To ask the question “What size of a paddle board should a woman use?” suggests that women’s paddle boards are a specific shape, design or size. A properly sized paddle board for a woman has to consider the same criteria as sizing a paddle board for a man; the paddler’s weight, skill level and planned activities.

Let’s dispense with the myth that there is a special paddle board size for women. Instead, lets learn how to properly size a paddle board so you’ll get years of use from it.
 
YOUR BODYWEIGHT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR
Your weight will be a primary factor for the size of paddle board you need.

The ratio of bodyweight to board volume largely determines a paddle board’s stability. As a rider’s body weight approaches the board’s maximum rider weight, the less stable the SUP will be. The less a person weighs, the smaller the volume required to maintain an equal level of stability.

To learn more about matching your bodyweight to the size of paddle board, please read our article What Size SUP Do I Need for my Weight?.

SKILL LEVEL
Your skill level also needs to be considered when choosing a SUP size. If you have several hours of experience paddling under your belt, you may feel very comfortable on a paddle board with less volume and less stability. As paddlers gain experience, their balance improves, and their need to maximize the volume/weight ratio is not as important.

Select a board’s volume with the idea that your skill set will rapidly improve. What offers prefect stability today, might feel like an overly cumbersome yacht in a year or two.
 
SIZE VARIES ON ACTIVITY
Manufacturers create different paddle board sizes to do more than match rider weights. Paddle boards have different sizes depending on the activity they are designed to do. Surf style boards are much shorter than touring and racing SUPs. The need to be short and agile, while a touring board is several feet longer, making it easier to travel in a straight line. A racing board will be even longer so it can easily slice through the water.

If you plan on doing any particular type of activity, get a board to match your goals. Once you choose a style category, you then just have to match a board’s volume to your weight and you will have a good fit.

HOW PADDLE BOARDS ARE SIZED
Paddle boards are sized by their dimensions and their volume.

PADDLE BOARD DIMENSIONS
Almost every company will advertise the dimensions of a paddle board. A SUP’s length, width and thickness are measured in inches or centimeters. An example is 10’6” (L) x 32” (W) x 4.5” (T).

PADDLE BOARD VOLUME
Volume is the best variable in determining SUP size. Volume is measured in liters.  A board’s volume tells you how much water the board displaces when it’s placed in the water.  The higher the volume, the more weight a board can support before it will submerge.

Women’s paddle board are more than some pretty graphics or a marketing campaign. Women’s paddle boards can be any paddle board in the marketplace as long as the size matches her bodyweight, skill level and planned activities. A woman who finds a board meeting that criteria will have found the right size for her.

So, you’re shopping for your first paddle board. Maybe your balance isn’t the best and you don’t want to set yourself up for failure. There are hundreds of different paddle board options available. From cheap to expensive and from inflatable to hard boards, the options seem endless. You need a paddle board with great stability. So, what type of paddle board is the most stable?
 
ALL AROUND PADDLE BOARDS
The most stable style of paddle board is an All Around. This type of paddle board is designed with stability in mind. All around paddle boards are stable and manoeuvrable and are designed to be versatile. From cruising on flat water to touring across the lake and even catching waves, the All-Around style can do it all. That’s why they’re stable.

HOW PADDLE BOARD STABILITY IS CREATED
A major aspect of a paddle board’s stability is its width. The wider a paddle, the more stability it will offer. That’s one of the reasons why the All-Around shape provides the most stability. This style is wider than the other board styles. Usually, All Around paddle boards are 32” wide. Touring styles will be less than 30” in width, and racing boards are closer to 20” wide.

A paddle board’s volume also plays a major role in every paddle board’s stability. Volume determines how much weight the board can support without sinking. The more volume a paddle board has, the more stable it will be. However, there is a trade off with volume. While offering more stability, to much volume will make a board feel slow and oversized.

This is where the paddler’s weight plays a factor with a paddle board’s stability. A paddler’s weight has to be paired with the board’s volume to get the best match for stability and performance. A typical 10.6 All Around paddle board is around 190L in volume. A rider weighing 130 lbs will find the board to be very stable. A rider weighing 230 lbs will experience less stability.
To learn more about matching your weight to volume, please refer to our article:
https://www.wappapaddleboards.com/blog/what-size-sup-do-i-need-for-my-weight
 
INFLATABLE PADDLE BOARD INSTABILITY
Shoppers looking for the most stable paddle board should not consider inflatables.

Inflatable paddle boards do not offer the same level of stability as hard paddle boards for two primary reasons. They support the rider with air, and they have flat bottoms.

Board stability is directly related to its rigidity. Inflatable paddle boards are essentially plastic bags that are held rigid with air pressure. If the pressure isn’t sufficient, an inflatable paddle board becomes less rigid and softer. A hard paddle board keeps its rigidity at all times. Standing on a hard paddle board is like standing on a sidewalk. Standing on an under pressured inflatable is like standing on a mattress.

A paddle board’s bottom also plays a role in its stability. Because they’re rigid, hard board bottoms can be shaped to have concaves similar to a catamaran which enables the water to flow easily past the board. Easy water flow improves glide and stability. Inflatable paddle boards can’t provide the stability of concave bottoms. Because they are held stiff by air pressure, it’s impossible to create concave bottoms in inflatables. Their flat bottoms do offer strong stability on calm flat water. Other than that environment, the stability of flat bottoms is inferior to concave shapes.

Shoppers looking for the most stable type of paddle board should consider a hard paddle board in the All-Around style. Just make sure to size the paddle board to your weight and don’t get anything to large for the extra stability. As your paddling skills improve, your balance will too. That oversized All Around board that offered great stability at the beginning might feel too large in a year or two.  A properly sized All Around board will keep you happy for many years.

The idea of a family paddle board is a single paddle board that works for the whole family.  Each member of the family should be able to excel at the sport and receive enjoyment from it. Is it possible to get a single paddle board that the whole family will love? Armed with the proper knowledge, it’s easy to get a board that will make you the super parent to the fam!
 
SAFETY
Keeping the family safe is always important during activities. When out on the water, safety is even more important. For that reason, buyers shopping for a family paddle board should not consider inflatable paddle boards.

There is an increased risk to drowning for users of inflatable paddle boards. Inflatables have been known to suddenly deflate while out on the water, leaving the paddler without a solid surface for support with no choice to either swim to shore or drown.
The sudden deflation of inflatable paddle boards is such a risk, the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom issued recalls. For more information about the recalls and the safety issue with inflatables please refer to the following article:
 https://www.wappapaddleboards.com/blog/inflatable-paddle-boards-are-dangerous

The safer option is to get a hard paddle board as your family board. There is no risk of a hard board suddenly disappearing underwater and stranding your family member.

A SIZE FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
The key to getting a family paddle board that everyone will love is to get one that’s properly sized. A size that works for one family will not necessarily work for another.

To determine the proper size of paddle board for your family, you have to take three things into account:

• The weights of your family members
• Their experience level with paddle boarding
• Their general athletic ability

The heavier the paddler, the more board volume will be needed for the same feeling of board stability. However, if the board is to big, lighter paddlers will feel that the board is slow and oversized. The key is to find a board size that will meet the family’s fun level while maintaining a level of buoyancy and balance to make it fun for the whole family.

For more information of how to size a paddle board, please refer to the following articles:
https://www.wappapaddleboards.com/blog/what-size-sup-do-i-need-for-my-weight
https://www.wappapaddleboards.com/blog/how-do-i-choose-a-sup-size

BOARD STYLE / SHAPE
Without a doubt, shoppers for a family paddle board need to get an All-Around style paddle board.

All around paddle boards perform exactly as the name suggests. They are pretty good at just about all paddle boarding activities. From beginners learning to balance and taking the first strokes, to going cruising for hours and even catching waves. The All-Around style can do it all.

As your family gains experience and develops interests, additional specialized board like Touring, Racing or Wave boards can be acquired. However, to start out, the All-Around style works perfectly.

A great family paddle board would be a hard paddle board in an All Around style that is large enough for the whole family but not to large that it becomes slow and boring. Hard paddle boards offer a better level of safety and better balance than inflatables. For the best experience a family board has to offer, get an All Around style hard board. Your family will thank you.