mac ATB 10-6

Co-designed by renowned whitewater kayaker Charlie MacArthur of the Aspen Kayak Academy, the ATB was really stable on flatwater and appeared to be a good training board. By that I mean, it's wide beam up front made you work to cover distance. But, as it tapers toward the back, you can feel that it likes to turn. On flatwater, it would yaw hard to your off-paddle side. Not insurmountable, but tough to keep it moving straight. Is that good or bad? That's up to you. If you want a killer workout, it's great. If you want to commute home instead of taking the bridge, it's tough. So my guess is, it's great in whitewater. We'll find out soon- more on that later this season...

Holoholo 12'

In native Hawaiian, holoholo means to head off for a walk, ride, or sail stricly for pleasure. And that's what it was. Gliding forward seems effortless on the Holoholo. Keeping her straight seemed effortless too. At the advice of a buddy who's been SUPing for a while, I was using a reverse J-stroke (from canoeing). You make the J up front, bringing the paddle blade farther under the board as you go. The only trick with this board is it's tippy. It's made with a V-shaped bottom for tracking- after all it is a touring board. That V is what makes the going forward part a breeze. But it's tippy rail to rail. Not really tippy- but tippy enough. It's a little surprising when you first look at it- it looks like such a big platform that you might expect it to be the most stable in the C4 lineup. But it's actually probably the least. Not a huge deal. I only fell once on our Saturday trip, which covered about 5 miles, and it was off the ATB. The Holoholo has pre-drilled anchors that'll take regular stainless screws so you can affix some basic hardware and bungee cord- like you might find on the deck of a sea kayak. So you can strap some gear to the nose and go for a long haul or overnighter.

Check Out Stand Up Paddling in Seattle...

Seattle Raft & Kayak:
Two Rental Locations at Magnuson Park & Shilshole Marina
Retail Store in Shoreline

Checka Looka Surf Shop:
Retail & Rentals in Ballard

Snowboard Connection:
Two Retail Locations in Seattle, One in Bellevue

And Check This Out...

Whitewater Stand Up Paddling Championship
Glenwood Springs, Colorado