They are the luxury yachts of SUP: solid laminated touring and performance boards. Some are so elegantly made that a proper champagne christening would be appropriate. But also built in the "unfinished look" of the World Cup prototypes, where colour is not seen as an essential design, but only as unnecessary weight. In this hardboard league, there are sustainable beginner boards for the whole family, noble touring partners, but also thoroughbred sports bolides, all of which are slightly superior to inflatables in terms of performance and for some at least convey the only true emotional riding experience. Stiff, direct, with an acceleration that is transmitted from the soles of your feet to your synapses at the speed of light.
What is particularly fascinating is the "glide" - how the board glides effortlessly after each paddle stroke, a gracefully shaped bow parting the water more responsively than any inflatable board. And the quiet "plit plit plit" when the smallest waves touch the stiff hull as you turn over the stern. Hardboards are for paddlers who develop an emotional response just by touching and carrying their board. Just like the car freak who slides his hand over the mudguard, lost in thought, or the biker who polishes the gears again just for the fun of it, even if the bike hasn't been out since the last time it was cleaned.
In addition to the emotional benefits, hardboards also offer other, very "tangible" advantages.
You don't have to pump. And - you really never have to pump. If you can store it in your garage or boathouse and transport it on the roof of your car, you'll be on the water faster with a hardboard than with any inflatable. And you can recognise a real "sports car" by the board on the roof anyway, not by the red "i" on the rear.
Hardboards are certainly not indestructible. On the contrary: small bumps in the underground car park, against the car door or a thousand other corners that you haven't discovered are really bad for these boards. Where an inflatable simply bounces off like a bumper car, a hardboard will immediately call the garage. But - and this is the good news - there is almost no damage that cannot be repaired, a hardboard can still be mended in ten years' time, and hardboards carry even the heaviest chunk without complaint and without the hump
like the lightest paddle flea. While inflatables from 90, 95 kilos upwards have to give everything they can in terms of width, thickness and pressure to stay in shape, a decent touring hardboard is unimpressed by 120 kilos. Five typical representatives were selected for our test depending on the area of use. The family and heavy haulers are typically at least 32 inches wide and retain this generous side line right through to the front and rear, like the JP-Australia Outback. The Naish Glide and Infinity Wide Aquatic Tour are probably the most versatile all-rounders. Already narrow enough for really fast progress, yet stable enough for wavy conditions and for less experienced paddlers - or larger, heavier types who generally need an inch or two more width than smaller lightweights. If you belong to this group (under 75 kilos), you will find your sport all-rounder in boards such as the Fanatic Ray. With a width of 27 inches, boards of this type are only suitable for heavier paddlers with appropriate practice. The Infinity Black Fish is in a similar league - much more wobbly, but sporty and lively for experienced paddlers. If you are switching from an iSUP, you can usually choose a hardboard that is one inch narrower due to the less rounded edges if you want similar tipping stability. Our test selection is exemplary; you will find similarly suitable alternatives in similar dimensions from other manufacturers.
JP-Australia Outback 12'0" x 32,5"
TypeFamily and heavy transportersInfo www.jp-australia.com Weight 18.1 kilosVolume 295 LPrice 1599 Euro
Windsurfing rig, GoPro, fishing rod - there is hardly anything that the Outback does not have a mounting option for. There is even a small built-in box with a transparent base to illuminate the water under the board at night. The extremely stable board carries even heavy SUP beginners very safely, the unusual bow with a round nose at the top and pointed keel at the bottom cuts through the water almost without a noticeable bow wave and the water also breaks away very cleanly at the stern. However, it is unlikely to win a speed record. It's more likely to win an award as a family-friendly board for dogs and children, who have plenty of room on the wide deck, which is padded from front to back.
Naish Glide Touring GTW 12'6" x 29.75"
Type Comfortable cruiserInfo www.naishsurfing.com Weight 13.46 kilosVolume 260 LPrice 2199 Euro
Rarely has anything been so clear: for almost everyone who observed us during testing, the Naish board was the winner, at least visually. The wooden design is incredibly well received, the pad could perhaps be a little more elegant. The Glide is also elegant and smooth to paddle. With an 80-kilo rider, it is still ideally positioned in the water, the nose is barely washed over in flat water, it tears off cleanly at the tail, the thick nose that sticks into the water keeps the board extremely true to track. Compared to the narrower Black Fish, the Naish with its 29.75 inch width also carries quite a bit of luggage and gets you safely to your destination even in crosswinds and waves. Elegant and suitable for all inland conditions.
Infinity Wide Aquatic Tour 12'6" x 30"
Type Tilt-stable sports tourerInfo www.infinitysup.deWeight 15.1 kilosVolume 297 LPrice 1849 Euro
The typical sports tourer presents itself as a mid-range estate with extra horsepower. Easy to paddle in everyday life, with kids and cones - but also equipped with plenty of pepper under the deck carpet for solo jaunts. At least if you've already outgrown the children's shoes of stand-up paddling. Even a 30-inch wide board like the Infinity Wide Aquatic Tour is no longer a pure beginner's board. With a little practice, however, you can master even wavy conditions very safely, and the range of use increases with practice. This type of board never gets boring, as the sporty, racy bow gives even experienced SUPers a particularly fast paddling experience.
Fanatic RAY LTD 12'6" x 27,5"
Type Sport-TourerInfo www.fanatic.com Weight 11.9 kilosVolume 264 LPrice 2199 Euro
This is probably the fastest flatwater Ray that Fanatic has ever built. The board looks extremely classy and the underwater hull could also come from a noble boatyard - with a rounded planing area, keeled bow and clearly raised stern for good water release. This allows the elegant wooden nose to drift smoothly through the water with little effort. The more pointed nose and slimmer tail require a little more balance feeling than on a wider board like the Infinity. In the turn, at the back on the rounded, narrow tail, it gets quite nice
Infinity Black Fish 12'6" x 27"
Type Sporty fitness racerInfo www.infinitysup.de Weight 11.4 kilosVolume 280 LPrice 2795 Euro
The board could hardly have been better chosen as a reference, because we feel that the 27 inch narrow Black Fish is pretty much the lowest width that covers a decent range of use even for a really committed hobby paddler. You get a super sporty, light board that accelerates like a racing penny on short, fast paddle strokes, which then glides light-footedly and splashingly on the water with the rounded bow rather than cutting through it. This is what action feels like. The deck pad is super grippy for the best grip on this machine. Because that's what boards like this were originally designed for - racing in ocean swells. With and against wind and waves. But the concept also works amazingly well on the lake. For training, sporty tours, but above all for experienced paddlers who can cope with the consistently wobbly feel. However, such a shape is still far enough away from extreme race boards and on the "safe" side - with only minimal losses in performance, but without compromising on paddling pleasure.
Equipment buying advice: What you need
Things, for the motto "You can do without them, but it's really not a bad thing to have them."
