Best Paddleboarding Gear for a Multi-Day Expedition

If you even now imagine standup paddlboarding is just a vacation resort sport, imagine yet again. SUPs are uniquely versatile, with significant crossover into surfing, racing, and whitewater paddling. Past those people large-adrenaline niches, even so, SUPs are also best for multi-day expeditions—as extended as you have the right paddleboarding equipment.

 

 

I lately took section in a 5-day SUP expedition in the Apostle Islands Countrywide Lakeshore on Lake Excellent. Paddling amongst forested islands, maneuvering by amazing caves, and tenting on freshwater beaches––it was an journey not like any other. When a multi-day SUP expedition is totally doable for most paddlers, your achievement and basic safety is contingent on practical experience, preparing, and most importantly, bringing the right equipment. The 10 items underneath served us productively navigate Lake Superior’s turbulent and unpredictable waters, and they’ll absolutely come in useful on any paddling excursion.

The Most effective Paddleboarding Gear for a Multi-Day Expedition

one. NRS Escape 14′ Inflatable SUP

Resilient, secure, and fast––the NRS Escape proved by itself to be an expedition-worthy board. Irrespective of measuring only 29 inches huge and being loaded down with about sixty pounds of equipment, the fourteen-foot inflatable board was very secure and effective, even when battling choppy situations and unruly swells.

The Escape’s durable development, which include significant-duty PVC fall-sew and double sidewalls, gave me peace of mind throughout the excursion and quickly withstood run-ins with cave partitions, rocky shorelines, and even an impromptu Lake Excellent surf session.

[$one,345 nrs.com]

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Black Undertaking Ohana Journey A few-Piece Adjustable Paddle

2. Black Undertaking Ohana Journey A few-Piece Adjustable Paddle

Getting the right board beneath your feet is necessary, but making use of an effective and durable paddle is just as vital. Intended and tested in Maui, Black Undertaking paddles are renowned for their extraordinary functionality, and the company’s Ohana A few-Piece Journey Paddle didn’t disappoint.

The paddle conveniently packed down to fit into my journey bag and snapped together in seconds. As soon as I dipped the blade into the h2o, I was amazed by the electric power and balance of the blade’s scooped dihedral structure. Its large electric power-per-stroke also resulted in appreciably decreased tiredness, even on 8-mile paddle times. Additional reward: You can choose amongst 3 blade measurements and two shaft measurements to make certain the paddle suits your body very well.

[$275 blackprojectsup.com]

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three. NRS Astral GreenJacket PFD

Paddler PSA: Don’t turn into a statistic—always use your lifejacket and leash. Many paddling tragedies have happened simply because persons unsuccessful to use their basic safety gear and grew to become separated from their board during a slide. The Astral GreenJacket PFD is a major-of-the-line selection that hardly ever impeded my paddle stroke, and its clamshell entrance pocket with many storage compartments provided effortless obtain to vital items like a compass, electric power bar, and whistle. Additionally, its one of a kind rope storage compartment retained my coiled leashes from dragging in the h2o or acquiring tangled in my dry baggage.

[$three hundred nrs.com]

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four. Yeti Panga 50 Duffel

Dry baggage are fantastic for preserving your equipment dry, but they aren’t so fantastic for accessing your stuff on the fly. The Yeti Panga gives paddlers the finest of both worlds. The large-density nylon shell and EVA molded bottom quickly withstood abuse, when the HydroLok Zipper authorized for quick obtain to equipment mid-paddle. And in a testomony to its watertight barrier, not a solitary fall of h2o built it within the Panga—even when I flipped my board and baggage upside down in the h2o during a bungled seaside landing.

[$three hundred yeti.com]

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five. Kuiu Mountain Star Two-Man or woman Tent

Setting up your tent in the rain or wind is a aggravating experience—unless that tent will come with an integrated rain fly. Created by Kuiu, the Mountain Star Two-Man or woman Tent took significantly less than 5 minutes to set up, and it packed down into a small bag that weighed just about 3 pounds. The integrated rain fly can be quickly removed if you want a check out of the evening sky, when the double intersecting pole structure and horizontal roof truss established a secure structure that was not fazed by a Lake Excellent wind storm. The dual vestibules and 4 inner storage pockets established enough room for organizing equipment, and two adjustable air vents supplied good air stream and decreased condensation within the tent.

[Starting at $279 kuiu.com]

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six. Kelty Cosmic Down forty Sleeping Bag

Immediately after a extended day on the h2o, acquiring top quality sleep is necessary to recharge your body’s batteries. I conked out in my Kelty Cosmic Down Sleeping Bag many thanks to its smooth nylon shell fabric and its light-weight and heat 550-fill down. It weighs significantly less than two pounds and quickly packs down into a small stuff sack it took up very little room within my dry bag. In addition, an inner stash pocket authorized for effortless obtain to my headlamp and notepad for late-evening ramblings.

[$110–$120 kelty.com]

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seven. Platypus GravityWorks Water Filter Technique

No make a difference where by your adventures acquire you, you’ll often will need clear h2o. When Lake Superior’s h2o top quality is exceptional, we even now filtered all of our h2o on my excursion. Thankfully, the old times of unlimited pumping or foul-tasting h2o purification capsules are extended absent: This gravity filter from Platypus would make it a lot easier than at any time to filter h2o.

At camp or even at rest stops, I simply crammed up the “Dirty” reservoir with lake h2o, hung it from a tree department, and then permit gravity force the h2o by the microfilter and into the “Clean” reservoir. In 10 minutes and with negligible energy, I had 4 liters of filtered h2o ready to drink

[$110–$120 platy.com]

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eight. Garmin Intuition Photo voltaic Surf Version

A lot much more than a health check out, the Garmin Intuition Photo voltaic provided my paddle crew with a prosperity of worthwhile information and facts. When actual-time tide details would be a must have for coastal expeditions (not relevant on tideless Lake Excellent), I largely applied the check out to log our each day paddle stats, keep an eye on my coronary heart price, and make certain we stayed on class.

When paired with a Garmin inReach (offered separately), the check out will deliver weather alerts, navigation waypoints (which proved to be an a must have aspect during just one specifically foggy morning), and can even send out an SOS to the GEOS emergency reaction group if you get into hassle. Most effective of all, you can obtain all of this information and facts from your wrist, minimizing the interruption to your paddling.

[$450 obtain.garmin.com]

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9. ACR Artex ResQLink See

Through any SUP expedition, you have to put together for the surprising. Poor weather situations can roll in promptly, accidents can come about, and surprising gear malfunctions just cannot be dominated out—if you aren’t well prepared, you can quickly come across your self in a lousy predicament. Which is why it’s a good thought to bring together a focused Particular Locator Beacon that can bail you out when all else fails. This floating product from ACR Artex demands no membership, and when activated, it will warn a network of search and rescue satellites of your exact whereabouts making use of a trio of indicators, which include GPS positioning, a impressive 406 MHz signal, and 121.five MHz homing ability. The digital screen will deliver are living beacon status and GPS coordinates, when an integrated strobe will help with reduced-visibility rescues.

[$375 acrartex.com]

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10. West Maritime Regular Horizon HX300 Compact Handheld Floating VHF Radio

From listening to the Countrywide Climate Service’s newest update to communicating with your group, a VHF radio is an absolute necessary for marine expeditions. This high quality VHF from West Maritime checked those people containers and much more: It also provided a apparent signal and had exceptional battery lifestyle. We attached the radios to our lifestyle jackets to keep in speak to with just one an additional, which was primarily practical when we spread out during for a longer period crossings.

[$a hundred thirty westmarine.com]

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