Paddlboarding is a great way to stay in shape for surfing, to explore the coast, to watch birds, and to cruise around in almost any body of water. Paddleboards, like surfboards, snowboards, skateboards and other devices used for moving through space, have evolved greatly in recent years. For years, Eaton paddleboards were the primary manufacturers of quality racing boards. Lately, Joe Bark has been turning out beautiful stock and custom boards. This summer I bought a slightly used Joe Bark 12' "Surftek" paddleboard in L.A. for $1,000 ("Surftek" is the nickname for lightweight surfboards/paddleboards built with Styrofoam and epoxy resin, rather than the more standard polyurethane foam and polyester resin). The board is feather light (22 lbs.) and lets me skim through the water like a water skeeter. Boards run from 12-19' or so. The 12-footers are the most popular partly because they are the easiest to transport and store. The longer boards are slightly faster in races (there are over 70 races a year in Southern California), but more cumbersome to deal with on land.

-- Lloyd Kahn

12' Surftech Bark Board
$1380
Available from The Frog House

A full range of boards, including standup* boards, available from BARK

This is the board I'd get if I were to buy a new one -- LK

*NOTE: There is also stand up paddleboarding (SUP), where you use a physical paddle to propel and steer your way through surf and to catch waves. Giant, heavy surfboards, those have a completely different design. The ones I review above are lie-down (or kneeling) boards, which you *cannot* stand on and are not intended for wave riding (though you can catch small waves). -- LK