Why Is Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) Volume important? Well before we get into that you have to know a few things…

• Your weight
• Your height
• Your Stand-Up Paddleboarding ability
• The conditions you want to use it in

1. – Your weight is important when it comes to standing up paddle boarding volume because it has a direct effect on your control and performance on flat water and waves.
2. Your height has effects the size of the paddleboard that is best suited to you.
3. Your ability will massively affect the volume required as it is a key element in performance in flat water racing as well as surf SUP. 
4. conditions is also an important aspect when choosing a SUP as you need to know what conditions you plan on using it in, if its flat water paddling and leisure use compared to downwind and racing you will need differing levels of volume. This applies for waves as your ability and conditions you want to surf it in will crucial in getting the right volume for your SUP 

Like most paddleboards, SBS Sups Have their Dimensions written on the underside of the board this will state the Length, width, and thickness of the board this a standard in the industry but especially when buying a sup it’s important to know your ideal volume.

Knowing your ideal paddleboard volume is just as important in surfing and they are both measured in the same way. The volume of a board is “the amount of space any given object occupies”, this includes the entirety of the board and the volume will be given in litres. This is a basic principle for paddlers to get as if you know the correct volume for yourself I will help to choose the right size and model of the paddleboard. A general rule of thumb is that the more litres of volume a Stand-Up paddleboard has, the more weight it can carry whilst in motion.

• It makes sense because if you have a 2 different people, one 70kg and the other 100kg they will require a different amount of buoyancy and volume to keep them afloat and paddling along without sinking

But for beginner be weary more volume doesn’t always mean more stability as you can see from the 2 boards below one is an elite level race sup that has 245 Litres and the other is an all-around sup designed for beginners with 217 litres. The race sup would be very difficult for a beginner to paddle because of its small width and rail and rocker contours as well as its outline shape makes the board tricky, to begin with, the board stores is Hight volume in 5 or 6 inch rails allowing for more volume than a regular beginner or cruising board, the navigator has more width and more stable shape so would be better for a beginner

A SUP with high volume will help carry your weight and sit high on the water. When a paddleboard sinks down into the water under your weight it will become less stable. The more volume the more it resists sinking down when you stand on it then it will be more stable.

To Get Your perfect volume you can use our Sup Volume calculator to help chose the right sized SUP to match the board’s volume to your size and ability.

This information from our calculator is designed mostly for Beginner to intermediate paddler as a rough guide to help you chose the correct board but if you are more advanced or looking to get a SUP for Surfing then you would be looking for a smaller SUP with less volume

You can get a rough idea of the minimum amount of volume you will need as a beginner by doing this calculation. Start of by checking your weight if you checked it in “stones” and “LBS” pounds then convert your weight to kilograms by dividing it by 2.2, once you have your weight in kilograms then multiply that figure by 2. So if you weigh 180 pounds you ideal minimum sup volume would be 162 litres :

180 / 2.2 = 81kg, 81kg x 2 = 162L

As an 81kg / 180 pound beginner you want to make sure that you start looking for paddle boards with a minimum of 162 litres volume preferably closer to 20-40 more litres to really help with extra stability, going lower would not be recommended as you will find paddling a lot more challenging as a beginner stand up paddleboarder.

Feel free to contact u with any questions on sup volume or any specific request about the right SUP for you