What to wear stand up paddle boarding
There are a few things that can completely ruin your stand up paddle boarding experience – gusts of wind, rain and last but not least, wearing the wrong clothing. Weather is unpredictable, but it’s up to you to prepare the right clothes. Before you head out on your paddleboarding trip, you always need to be prepared with the right clothes to ensure you are comfortable throughout your time on the water. So, what do I wear? Today, we will be exploring the best clothes to wear while stand up paddle boarding. We will have paddleboard clothing for all seasons and locations in the United States. Believe it or not, you can paddle year round no matter where you live. It may be cold to paddleboard up north in the middle of winter, but it’s the novelty that makes it worth it. Let’s dig deeper! What to wear for paddle boarding
The most important thing to remember about wearing a paddleboard
When you go paddle boarding, you need to wear a leash and carry a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket at all times. Paddleboards are recognized as vessels by the USCG, which means you always need to carry a USCG-approved life jacket when paddleboarding. However, we strongly recommend that you wear a life jacket throughout your paddle. children under the age of 12 must wear a USCG-approved life jacket at all times while paddleboarding. The only exception to this requirement is if you are SUP surfing. If you SUP surf, you are not required to carry a USGC-approved life jacket. For personal flotation devices, there are several jacket styles to choose from. Today, you can find smaller, more compact life jackets that snap around your waist like a belt. We recommend you check out our paddleboard life jackets because they are comfortable around the waist and easy to use.
Summer weather across the United States is warm and pleasant. Due to the warmer weather, summer is considered paddle boarding season nationwide. Everyone and their moms, aunts, nephews and dogs take their paddleboards out to enjoy the endless summer sun. Summer paddleboarding means occasionally jumping off the SUP to beat the heat and enjoy the water. This means you will need waterproof clothing, such as a swimsuit, short-sleeved sunscreen or waterproof sweatshirt, to feel happy and comfortable. The most popular summer paddle boarding apparel is men’s surf shorts and women’s swimsuits (bikinis or one-piece swimsuits). However, these ideal summer outfits are missing one thing – sunscreen. Waterproof sunscreen to be exact. Your summer paddleboarding attire should always be paired with waterproof, UV-protective sunscreen so you don’t get old and wrinkly like Aunt Betty on her long Florida vacations every summer. We recommend barefoot paddleboarding in the summer. The feeling of paddleboarding starts in your feet, so going barefoot is the best way to become one with the SUP. Paddle sneakers do exist, but we recommend going barefoot. However, for cold weather paddling (which we’ll explain in more detail later), you will need to wear wetsuit boots when it gets chilly so your feet don’t turn into icicles. It’s important to realize that you can always strip down in the water as long as you have a dry bag with you. For example, if you go boating in the summer to watch the sunrise and it’s still cool outside, wear a lightweight sweatshirt or long-sleeved t-shirt, then remove it and put it in your dry bag when the weather starts to warm up. Dry bags also come in handy when it’s scorching hot outside and you want to dive in for a swim without getting your shirt, and more importantly, your cell phone, wallet, or car keys, wet.
Men’s Summer Paddleboard Styles:
Just shorts.
Beach pants with a surf shirt or t-shirt
Light colored facecloth or sweatshirt
Sun hats
Sunglasses
Women’s summer paddleboard style:
One swimsuit only (bikini or one-piece)
Waterproof performance shorts with sunscreen
Light colored facecloth or sweatshirt
Sun hat
Sunglasses
What to Wear for Paddleboarding in the Cold
Fall and winter bring cold weather to the United States, so if you’re going to continue paddleboarding throughout the season, you’ll need the right paddleboarding gear. A wetsuit is a must-have in any weather below 50 degrees. Rule of thumb: as it gets colder, your wetsuit will get thicker. The most common type of cold weather paddleboarding is SUP surfing. In the middle of winter, when the water temperature is below 50 degrees, many SUP surfers still paddle. A wetsuit is a must when Stand Up Paddle Surfing (SUP) surfing in cold weather because you are more likely to be exhausted. Wetsuits are designed to retain a small amount of water between your skin and the inside of your wetsuit. Your body heat will warm this thin layer of cold water, keeping you amazingly warm even in the coldest water. If you want to stay warm while paddling in cold weather, you’ll need to buy a neoprene wetsuit that fits you well. If your wetsuit is too loose, too much water will get into your wetsuit, which will break the warm water barrier we mentioned in the previous paragraph. A perfectly fitted wetsuit will hug your entire body – your arms will end before your hands and your legs before your feet. It should fit you like a rubber glove. This is a wetsuit sizing guide to help you find the perfect size. The thicker your neoprene wetsuit is, the more warmth it will provide you. Wetsuits come in 5 thicknesses. As a general rule, winter wetsuits should be between 4 and 6 millimeters thick. However, increasing the thickness does reduce mobility. See below for the required wetsuit thickness for cold water paddle surfing.
50 degree weather
4/3mm wetsuit
3mm boot and gloves (if water temperature is below 55 degrees)
30 degree weather
5/4mm Hooded Wetsuit
5mm boots and gloves (for water temperatures below 48 degrees)
Temperatures below 10 degrees
6/5mm hooded wetsuit
7 mm boots and gloves (for water temperatures below 38 degrees)
Alternatives to wetsuits
If you don’t paddle in weather between 30 and 10 degrees below, you don’t necessarily need a wetsuit. Winter wetsuits are expensive, so if you paddle in cold weather and are on a budget, the best way to protect yourself in 40-50 degree weather is to wear extra layers. Wear a warm, long-sleeved baselayer and then just throw a winter jacket over it. The same goes for your bottoms. Warm bottoms (leggings or pants) followed by waterproof pants. Also, don’t forget a winter hat and gloves.
Wearing the right SUP Yoga clothing is key to practicing yoga flow effectively. Before SUP Yoga, be sure to check the weather to see if you need to put on a few extra layers.
SUP Yoga Styles for Women
Swimsuit (bikini or one piece)
Sun Protective Clothing
Women’s yoga clothes (hot yoga clothes work best)
Men’s SUP Yoga Style
Beach pants
Sun Protective Clothing
Men’s Yoga Wear (Waterproof Yoga Wear)
What to Wear for SUP Fishing
SUP fishing is a new paddle boarding trend that many fishing enthusiasts are getting into. There are many benefits to fishing with a paddleboard, which are explained here. We also compare paddleboard fishing to kayak fishing. Which is better? As far as dress code for SUP fishing, you can pretty much wear what you would normally wear when fishing from a boat.What to Wear for SUP FishingAt ISLE, we want to make sure you have the best paddleboard experience possible, which is why we’ve created a range of different types of paddleboards. Now that you have a better idea of what to wear, you’re ready to hit the water and start paddleboarding!
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