If you know me well enough it would come as no real surprise that I threw some money at a new board almost immediately after I spent Sunday morning on the water. In fact, if I could have bought one on the way home I probably would have. When it comes to paying for something that gets you out of the house, doing new things, seeing new places and meeting new people there's nothing higher on my priority list. Buying a paddle board once I'm retired is not an option, simple.
The issue I had was the fact that I'm very picky with the feeling I get from inanimate objects such as bikes and even cameras. They have to feel right, and this feeling usually comes from the knowledge that they've been assembled by a craftsman, an artist. In the board world it's a little harder to attain this handmade feeling as even most of the big names have their boards made in Asia and as a beginner I wasn't going to have one custom made as I don't yet know what I would want in a board. So the next best thing was to find a wooden board, something that was unique despite its mass produced pedigree. I wanted to stand on top of it and look down at the grain, knowing that it was unique to every other board in the world.
It wasn't a huge search. The options were pretty slim and I decided to go with Mongoboards. There was practically no information on the net but the magic of Facebook made it a lot easier to get to know the people that make up the business. Then a quick phone call confirmed that they weren't just some importers marking up items as is the case with a lot of cycling goods.
The issue I had was the fact that I'm very picky with the feeling I get from inanimate objects such as bikes and even cameras. They have to feel right, and this feeling usually comes from the knowledge that they've been assembled by a craftsman, an artist. In the board world it's a little harder to attain this handmade feeling as even most of the big names have their boards made in Asia and as a beginner I wasn't going to have one custom made as I don't yet know what I would want in a board. So the next best thing was to find a wooden board, something that was unique despite its mass produced pedigree. I wanted to stand on top of it and look down at the grain, knowing that it was unique to every other board in the world.
It wasn't a huge search. The options were pretty slim and I decided to go with Mongoboards. There was practically no information on the net but the magic of Facebook made it a lot easier to get to know the people that make up the business. Then a quick phone call confirmed that they weren't just some importers marking up items as is the case with a lot of cycling goods.
I ordered the board on Monday and picked it up on Thursday, after a long runaround (the consignment was of two pieces and they split them so I had to pick them up from different locations....on opposite sides of town......). She meets all my greatest expectations. In fact the only problem I have at this stage is that she feels like she should be a 'he' with a name like Woodie, but we all know ships are ladies of the ocean so I need to find a suitable lady name.
Anyway, after two sessions of paddling over the weekend I'm pretty worn down. A unique feeling as SUP is a whole body activity and I'm still developing the muscles required!
Anyway, after two sessions of paddling over the weekend I'm pretty worn down. A unique feeling as SUP is a whole body activity and I'm still developing the muscles required!
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