If you love paddling, it doesn’t take long before want to test yourself and see what you’ve got. To go on longer tours, you’ll want to setup to something more substantial than an inflatable or simply an average all around paddle board.
This is where Touring paddle boards come in.
Touring boards are designed for those longer more adventurous hauls. Or, if you are a more athletic type, and want to push yourself in endurance and speed, Touring paddle boards will be better suited for what you’re looking for.
The Toursing SUPs are generally a bit longer, and have larger areas for storing gear for your longer jaunts.
What Makes This Paddle Board Stand Out
The Waterwalker is a great touring board. No surprise that it is an inflatable, right? It just makes sense. With an inflatable you have so many more options because it's so easy to transport an inflatable. For this reason it makes sense that our top pick is the newly redesigned Waterwalker.
The Thurso Waterwalker is designed in the classic touring shape which makes it good for all around paddling activities and most water conditions, while also allowing the comfort for longer paddle tours.
The Waterwalker breaks the iSUP mold and actually looks cool. It look more like a rigid paddle board or even a surfboard with it faux wood print. And added benefit to this package is that it comes with a repair kit, should you need it.
It comes with a great EVA foam padding making for solid comfort and traction. This pad is also great for yoga sessions. And if yoga is your thing, you’ll really like this board because Thurso thought of all the details down to creating Velcro straps on the side rails of the paddle board to hold your paddle, so it doesn’t float away.
The Waterwalker is fully optioned with 3 grab handles, front, center, and rear. A 6 point bungee front and 4 point bungee in the rear for carrying all manner of equipment. As well as 4 D-rings which would allow you to securely attach a cooler if you wanted.
2. NSP – Cocoflax – Performance Touring
What Makes This Paddle Board Stand Out
Surftech uses their E2 Technology on this series of paddle board to make this as durable as possible. The result is that this board can easily handle a bigger person and still remain very buoyant.
The Coco Mat Technology uses coconut fibers in the construction to build a lightweight, yet strong lamination layer on this paddleboard. The large traction pad is build of a smooth coragated material that provides ample grip, yet comfortable enough for hours of stand up paddling.
The NSP Cocoflax Performance Touring comes with a long curved removable center fin. Unfortunately that’s all of the accessories. So you’ll need to purchase your paddle sepearately.
3. Pau Hana Endurance 12’
What Makes This Paddle Board Stand Out
The Pau Hana Endurance is a real masterpiece of a Touring board. Able to easily withstand moderately windy conditions with excellent stability and maneuverability.
Designed for longer tours the Endurance comes with 35 anchor point that allow you to strap on just about any piece of gear you can imagine. You can easily add on 100 lbs of gear and still have ample on water performance.
A darn near indestructible board with a gorgeous finish, the only drawback is the weight of the board. The durability built in to this platform makes it no surprise that it weights 32 lbs, without any gear attached.
4. Boardworks Kraken
What Makes This Paddle Board Stand Out
The Boardworks Kraken is an elegant shaped board that can handle just about any water conditions you’ll encounter. Ideal for touring, you can even use the Kraken for racing due to the shape that cuts through the water with ease.
You can tell that some serious craftsmanship went into to producing this special board.
The Kraken is available in three different sizes 9’ 9”, 10’ 3” & 11’ 0”. Unlike most paddleboards the Kraken gives you options when it comes to your fins. You can go with a center find for cruising and long distance touring, or you can add side bit fins for better stability in bigger surf conditions.
The hull is slightly contoured which makes for easy movement while paddling and the lower center of gravity also adds to the boards stability in varied water conditions.
The Kraken also comes with vent plug that releases heat and pressure that builds up when the board is stored in shed or garage in hotter climates.
5. Tower Xplorer Inflatable 14′
What Makes This Paddle Board Stand Out
This thing is tough as nails. And at 8 inches thick, it’s about the thickest paddle board you’ll find whether inflatable or not.
The Tower Xplorer glides through the water with easy which is surprising given its size. The nose of the board is long and sleek and has about 4 inches of rocker to it, which lifts the nose above small waves. This design also allows the paddler to move this board through the water quickly, with less effort.
The Xplorer can tour all day long. It’s designed to carry up to 800 lbs, so you can add as much gear as you need, heck you can even bring the dog with you. Due to the characteristics of the board, the ride is ultra stable, and sitting 8 inches above the water means you can paddle all day with out getting swamp foot.
The Xplorer weighs 36 lbs. For an inflatable that is heavy, but it is bigger than most other inflatables out there. And because this board is designed for ruggedness, stability, and comfort for hours of touring, the added weight is a small tradeoff.
If you’re looking for a more flexible, economical touring board, the Tower Xplorer is the one for you.
