Ness' bit of everything

Recently my use of my ISUP (Inflatable Stand Up Paddle Board) has completely changed.

I used to live in a flat, carrying my ISUP bag down 3 flights of stairs and driving it quite far to inflate and use it. I’m now storing it in a garage inflated, paddling more often and locally.

I found this has revealed problems I hadn’t encountered before. I wanted to keep my board inflated (for ease) as I was paddling more often. I am also pretty local now to a slipway and access into a harbour and to the sea. This is within walking distance but I still found my board was slightly too heavy on the journey.

I wanted to share my findings on the research I had done. I jumped straight on the facebook forums too for some insight. I pondered with several ideas;

• Wheels – Pros: Great for pulling a long not using much energy. Cons: Storing the wheels when you went paddling – where would you store this at beach or slip? Lock it up? You can’t carry it on the board as they are too big.
• Shoulder strap – I’ve seen a lot of these online and they look great on the 6ft models that seem to carry their board effortlessly for 5 miles… Pros: Great if you have superb upper body strength and are tall. Cons: I don’t qualify for either of the pros.
• Hip belt – Pros: Great if you have solid core muscles, takes the weight off your shoulders. Good size to carry on your board or leave on your waist. Cons: This still requires strength to carry. you have to get low to the ground to hook around the board.

In the end I went for the SUP Hipster belt. This goes around my waist/hips, using my core to distribute the weight of the board. This has actually helped me so much! The hook fits under one side of the board and attaches to your hips, simple. I also found its a not much bigger than a leash in size and can be packed away in my dry bag/ tucked under the bungees for paddling.

Surprisingly light and comfy to use, this may be due to my curvy hips, so thank you mum for that.

Again, these tools above are great if you are carrying your board from your car/house or holiday spot. Near enough to walk but just that bit too far with the weight.

Many paddle board shops stock this. I did find mine online. I will link a few places below.

Another change was that again, I want to keep my board inflated as I’m out more often but I want to go to a few spots, further than walking distance but only a short drive. I want to keep the board inflated for ease and also to be more efficient with my time.

I only have small car (VW polo) with no roof bars. I have purchased the Frostfire universal soft car roof bars. I was a little sceptical at first or should I say paranoid the board would move/fly away…

I strapped the two soft bars to the roof using the instructions and proved easy to fit. Do not over tighten! I strapped my board too it, again only needing what was provided in the package (I didn’t use any extra ties or ratchet straps).

Then for good measure and to ease my paranoia – I drove up and down the cul-de-sac. Alex kindly watched to check if there was any movement with me speeding up and slamming on – to which there wasn’t.

Honestly this has been great – I have done 15minute trips and travelled now more than 40mph. Its great for local trips – easy to assemble and transport your board. When I reached my paddle spot it took me all of 2 minutes to get the board off, attaching the fin and leash.

Let me know what you’ve found useful for transporting your SUP.

Ness x

Heres some links of where these items can be found;

• The sup hipster
• Frostfire Portable Padded Roof Rack