editor’s note
The Lidl conundrum
With summer now here, air temperatures and water mercury levels
are now heating up. There’s an increase of interest in SUP. Still
lauded as ‘the world’s fastest growing watersport’ (in some sectors
– even though that’s not technically true these days) a growing
trend of high street retailers are aiming to get in on the act.
If you follow SUP’s progress keenly then you can’t fail to have noticed
the furore surrounding Lidl and F2’s partnership. An inflatable stand
up paddle board, priced at a mere snip of 200 quid, and not a bad
quality toy either; it’s seen all manner of comment from industry
types and users alike.
Pre-2010, when I was editing/moderating then SUP website/forum
standuppaddlesurf.co.uk, the inflatable thing had just started to take
off. Most paddlers at that time were hard board aficionados. iSUPs
were seen as faddy. I managed to try a few and was pleasantly
surprised which prompted my comment on said forum. I suggested
inflatables could be the making of SUP in the long run.
With high summer 2019 nearly upon us this statement may ring true,
with the biggest volume of SUP sales being air boards – at least in the
UK and Europe. Unfortunately this is a double edged sword because as
much as there are quality iSUPs available there are also not very good
products circulating.
Now don’t get me wrong: I use iSUPs regularly, appreciate the
benefits, have taken them overseas and thrown many at varieties of
different watery scenarios. They make perfect sense in some
situations. What I really don’t want to see is these cheaper boards –
whether quality made or not – ending up either used only a handful
of times, before ending up at the back of the garage, or (worse)
finding their way to landfill.
With cheaper products comes less of pride of purchase meaning
perceived throw away goods are more likely to end up discarded. If
you invest certain level of funds into a new hobby then you’re
probably more likely to stick with it. Whereas toys not requiring a
chunk of cash, that having been dabbled with are discovered to
require a certain level of physical input from the user, may be left by
the wayside far quicker. The fact is you need to actually paddle to get
SUP fulfilment.
So is it a good thing that high street shops are now wading in? In
some ways yes. SUP was always said to be a little like the bikes of the
water. And bikes these days can be purchased in a variety of places
with differing price tags suiting the committed or newbie. Unlike
bikes, however, SUP isn’t quite as plug and play, depending heavily on
Mother Nature’s moods and how prepared paddlers are to put effort in
to reap the rewards.
Time will tell whether the ‘Lidl board’ is good for UK stand up
paddling. In the meantime the stand up paddle industry will keep
producing their wares and aiming to attract newbies into progressing
their skills, even if only a small % of those buying these cheaper
iSUPs move on up the ranks. A handful of converts per season would
be a good thing though.
We hope you enjoy this issue of SUPM. There’s plenty of SUP goodness
and diversity to keep you interested. Enjoy the mag and your time
afloat, whatever platform you choose.
Tez Plavenieks, June 2019
[email protected]
Twitter: @tezwoz.
Instagram: @tez_plavenieks_sup_wind