I have been standup paddle boarding for 3 years now (14ft Bark) I am fit and fast on it, regularly doing 6-10 miles most days. I would like to transition to a prone board to be able to do both and mix up my training. There is however too much information out there on what is best and what is not.

My issue is I am 6’2’’ and 245lbs (muscle…mostly) I have had too much conflicting information on what is a good board for a bigger person, can you help? I have even been told that big guys don’t do prone.

You and everyone else. If we were betting folks, we would be that folks are telling you any and all of the following.

1. You are too big for a stock board. Your only option is an unlimited board.

2. You don’t want to start off with an unlimited board because you are going to jack up your shoulders and injure yourself.

The problem with sorting out truth from fiction about prone paddling is that what you are hearing all kind of of makes sense but at the same time it is totally wonky and not 100%  accurate – at least not according to us. Here is how it shakes out for us:

MYTH: Big guys do not prone paddle: We have never heard that big guys do not prone paddleboard. Never. That is nonsense talk. We bet Jean Pierre Cruz (JP), a top prone UL paddler from Huntington Beach would take exception to this statement. What the people who you have been taking with might mean is that the guys you see on the podium in stock races are not big guys. If that is what they meant we think that is accurate. Take one look at Jack bark or Zeb Walsh and you will quickly understand that you probably won’t be competitive at the top of the sport at 245 lbs on a stock board.

MYTH: you are going to screw up your shoulders and injure yourself if you start out on an unlimited board. That is also nonsense talk. This myth probably comes from the fact that people who try to paddle an unlimited board, BUT ARE NOT STRONG ENOUGH, injure themselves. For those with the musculature, strength, technique, and ability to control themselves (e.g. not go all kid in a candy store and do to much too soon), there is nothing more inherently dangerous about paddling an unlimited board vs. a smaller board. Given your size and SUP experience it is likely that you can handle an unlimited board from the get go. That said, be sure you get your technique down and ramp things up slowly.

MYTH:  you are too big for a stock board. On the one hand you are probably too big for most off the shelf stock boards. Remember, prone boards, if you are either really small or really big (e.g. you) need to be tailored to the paddler. One size does not fit all. If, an unlimited board won’t work for you for whatever reason (e.g. you don’t have a place to store it or something like that) all is not lost. You can go ahead and get a custom board that is smaller. Our bet is that Joe Bark or other shaper can put enough foam under you so that you can get out and paddle. Granted it probably wont be the fastest board on the planet but if your goal is to get out and paddle and do something different than SUP, who cares. Another great option if an unlimited board does not work for you is a 14 foot board. Again, at your size you should consider custom but one board that we believe will work for you is a Surftech Commander 14.

FACT: just because it is an unlimited board does not mean it will work for you. We see a wide variety in the construction of unlimited prone boards. Be careful if you buy used. You need to get a board that was made for a guy your size. Essentially all prone boards are custom and you might not be happy paddling an unlimited board that was designed for someone that weighed 180 lbs.

The bottom line for us is that if you want to prone paddle have at it. Whatever board you get – be smart and take it slow. You can mess up your shoulders on any board if you do too much too soon or have bad technique or cannot handle the board. Along those lines how about checking out our video…..

Price: $34.95 Prone Paddleboarding: Essential Techniques from breedfreakphoto on Vimeo .