Tahoe SUP PaddleCraft
$899.00
Pros
- Beautiful board!
- Nice inset handle to grab
- Comfortable pad to stand on
- Plenty of deck plugs
- Stout
- Very stable
- Can handle a lot of weight
Cons
- A little heavier
- A touch nose heavy when carrying it
- Limited colors
Tahoe SUP Paddle Board Review: 11′ PaddleCraft
I was fortunate enough to be contacted by Nate form Tahoe SUP and asked to test and review some of his boards. I happily said yes and after riding them all for a while, I am excited to tell you about them. The first being the PaddleCraft and then we will talk about Zephyr and the Tahoe Bliss in another article which I will hyperlink here.
Now just so you know, I do not claim to be a pro paddle boarder, I am just an everyday guy who loves paddle boarding so I will be giving you my thoughts about the board from an everyday average enthusiast perspective.
Unboxing The Paddlecraft
Now it did come fully padded with foam but I pulled that off. As you can see it has a nice sock that is thin (beside the board) that helps protect it from scratching.
On the side of the box was the 10″ fin and then they happened to throw in a Tahoe SUPack for me to try out (thank you!) as well as their Tahoe SUP Leash and a deck net.
The Board Specs:
- Weight capacity: 300 lbs
- Board weight: 30 lbs
- Length: 11′ long
- Width: 31.5″
- Materials: KOREGUARD™
- Fin setup: 10″ Durafin
- Features: Displacement Hull, Front and Rear Deck Plugs, Full Rigid Comfort Handle
- Designed for: All around/ Touring
- Available colors: Seas foam green and sandstone
About Koreguard Construction:
Koreguard is a proprietary construction process that was developed over a span of 3 years of rigorous testing. It uses a mix of composite materials and thermoformed ABS sheets to create a super durable and maintenance free resistant board. This process is a very eco friendly and cleaner process than most. It also has the upside of not using as many consumables in production process as they recycle all of the ABS off cuts.
My Very First Thoughts Of The Board
As I said before they sent me 3 boards to try (I was only expecting 2) and this was the first one I opened. I knew what the other 2 were, but I had no idea what this one was. My first thought was wow, this is a beautiful board. I love the handle (all boards should have a handle as nice as this one!).
The Handle
Not sure why I was freaking out about the handle, but I am so used to “less expensive” boards that have a slot in the middle and sometimes your fingers hurt or get tired if you have to carry it a long way.
With a nice handle, it is so much more comfortable and easy to grab. I carried this around for a while and enjoyed it very much even with it being a heavier board.
The one fallback I would say about the handle is that it could have been moved maybe an inch or 2 more towards the front of the board as it likes to tip forward (nose heavy), especially if you add a SUPack to the front.
The Color And Design
The colors and design of the board is beautiful and really makes it feel like a $1,600 board (which I thought it was as I didn’t know the price) and then I was shocked when I saw that it was a $900 board. If you lined this up next to the Zephyr and asked me which one probably costs more, I would say the PaddleCraft based on looks alone. This is in no way a slight on the Zephyr, just my initial thoughts without even knowing.
I love the sunken deck where you stand and the lines on this are just so pretty.
I didn’t put down a thickness for the board because it varies throughout the board so there is no consistent thickness. It is 2″ thick at the tail, 5″ thick in the middle and I have no idea for the front with the hull being tapered and pointed.
The Deck Pad
The deck pad is sooo nice. It is soft yet not too soft and has excellent grip. It is comfy on the feet and I even got it dirty but it cleaned right off. It also has appealing colors that really match the board. The design team did well with this board.
So Let’s Get To It, How Does The PaddleCraft Ride?
What About Speed?
My Overall Thoughts About The PaddleCraft SUP
Final Thoughts
Thank you Nate and Tahoe SUP for making me want to spend money and buy your boards….lol. But seriously, This is a great board and thank you for trusting me to review it as if it was bad or had flaws, I would be honest and let everyone know, but this is really a great board. I really love the look of the Seas foam green board in this model as well, so be sure to check that out here.
I look forward to reviewing the next 2 boards, the Tahoe SUP Zephyr, and the Tahoe SUP Bliss in fuchsia. We will see how these touring boards live up to their reputation.
Thanks for reading and be sure to ask questions or comment below!
