Looking after your SUP
Taking Care of your SUP in Hot Weather
Extreme heat is not something we're used to in the UK, but is certainly something that paddleboarders should be aware of, for that very special day when we get a sweat on. Although the SUPs that we sell are all very high quality, we thought we would share our thoughts about keeping your SUP in top condition after feedback from our suppliers. This advice is mainly aimed at Inflatable SUPs, however we have included tips for solid boards as well as these are actually more likely to be damaged from hot temperatures.
Most hire centres around the world now use inflatable SUPs so they are exposed to high temperatures and are in and out the water a lot. Our advice for keeping your board in best condition is:
If possible when on the beach please try to keep the board in the shade. This stops both the board pressure increasing as the temperature rises and helps to prevent UV striation. If there's no shade, then pop the board back into the water to cool down at regular intervals. This advice goes for both inflatables and hard SUPs.
We all know how hot a car can get, so if leaving your SUP in the car or van it is important to release some air to reduce the pressure, goving some expansion room. The vent screw should be opened on hard board (a hard board can’t expand; it will just push the laminated layers away from the foam).
If your board is going to be on the roof of your car in the baking sun please let air out to reduce your normal PSI by about 5 to 10, this will reduce the risk of the board becoming miss-shapen around the roof rack straps as your board expands in the heat. If you have a hard board you should open the vent screw.
This advice is for inflatable SUPs that are constructed with a high quality drop stitch and strongly bonded seams. These quality boards are from well know brands with international distribution and product testing all around the world, which helps to ensure a quality and durable product. If you have a cheaper SUP from a hyper market or ebay we highly recommend that these boards are not left in the sun at all, there have been a few reports in Europe of these boards exploding, but mainly in the UK we have so far only seen them become very miss-shapen.
Storing your SUP over Winter
It doesn’t matter whether you store your paddleboard inflated or deflated. There will be no damage either way. If you do decide to keep it inflated, we recommend releasing a few PSI just in case the area where you store your board becomes too warm. Too much warmth could potentially damage the seals of your board. You can store you board inside the bag or not. Leaving it deflated over the winter may cause some wrinkles in the board depending on how tight you role but these will pop out when your board is re-inflated.
We do suggest you remove your fins for winter storage and if you have the glued-on fin system these may become slightly bent, this is easily fixed with some warm water. We don't tend to find that boards go mouldy in winter but to be doubly sure that this can’t happen just wash with fresh water and either air dry or wipe completely dry before rolling and storing away. You can store your board in a garage, shed or attic, we do suggest the board isn’t stored any where too cold or too hot though, with good board storage between 4 - 40 degrees C.
By following this advice and looking after our SUPs, we can let the good times roll!
