The Best Paddle Board Brands That We’ve Tested

From inflatables and hard boards for surfing, touring, or just splashing around on the water, to paddles and life jackets, our team has personal experience with each one of these SUP brands. Photo: Shannon Bruckbauer//The Inertia

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With the growing popularity of stand up paddle boarding, tons of new brands have crowded the marketplace in the past few years. Whether you’re brand new to the sport or looking to upgrade your equipment, it can be tough to distinguish between the most reputable brands and the cheaper imitations.

Luckily, our team here at The Inertia has been using and testing SUP equipment for nearly 15 years and has been at the forefront of the sport as the marketplace has evolved. We have personal experience with dozens of SUP brands, including every brand on this list. We’ve paddled these brands along the U.S. west coast from Seattle to San Diego, in cold alpine lakes in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and along rivers, canals, and beach breaks in Hawaii.

While there are certainly other reputable companies out there that didn’t make this list, these are the top brands that each made a noteworthy impression on us. For reviews of the best paddle boards on the market today, see our links below.

Related: Best Paddle Boards | Best Inflatable Paddle Boards | More Paddle Gear Reviews

Navigate To: Best Inflatable SUP Brands | Best Hard SUP Brands | Best Surf SUP Brands | Best SUP Paddle Brands | Best SUP Life Jacket Brands

Best Inflatable SUP Brands

ISLE

Best Known For: Inflatable paddle boards with well-rounded performance and simple, classic styles
Our Favorite Product: ISLE Explorer 3.0

ISLE is one of our favorite SUP brands, making a variety of surf and SUP products ranging from soft-top surfboards to hard paddle boards to inflatable paddle boards and SUP-Kayak hybrids. Their inflatable paddle boards provide great all-around paddling performance for beginner to intermediate paddlers, have pretty simple and classic styles without being too busy or flashy, and include nice materials with all the right features, typically at a pretty reasonable mid-tier price. One of the latest inflatable SUP trends is including a kayak seat and footrest attachment with the package, and ISLE offers this option with several of their board packages. Their Cloud Kayak Seat and Foot Brace are also available to purchase separately and are compatible with all of their inflatable boards.

One of our favorite ISLE products is also one of our favorite overall inflatable paddle boards, the 11’6″ ISLE Explorer 3.0. This board is stable enough for beginner paddlers, but has a slightly narrower waist and pointed nose that allows it to glide through the water better than similar competitor options. It also has a reasonable price tag (and is often available on sale), making it a worthy upgrade from budget inflatable paddle boards, without being prohibitively expensive. This is often the top board we recommend for most recreational paddlers.  

The ISLE Explorer 3.0 is often the top inflatable SUP we recommend for most recreational paddlers. Photo: Rebecca Parsons//The Inertia

BOTE

Best Known For: Brightly colored paddle boards with tons of custom add-on accessories
Our Favorite Product: BOTE Breeze Aero

BOTE is another paddling brand that makes both inflatable and hard paddle boards, inflatable kayaks, and inflatable SUP-Kayak hybrids. Unlike ISLE, which typically has fairly simple aesthetics with somewhat muted colors, several BOTE products are available with bright colors and fun, wild patterns. In recent years, BOTE has expanded its offerings beyond just paddle crafts to include a huge range of outdoor products from inflatable floating chairs and docks, to land-based gear like chairs and coolers, to paddling accessories like add-on seats, drinkware, and waterproof speakers. Many of the optional paddle accessories are custom-built to attach to one of their paddle crafts for a seamless interface.

One of our favorite BOTE products is the Breeze Aero inflatable paddle board, available in two different lengths (10’6″ and 11’6″) and with multiple accessory packages. From a pure paddling perspective, we prefer the ISLE Explorer 3.0 above for its faster and more streamlined design, but the Breeze Aero is a bit more stable thanks to its 2-inch wider waist. Overall, the BOTE suite of products is ideal for people who spend a lot of time on or near the water, as many of the accessories are made for comfort and enhancing the overall paddling experience.

The BOTE Breeze Aero has bright colors and a stable design, and is available with several custom add-on accessories. Photo: Jenna Miller//The Inertia

iRocker

Best Known For: Three ranges of products for recreational paddling, fishing, or touring, or remote backcountry use
Our Favorite Product: iRocker Cruiser 7.0

iRocker is another brand that primarily makes inflatable paddle boards and accessories that we’ve had good experience with. They manufacture three brands of boards under their company umbrella: iRocker, Blackfin, and Ultra. The iRocker range of products includes their simplest and most affordable SUPs, many available in bright colors that help you stay more visible on the water. One of our favorites that we’ve tested is the Cruiser 7.0, a simple, lightweight, and affordable board that is ideal for recreational paddling in calm conditions.

The Blackfin range of products is their enthusiast range, including more niche designs for specific uses like fishing or touring. Finally, the Ultra range of products is their touring and adventure range, with lighter-weight boards that are able to fold up into a smaller, more compact footprint so they can be carried into more remote places. iRocker also recently added a wider range of non-paddling products, including floating chairs and docks, and more add-on accessories for their paddle boards.

The iRocker Cruiser 7.0 is a simple, lightweight inflatable SUP available in bright colors to help you stay more visible on the water. Photo: Rebecca Parsons//The Inertia

Red Paddle Co.

Best Known For: Premium performance and construction at premium prices
Our Favorite Product: Red Paddle Co. Sport Plus

Based purely on performance, Red Paddle Co. makes some of the best inflatable paddle boards that we’ve ever tested. Many of their boards have advanced construction features, including stiffening stringers along the length of the board to reduce deflection and deformation, battens along the side rails to enhance rail rigidity, and high-tensile inner fibers that can withstand inflation pressures up to 22 PSI. The result is a fleet of some incredibly rigid inflatable paddle boards that perform more similarly to traditional hard boards than any other brand on the market. Most other inflatable paddle boards have 6″ or greater thicknesses in order to withstand the bending and twisting often experienced with flexible board constructions, but most Red Paddle Co. boards achieve their impressive rigidity with a mere 4.7″ thickness. This reduced thickness allows the rider to stand closer to the water, improving control of the board and better maintaining glide through the water.

One of our favorite Red Paddle Co. models is the Sport Plus, a 12’6″ touring board with just a 28″ width, allowing advanced paddlers to glide through the water with ease. The only notable downside to most Red Paddle Co. boards is that their price tags match their premium design and construction, as they are some of the most expensive inflatable boards on the market.

Red Paddle Co. makes some of the most rigid, high-performing inflatable paddle boards on the market, but they also come with premium price tags. Photo: Rebecca Parsons//The Inertia

NRS

Best Known For: Inflatable paddle boards that match the toughness of their river rafting gear
Our Favorite Product: NRS Jukdo

NRS, or Northwest River Supplies, was born in a garage over 50 years ago and has grown into one of the most prominent river rafting suppliers around. Not only do they outfit canoeists, kayakers, and rafters with gear and accessories, but they also manufacture a huge range of river rafts, fishing rafts, pack rafts, inflatable kayaks, and now, inflatable paddle boards. With their long history of building rugged gear for rough river conditions, their inflatable paddle boards are some of the toughest we’ve tested.

The NRS Jukdo, for example, includes a high-pressure pump and is designed to be inflated up to 20 PSI, and is built with three separate inflation chambers (with a separate chamber along each side rail) to enhance board rigidity. The result is an extremely rigid and stable board that is a cinch to paddle in flat water, and inspires confidence in choppy conditions, light surf, or on river runs. The Jukdo is available in three different lengths to suit rider size or performance goals. NRS also makes some ultralight boards that pack down into a smaller footprint in order to be carried to more remote places. NRS paddle boards are a little pricier than some of the all-around boards from ISLE, BOTE, or iRocker, but they have a notable step up in build quality and performance.

The NRS Jukdo is 36 inches wide and can be inflated to 20 PSI, resulting in a super rigid and stable paddle board. Photo: Maddie Bryan//The Inertia

ROC

Best Known For: Consistently solid value-priced inflatable paddle boards
Our Favorite Product: ROC Kahuna

For anyone looking to try stand up paddle boarding for the first time, it can be confusing and intimidating to sort through all the different options out there. A quick online search reveals a huge variety of low-priced inflatable boards that all seem to look similar, with a wide variety of marketing claims, all trying to convince you that their board is the best. Our team has paddled a handful of boards from ROC and has been consistently pleased with their solid quality and performance, given their low price tags. While it’s mostly true that you get what you pay for, and higher-priced boards often have more fine-tuned designs, higher-end materials, and more premium accessories, ROC boards are perfect for families or beginners who just want to have fun trying out the sport without breaking the bank.

One of our favorites from ROC, the 10’6″ Kahuna, comes in a package with everything you need to hit the water – including the board, fin, pump, paddle, leash, and carrying bag – all for around $200. You can also upgrade the package to include an attachable kayak seat for a small up-charge. After paddling an assortment of other similar budget-priced inflatable boards, we consistently prefer ROC boards for the solid performance and incredible value.  

Our team has paddled a number of value-priced inflatable paddle boards, and the 10’6″ ROC Kahuna is our favorite. Photo: Nick Bruckbauer//The Inertia

Best Hard Paddle Board Brands

Surftech

Best Known For: Partnering with legendary surfboard shapers to give their paddle boards a surfing influence and playful feel
Our Favorite Product: Surftech Lido

Surftech is a watersports brand that has been around for over 35 years with deep roots in the Hawaii and California surfing communities. From Gerry Lopez to Joe Bark, Surftech partners with some of the most legendary board shapers in the industry to design and manufacture long and short surfboards, prone paddle boards, stand up paddle boards, and foil boards. With such a strong pedigree in the industry, Surftech has also revolutionized board materials and construction, and offers over a dozen types of board technologies from inflatables to soft tops, and carbon fiber to a number of fiberglass/epoxy varieties.

Because of their strong surfing influence, many of their stand up paddle boards – even those designed primarily for flat water – have a very surfy and playful feel. This makes them very maneuverable and fun for more experienced paddlers, but their boards are typically a bit less stable for beginner paddlers. One of our favorites, the Surftech Lido, is available in two different lengths (10’6″ and 11’6″) and features a full-length deck pad for versatility or for extra passengers. Most Surftech boards are available with fun, stylish aesthetics, giving them a timeless appeal. 

The Surftech Lido is a fun and playful stand up paddle board, but it isn’t as stable as most inflatable models. Photo: Shannon Bruckbauer//The Inertia

Starboard

Best Known For: High-performance boards with a huge variety of lengths, widths, and construction specs
Our Favorite Product: Starboard GO

Starboard is a high-performance watersports brand with a huge variety of product sizes and specs, ideal for more serious enthusiasts and professional athletes. Almost every single one of their products – from stand up paddle boards to windsurf boards to wing and foil boards – is available in multiple lengths, widths, and construction styles. For example, the Starboard GO, one of our favorite all-around designs from the brand, is available in five different sizes, has a variation called the GO Surf, which is available in two different sizes across three different construction specs, and is available in an inflatable style with four different sizes and four different package variations.

While this makes it feasible for experienced paddlers or pro athletes to dial in their precise specification preferences, all of this variety can be pretty intimidating for beginners. If you’re a beginner just looking to hang out on the water and splash around, one of the inflatable models from ISLE, BOTE, or iRocker would be your best bet. If you’re a high-performing enthusiast looking to level up or have aspirations of racing or long-distance touring, Starboard is a great brand to check out and will likely have something that suits your goals.

Starboard is a high-performance paddlesports brand with a huge variety of board sizes and specs. Photo: Starboard

Pau Hana

Best Known For: A wide range of board designs with classic shapes and aesthetics
Our Favorite Product: Pau Hana Malibu Tour

California-based Pau Hana has an impressive array of stand up paddle board designs, ranging from shorter surfy styles to mid-length all-arounders, to long-distance touring boards, to inflatable party platforms. Each one of their boards seems to be intentionally designed for a specific paddling style or performance goal. Our team has tested a handful of their boards, and they are all well constructed, high performing, and have simple and classy aesthetics.

One of our favorites is the Malibu Tour, a mid-length (11’6″) touring board with a pointed displacement hull that cuts through the water for efficient glide and speed. While this isn’t the fastest board around, it performs great for its size and isn’t as cumbersome to lug around as other touring boards in 12 to 14-foot lengths. We also appreciate how Pau Hana, as a company, seems committed to quality and innovation, and provides transparency about their manufacturing processes and sustainability goals.

Pau Hana has a wide range of high-performing, classy-looking stand up paddle boards, including the 11-6″ Malibu Tour shown here. Photo: Rebecca Parsons//The Inertia

Best Surf SUP Brands

Quatro

Best Known For: High-performance, surf-oriented designs
Our Favorite Product: Quatro Carve Pro

Quatro boards are made with one purpose – to surf, and more specifically, to draw radical high-performance lines on the face of a wave. Hailing from the north shore of Maui, Quatro is a part of the Forward Maui family of watersports brands that includes Goya Windsurfing and KT Surfing. With legendary shaper Keith Teboul at the reins, and a top-flight team of riders that includes Kai Lenny himself, if you choose to go with Quatro for a SUP board, you can rest easy knowing every detail has been perfected to obtain the ultimate high-performance ride.

One of our favorite boards from Quatro is the Carve Pro. Versatility and performance is the name of the game here, and the board delivers a fast, maneuverable, and surprisingly stable ride in all conditions from ankle-high slop to overhead waves. With a lightweight and bombproof construction, this is a board that will stay in your quiver for years to come.

Kai Lenny, ripping. Photo: Quatro

Infinity

Best Known For: Heritage shaping family based in Southern California
Our Favorite Product: Infinity Wide Speed

A family-run, California-based outfit, Infinity has been cranking out surfcraft for over 50 years. Started in the 1970s by Steve Boehne, the family still owns and operates the brand today. Located in Dana Point, Infinity was one of the first brands to start producing and selling SUPs in Southern California, with a strong focus on riding waves. And while that might be the biggest portion of their business, it’s not the only aspect, as Infinity also produces SUPs for every discipline imaginable, from touring and racing to inflatable designs, as well as performance shortboards, longboards, and even waveskis.

Throughout that long history of shaping, the brand has always stressed customization and craftsmanship. Especially in the realm of SUPs, the Boehne family is always ready to work with anyone, beginner to pro, on a custom design or modifications to one of their own shapes. That said, with 50 years of shaping under their belts, unless you’re looking for something really specific or know a thing or two about SUP-shaping yourself, it’s probably best to stick with one of the tried-and-true designs from the Infinity lineup. Being an independent shaper, you’ll probably end up paying a bit more than a pop-out production model, but if your budget allows, there’s truly nothing like a hand-shaped board.

Shaper Dave Boehne shredding on the Infinity Wide Speed. Photo: Infinity

Naish

Best Known For: A wide range of high-quality products across watersport disciplines
Our Favorite Product: Naish Mad Dog

Naish is a waterman’s brand through and through, always on the cutting edge of innovation, with an eye for what’s next going to make it big in the world of boardsports. From windsurfing to kiting to foiling, Naish has always been pushing the envelope. The same holds true for stand up paddling. In the early 2000s, as stand up paddling began to take off, Naish was one of the first brands to go all-in, building paddle boards that blended knowledge of surfboard shapes with the high-end materials and constructions used in windsurfing boards.

Today, Naish remains one of the biggest names in the stand up paddle space, with a wide range of board shapes, constructions, and sizes, spanning surf SUPs, touring boards, and all-around designs, as well as many different hard board constructions, and inflatable paddle boards to boot. One of our favorite boards from Naish is the Mad Dog, a SUP designed for aggressive, surf-style performance. And despite the high-performance chops, we actually found this board to be surprisingly user-friendly, especially in the bigger sizes.

One mad dog. Robby Naish, at his favorite spot on Maui’s north shore. Photo: Naish

Best SUP Paddle Brands

Werner

Best Known For: Some of the best paddles for any discipline, from rafting to kayaking to paddle boarding
Our Favorite Product: Werner Zen 95

Most inflatable paddle board packages will include a basic aluminum paddle, but most enthusiast paddlers will eventually want to upgrade to something lighter, stiffer, and more performance-oriented. When that time comes, we recommend checking out Werner. Werner has some of our favorite SUP paddles available across any price range, whether you’re looking for a mid-tier upgrade, a high-end featherweight carbon fiber model, or anything in between. We’ve tested Werner SUP paddles at every price point, and they are consistently strong, durable, reasonably lightweight, and easy to use. We appreciate Werner’s long, slender blade shape that provides a gentle catch and is efficient through the water, and the super-simple LeverLock adjustment system used in their adjustable paddles.

One of our favorite models is the Zen 95, which we tested with a 2-piece adjustable shaft. With a carbon-blend shaft and a fiberglass blade, the Zen 95 hits a nice, sweet spot that balances durability, weight, paddling performance, and price. We also like the aesthetics of the simple, classic design and the cool color fade on the blade. There are other paddles out there that might be cheaper, or lighter, or stiffer, but Werner consistently hits the mark and is a great choice at any price or performance tier.

The Werner Zen 95 is our favorite all-around SUP paddle, thanks to its blade shape, reasonably lightweight, and awesome adjustment mechanism. Photo: Nick Bruckbauer//The Inertia

Kialoa

Best Known For: High-quality SUP paddles with a Hawaiian flair
Our Favorite Product: Kialoa Pipes II

Originating on the windward side of Oahu, Kialoa Paddles began as an outrigger canoe paddle company and has since expanded to include SUP paddles. They offer a variety of paddle materials and designs, from fiberglass shafts with nylon blades to full carbon fiber construction, with all-around paddling designs to race and surf-specific shapes. Their adjustable paddles include the easy-to-use LeverLock adjustment system, and every paddle has a clean, classy look with the stylish Kialoa logo.

We’ve tested two of their paddles in recent years: the tough and durable Makai Adjustable, which is ideal for families or rental shops where it might see abuse, and the high-end Pipes II. You can tell the Pipes II is a special tool as soon as you pick it up. With an incredibly light, balanced feel and a sleek, stiff carbon fiber shaft and blade, it feels like the paddle boarding equivalent of a Samurai sword created by a master craftsman. Its classic teardrop blade shape with a smaller surface area makes it versatile for different paddling conditions, and is ideal for those who appreciate precise handling and efficient power transfer.

The Kialoa Pipes II is an impressive paddle with its full carbon fiber construction and classic teardrop blade shape. Photo: Nick Bruckbauer//The Inertia

Quickblade

Best Known For: Strong, lightweight paddles with innovative designs
Our Favorite Product: QuickBlade Stingray 72

Quickblade has some of the most unique and innovative paddle designs on the market, thanks to their founder Jim Terrel, who was a four-time Olympic Canoeist and former aerospace engineer. Extensive scientific testing and professional rider feedback go into their paddle technology, leading to cutting-edge designs that continue to push the sport forward. All of their SUP paddles are constructed from carbon fiber, and some of the more premium designs tip the scales at a mere 14 ounces.

One new design that one of our testers got her hands on this year is the Stingray 72, featuring a revolutionary new blade shape that is wider and half the length of most traditional paddle blades. Quickblade claims this design reduces paddle catch and exit time by 50%, and can increase vessel traveling speeds by 1-2%. While we don’t have the resources to do such scientific testing, we were impressed by the ease, efficiency, and style of this new blade shape. Quickblade paddles are some of the priciest on the market, but the expense is likely worth it for racers or enthusiasts looking for every edge in order to chase peak performance.

The innovative blade design makes the QuickBlade Stingray 72 incredibly lightweight and efficient. Photo: Rebecca Parsons//The Inertia

Best SUP Life Jacket Brands

Mustang Survival

Best Known For: High-end flotation devices for both recreational and commercial use
Our Favorite Product: Mustang Survival Essentialist Belt Pack

While paddle surfers typically don’t wear life jackets, U.S. Coast Guard regulations do require stand up paddle boarders to wear or carry a life jacket when they are outside the surf or swimming zone (the author has been reprimanded by the Coast Guard in the past for not carrying one). One of the best ways to meet this requirement and still maintain the mobility and freedom of stand up paddling is by wearing an inflatable belt PFD – and Mustang Survival makes a few of our favorites.

We tested both the Mustang Survival Essentialist and Minimalist belt packs, and both are unobtrusive while paddling, easy to use, and will typically meet Coast Guard requirements. These are a great option for experienced paddlers and stronger swimmers who don’t want to be bothered by a traditional foam vest. Mustang Survival makes a wide range of flotation devices, from inflatable belts and vests for recreational use, to foam vests for boating or sailing, to heavier-duty vests and flotation clothing for commercial use. We’ve tested half a dozen Mustang Survival products over the last three years and have been impressed by all of them.

The Mustang Survival Essentialist is lightweight, comfortable, and helps you feel free and unrestricted while paddling. Photo: Nick Bruckbauer//The Inertia

Astral

Best Known For: Classic and comfortable foam vest life jackets
Our Favorite Product: Astral E-Ronny

Astral is an outdoors company that makes a wide range of casual apparel, footwear, and accessories for adventuring on or around the water. We know them best and appreciate them most for their excellent water shoes and life jackets. Though we typically prefer an inflatable belt-style PFD for casual stand up paddle boarding, they offer some of the most comfortable and useful foam vest life jackets on the market. Foam vests are great for children or less experienced paddlers or swimmers, provide extra warmth in colder conditions, and typically include extra storage pockets to help carry your essentials.

One of our favorite foam vests from Astral is the E-Ronny. We appreciate its front zippered entry that makes it simple to get on and off, the easy-to-access front storage pockets, and the mesh ventilated back panel. In addition to a number of foam vests, Astral’s life jacket offerings range from an inflatable belt to high-buoyancy vests designed for more extreme whitewater conditions.

The Astral E-Ronny has a snug, streamlined fit and a well-ventilated mesh back panel. Photo: Shannon Bruckbauer//The Inertia

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Related: Best Paddle Boards | Best Inflatable Paddle Boards | More Paddle Gear Reviews

Editor’s Note: For the most recent gear reviews and features on The Inertia, click here.