Inflatable fun! (paddleboards ;) )

rexlion wrote:
The ones you linked to are some low budget watercraft, and I'm not sure you will find any 6" SUP in that price range. I looked quite a bit at them last spring and I think you'll have to pay at least $500 for one with decent rigidity. Tower and Saturn make some that looked good to me. Sea Eagle's SUPs are even more money.

In the end, I saved myself the cost of a SUP. A local company that sells and rents SUPs also holds a paddleboarding class on a nearby small lake every Saturday. For $20 I joined the class and got to paddle a rigid, 32" wide SUP with the group for about 1.5 hours. I discovered that it is work. You constantly are working those leg muscles in the battle to maintain balance. It was hard to appreciate and enjoy the beauty of the day or of the lake because I was too busy concentrating on not taking a bath. And paddling really works the abdominals, too. My legs were so sore by the end of class, I knew I did not want to own a paddleboard. Instead, I only bought an inflatable kayak.

I think you should give it a second chance. It should not be that much work, especially for the legs. I suspect you are too big for the board they rented you. They are not one size fits all. That is what happened to me. I spent all my time and energy fighting to keep from falling (unsuccessfully) off of a first time rental. No fun at all. Meanwhile my wife and daughter were fine. Next time I was able to use a bigger board. Night and day difference. Incredibly enjoyable and I prefer the standing to the sitting position of a kayak. It can be a great workout but you DON'T have to beat yourself up to do this. When done properly it's more of a core workout. Technique matters but it's easily learned. Plenty of videos on the net.

It appears that a good inflatable, especially for bigger people, will cost almost as much as a hard board.