These people have no experience producing or selling paddleboards, and probably have no intention of creating a customer service team or helping you if something goes wrong. Every board comes with a 2 year warranty, which is probably all that’s needed to figure out if there are any manufacturing faults. I’ve worked at watersport centres that still use 10 year old BIC paddle boards and they work perfectly. Even though the plastic might go off colour in intense sun over the years, the board still works the same and they never have any problems. The Tahe Beach Performer is their all round 10’6 board, with a classic longboard style shape, this board will be at home cruising around on a lake or surfing small waves. At 31.5 inches wide, it will be stable enough for beginners and intermediate to have a lot of fun on. The board will glide nicely and probably better than any inflatable, but it’s not a touring board. Below you’ll find our list of the top budget paddle boards with their descriptions and unique features. The little components on the board like the value and fin slot are also surprisingly good quality. I like that the Vapor only comes with one centre fin, because after some time the glued on side fins peel off and just become an annoyance. These extra side fins just make the board slightly more expensive and heavier but provide no real purpose for beginners.

With an emphasis on function and quality, this tough, well constructed, all-rounder, iSUP paddle board is suitable for multiple environments. Great on water, the Wave Tourer is the most durable, stable board, that’s pretty much perfect for everyone, with its new generation shape, offering the manoeuvrability of an all-round inflatable paddleboard and the performance of a touring board. There has to be some kind of pay off for a board that costs this cheap, and that comes in the form of the construction. The board has a single layer of PVC, which makes it incredibly light (8kg), but this means it can’t inflate to higher pressures. Ideal for lakes, rivers, canals, and seas, the Wave Tourer iSUP collection is one of the best paddleboards out there for beginners, whilst being suitable for all levels of experience, ages, and terrains. For paddlers seeking a robust blow-up paddleboard that is equipped with all the gadgets, this is the perfect all-rounder iSUP for you.The shape of a budget paddle board will be pretty basic but will be totally perfect for beginners and those who want to occasionally get on the water. You can’t expect a high-performance board at this price range because the brand can’t spend much time/money in research and development. One final factor to consider is price. As with anything, you get what you pay for, and in our ranking, we've chosen beginner's paddle boards that range from the downright bargainous through to the spendy-but-tempting. Bear in mind that good quality, desirable beginner boards are always popular in the second-hand market, so buying well will pay dividends later in cash as well as enjoyment. How we test the best the best stand-up paddle boards for beginners Similar to most boards on this list, the design is well-suited for beginners who just want to have fun on the water. At 32 inches wide it will be stable enough and the 300 litre volume will have enough buoyancy for the bigger adult to float and feel secure.

It's stable, beginner-friendly and comes with everything you need to get on the water, and its neat cargo system means that it's easy to take all your stuff with you too. The only real downside (apart from the steep price) is that while it's a delight in the water, it's a lot less fun to manoeuvre on dry land; however, Red has done all it can to make this as painless as possible. If tandem paddling feels like your thing, this is definitely the way to do it. There are definitely some factors to look for when researching anything ‘budget’. You want something that is good value but isn’t so cheap that you end up wasting your time and money on something that just is not good enough. Brand recognition They produce some high end, top quality gear that is designed for true watersport professionals. I personally really like their SUP surf boards, which I used a lot when I worked for a watersports centre in Brazil.If you want something to get into touring that glides really well, their 12’6 Cruiseair is a great option that I’d still put within the ‘budget paddle boards’ category. They offer an outstanding 3 year warranty (which is amazing for the price of the board), and on many UK Facebook paddleboarding groups the comments all say they have great customer support. These are some of the most important things I look for in independent brands, because it shows they are serious about having a proper functioning business and have confidence that what they are selling is good quality. Why on Earth beginner inflatable paddleboards have a thruster type tri-fin setup is beyond me. This is a surf-style fin configuration for conditions these paddleboards will never go in. Plus it probably costs more money to manufacture and is more likely to go wrong. I’ve inflated and used the Wave Tourer a few times now without any issues, but it’s very different using it a handful of times compared to a few seasons. With the construction and overall price, you wouldn’t expect it to last as long as more expensive brands, but I could be wrong. I’d love to hear from anyone who has used the board for a few years because if it does last, this board becomes almost unbeatable for value.