Stand-up paddleboarding is a sport that has been growing in popularity in recent years, but if you want to give it a go, just what do you need, and how much will it cost for a beginners paddle board? We tried out a few essentials from Trail and Helly Hansen, and here’s what we found out.
What do you need to get started?
The very first thing you’re going to need to consider is the board. These things are pretty sizeable, with most between 10 and 12 feet in length. If storage space is at a premium, that’s a big commitment. This very conundrum is where the Portofino paddle board comes into its own. This inflatable paddle board offers all the fun of a conventional paddle board, but with fewer of the storage issues.
Available from Trail, the Portofino paddle board comes as a part of a kit that fits into a backpack that stands just under a metre tall. Great for beginners, the kit includes the board, leash, fin, paddle and the storage/carry bag, giving maximum bang for your buck, too.
With the perfect beginners paddle board sorted, the next thing to consider is the water. There is a strong possibility that as a first-time paddle boarder, you may well spend some time in the water before you’re adept at being on it. Investing in a life jacket before you head out on a paddleboard is always advisable, just as a precaution.
Helly Hansen has been a trusted name in sailing and watersports for generations, producing a variety of different styles of life jackets and buoyancy aids to keep you safe. The brand’s unisex Sport Comfort Life Vest, available at £42
, is a great choice for paddle boarding. It balances comfort and value for money brilliantly, and is available in a variety of sizes and colours. It might not be the most stylish piece of Helly Hansen wear you could be seen in, but it’s easy to wear without restricting movement.
If you, like me, are a bit of a wuss about the cold, or you’re planning to head out on the water in the cooler months, Helly Hansen also has a range of wetsuits and waterwear salopettes to keep you warm and comfortable as you paddle.
Is the Portofino paddleboard easy to set up and use?
With the river Great Ouse just a few miles from our door, we decided this was a good place to start. With everything we needed at hand, we unpacked the Portofino beginners paddle board and set about inflating it. The hand pump that’s included did a great job, taking just a few minutes to have the board almost ready to hit the water.
The last dozen pumps needed a bit more effort to take it to the recommended 15 psi, but it was still manageable. With the hard work done, the stabilisation fin was slotted easily into the groove on the underside, the leash tethered to the D-ring at the back, and the paddle adjusted to the right height and we were ready to launch.
The first thing I discovered was that transitioning from a kneeling position to standing was not as easy as other people make it look. I soon realised that that particular manoeuvre was a lost cause — at least for this first attempt, anyway — so I remained on my knees. It wasn’t pretty, it certainly wasn’t dignified, but it was a lot of fun.
The lightweight board felt solid under me, and it was really easy to paddle and change direction. Once I had resigned myself to not standing up, I relaxed and enjoyed the ride.
If you’re a complete novice at paddle boarding, you want something that’s sturdy, well-balanced and easy to manoeuvre, which is where the Portofino board excels. At just under 84 cm wide and 12 cm thick, it provided a secure foundation on which I felt comfortable and confident. Granted, getting to your feet takes a bit of practice, but for beginners, Portofino gives plenty of support for those — unlike me — brave enough to stand first time out. The stability and strength of the board makes it a great option for different settings, from rivers and lakes to small wave riding at the beach, making it an excellent all-rounder.
The Portofino paddle board converts into a kayak
You might be thinking that a stand-up paddle board is a bit of a one trick pony, and in many instances, you’d be right. But the Portofino paddle board has another side to it. Having decided that standing up wasn’t about to happen any time soon, I set about adding the kayak conversion kit to the board instead. I was impressed by just how simple it was to attach, taking just a couple of minutes.
The SUP (stand-up paddle board) to Kayak kit comes with the fabric seat and attachment straps, a foam foot rest and an additional paddle blade to make it into a two-handed version. The fitments are built into the paddle board, so making the change is extremely easy.
One slight downside is that the seat only attaches at the front. If you’re stable and sitting comfortably, that’s no problem, but if you should for any reason flip over, it could be challenging to get back up and into the seat in open water without someone else to hold things steady.
Personally, I loved the Portofino SUP to Kayak kit, as it took away the need to worry about making it to my feet, and as I’m not intending to venture too far into open water until I’ve gained a little more experience, falling off the board isn’t something that I’m overly concerned by. It’s also a great, inexpensive, way to add an extra level of versatility to the paddle board, giving you another option for enjoying the water from a slightly different perspective, depending on your mood.
An inflatable paddle board is a great piece of kit to add to your stash of camping gear, and while it might be self-contained in a backpack, carrying everything down to the water can be a bit of a challenge. Trail’s folding trolley is the answer.
Measuring 100x50x55cm — a little bigger than a couple of large suitcases stacked on top of each other — with a maximum load capacity of 80kg, the kids complaining about having to help carry things will be a thing of the past. For a day at the beach, the river, a camping trip or a festival, this versatile trolley will quite literally take the load off.
It’s easy to set up — remove the cover, pull the corners outwards and push the middle downwards and everything snaps into place. There is a semi-solid folding base section to drop in, giving a little more rigidity.
At the end of the season this telescopically folding trolley compacts to just 20x32x77cm — about the size of a carry on suitcase, but a smidge taller — making it easy to store until your next adventure. It doesn’t feel like the most robust trolley, which could well be due to the number of moving parts in the frame, but it handles pretty well and makes light work of shifting your gear.
Portofino paddle board kit and Trail camping trolley — the verdict
All of the products we tested from Trail offered excellent budget-friendly options. The Portofino paddle board kit, currently on sale for the reduced price of £150, is a competitive price for those new to the sport who don’t want to invest too heavily. Similar kits are available from around £130, rising to nearer £400, so Trail’s pricing is pretty competitive. The quality of the paddle board is excellent, which gave me a lot of confidence while I was out on the water — exactly what you need if you’re buying this as a beginners paddle board.
Add in Helly Hansen’s safety gear and Trail’s folding trolley, and you’ve got a setup that’s safe, portable, and fun. For families, campers, or total novices like me, it’s an affordable and practical way to dip a toe into paddleboarding — and maybe even graduate to standing up one day.
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