Ten books for paddle boarders compared on content, reading level and depth of information, each with a short summary and a checklist.
Paddle boarding is easy to start and slow to get good at, and that gap is what these books fill. The list covers one general reference, three beginner guides, and six books that each go deep on one thing: surf, technique, fitness, SUP yoga, safety and buying gear. All ten are available on Amazon now.
Books for paddle boarders: which one fits where you are
If you own a board and have paddled a handful of times, a general guide is still worth reading, because most of what goes wrong early is not technique. It is wind direction, launch choice, leash type and what to do when you cannot get back to shore. That material sits in the reference books and the safety title here.
Once the basics are automatic, the specialist books earn their place. Paddle surfing, race fitness and SUP yoga are separate disciplines with their own stroke mechanics, and a general guide gives each of them a chapter at most. Buy the narrow book for the thing you actually want to do.
- The one reference to ownThe Paddleboard Bible, 2nd edition
- Best for someone who has never stood on a boardStand Up Paddleboarding For Dummies
- Best for paddle surfingThe Stand Up Paddle Book by Nate Burgoyne
- Best for fitness and racingHow to Increase Your Stand Up Paddling Performance
| Book | Focus | Level | Format | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Paddleboard Bible, 2nd editionbest reference | The whole sport | Beginner to experienced | Bloomsbury | |
| Stand Up Paddleboarding For Dummiesbest for beginners | Getting started | Complete beginner | Wiley | |
| Stand Up Paddleboarding: A Beginner's Guidecheapest beginner read | Learning to SUP | Complete beginner | Kindle | Beginner's Guides series |
| Stand Up Paddle Instruction Bookbest on technique | Flatwater, fitness and surf basics | Beginner to intermediate | CreateSpace | |
| The Stand Up Paddle Bookbest for surf | SUP surfing | Beginner to intermediate | Lava Rock Publishing | |
| How to Increase Your Stand Up Paddling Performancebest for fitness | Training, strength and nutrition | Intermediate to racer | CreateSpace | |
| Get Your Asana on the Waterbest on SUP yoga | Teaching SUP yoga | Instructors and keen practitioners | Independently published | |
| SUP Safety Part Threebest on safety | Preparation, planning and problem-solving | All levels | Kindle | SUP Safety series, book 3 |
| The Ultimate Paddle Boarding Guidebest on buying gear | Inflatable versus solid boards and accessories | Beginner | Majosta | |
| The SUP Bookshortest introduction | How to stand up paddleboard | Complete beginner | Majosta |
The ten books in detail
- Subjectthe complete guide to stand-up paddleboarding
- PublisherBloomsbury
- Editionsecond
- Formatprint
- Levelbeginner through experienced
- Scopegear, basics and advanced technique
Best for: The single book to own if you are only going to buy one
This is the reference book of the sport, and the second edition is the one to buy: gear moves fast in paddle boarding and an outdated equipment chapter is worse than no chapter at all.
What it does well is coverage. Choosing a board, reading conditions, stroke mechanics, safety and the various directions the sport goes in are all in one place, at a level a beginner can follow. If you want one book on the shelf and expect to consult it for years rather than read it once, this is it. If you already know the basics and want depth on surfing or racing, buy one of the specialist titles further down.
Pros
- A second edition, which means the gear chapters have been brought up to date rather than reprinted
- Published by Bloomsbury rather than self-published, so it has been edited and fact-checked
- Covers the whole sport, from choosing a board to advanced technique, in one volume
- Written to be readable by a novice while still having depth for experienced paddlers
Cons
- The most expensive book in this list
- A general reference by design, so no single discipline gets a deep treatment
- Print only, so there is nothing to read on the phone at the launch
- Subjectgetting started in stand up paddleboarding
- PublisherWiley
- SeriesFor Dummies
- Formatprint
- Levelcomplete beginner
- Structurethe standard For Dummies layout with summaries and tips
Best for: Someone who has just bought a board and does not know where to begin
For Dummies works for the same reason it always has: the book is written on the assumption that you know nothing and are in a hurry. Chapters stand alone, key points are pulled out, and nothing depends on having read the previous forty pages.
For paddle boarding that structure fits well, because a beginner's questions arrive in no particular order. What board, what paddle length, which side to stand, what to do when the wind picks up. Read it in your first month, then move to the Paddleboard Bible or one of the specialist books once you know which parts of the sport you care about.
Pros
- The For Dummies structure is built for dipping into rather than reading front to back
- Published by Wiley, so the editing and the layout are consistent and the diagrams are clear
- Priced well below the reference books here
- Assumes no prior knowledge at all, which most SUP books quietly do not
Cons
- Deliberately broad and shallow, so you will outgrow it in a season
- The house style will irritate readers who dislike the format
- Print only
- Subjectlearning to SUP
- SeriesBeginner's Guides, book 2
- FormatKindle, available for download now
- Levelcomplete beginner
- Lengtha short guide rather than a reference
- Readingcan be read before your first session
Best for: Reading on the phone the evening before you first go out
This is the book to read the night before your first outing. It is short, it is a Kindle download, and it covers the sequence that matters on day one: what to carry, how to get on the board, how to stand, how to fall off safely and how to get back on.
Do not expect it to serve you beyond that. It is a beginner's guide in the literal sense and it will be finished and largely surplus after a few sessions. For the price of a coffee that is a reasonable trade, and it is a far better preparation than watching a video on the beach.
Pros
- Available as an instant download, so there is no wait and nothing to carry
- Short enough to finish in one sitting, which is what a first-timer actually wants
- Costs a fraction of the printed reference books here
- Part of a series, so the structure is consistent rather than improvised
Cons
- Not a book you will come back to once you can paddle
- No print edition to keep on a shelf
- Thin on gear detail compared with the buying guides in this list
- AuthorMitch Powers
- Subjectflatwater, fitness and surf paddling basics
- Formatprint, compact
- Levelbeginner to intermediate
- Extrassections on fitness and yoga for paddlers
- Backgroundwritten from more than two decades at a paddling center
Best for: Working on the stroke itself, in three different settings
Mitch Powers wrote this out of years of teaching at a paddling center, and it shows in the way the material is ordered: you are taught the flatwater stroke first, then how to use it for fitness, then how it changes in surf.
That three-way split is the reason to buy it over a general guide. Most books treat paddling as one skill and add a surf chapter at the end. This one treats the settings as different problems with different answers, which is closer to how it feels on the water. It is also physically small, so it travels with the board instead of staying on the shelf.
Pros
- Splits the material into flatwater, fitness and surf rather than treating paddling as one skill
- Written by an instructor with over twenty years at a paddling center, so the sequencing is teaching-tested
- Small and light enough to take to the water rather than leave at home
- Includes fitness and yoga sections, which most technique books skip
Cons
- Self-published through CreateSpace, so the production values are lower than the Bloomsbury and Wiley titles
- Compact means brief, and each of the three areas gets less room than a dedicated book
- Print only
- AuthorNate Burgoyne
- Subjectthe complete stand up paddle surf guide
- PublisherLava Rock Publishing
- Formatprint
- Levelbeginner to intermediate paddle surfer
- Coveragefrom choosing gear through catching your first waves
Best for: Anyone who wants to take a paddle board into waves rather than across a lake
Paddle surfing is a different sport from flat-water paddling, and this is the book about it. Nate Burgoyne founded Stand Up Paddle Surfing Magazine and ran a SUP school, and the book runs from choosing equipment through etiquette in the lineup to catching your first waves.
The lineup etiquette section is worth the price on its own, because that is where new paddle surfers make enemies without knowing it. A stand up board is bigger, catches waves earlier and gets in the way, and knowing the unwritten rules before you paddle out is the difference between being welcome and not. Note that the copy on offer is a used one, and that the equipment chapters date from an earlier generation of boards.
Pros
- Written by the founder of Stand Up Paddle Surfing Magazine, so the perspective is from inside the sport
- Aimed squarely at surf, which the general guides cover in a chapter at best
- Takes the reader from shopping for gear to catching a first wave in one arc
- One of the cheaper printed books in this list
Cons
- Little use if you only paddle flat water
- An older title, so the gear it describes has moved on
- Listed as a used book in good condition rather than new
- AuthorSuzie Cooney
- Subjectphysical and mental training for paddlers
- Formatprint, 356 pages
- Levelrecreational paddler through competitor
- Illustrationsdetailed photographs supporting the exercises
- Also coversnutrition and mental preparation for competition
Best for: Training for distance, speed or a first race entry
Suzie Cooney trains paddlers, and this is her programme written down: paddle power, balance, cardiovascular endurance, reaction time, and the food that supports all of it. At 356 pages it is a manual rather than a read.
The photographs are the reason it works as a book. Strength and balance work goes wrong through bad form, and a written description of an exercise is not enough to correct that on your own. If you want to paddle further, faster, or enter a race, this is the book in the list built for that. If you paddle to relax, it will sit unopened.
Pros
- Three hundred and fifty-six pages, which makes it the most thorough training resource here
- Photographs for the exercises, so form can be checked rather than guessed at
- Covers nutrition and mental preparation as well as strength, which most sport-specific books leave out
- Written by a trainer who works with paddlers specifically, not a general fitness author
Cons
- The most expensive book in this list after the Paddleboard Bible
- Too much book if you paddle for an hour on calm Sundays
- Self-published production, so the layout is plainer than a mainstream sports title
- Subjecta complete guide to teaching SUP yoga
- Formatprint
- Levelinstructors and committed practitioners
- Publisherindependently published
- Scopeteaching methodology rather than a pose list
- Settingyoga practised on a board on open water
Best for: Running SUP yoga sessions, or practising seriously enough to want the theory
SUP yoga looks like yoga on a mat until you try to run a class on water. Boards drift, students fall in, and a sequence that works on land does not work on a surface that moves under every pose. This book is about that problem.
Because it is written as a teaching guide, it covers class management, anchoring and safety alongside the practice itself. That makes it the right purchase for an instructor and an unusual one for a casual paddler. If you simply want to try a few poses on your board, one of the general guides above will get you started for far less.
Pros
- Written for teaching rather than for following along, which is a genuinely different and rarer book
- SUP yoga has its own problems, board choice, anchoring, class management on water, and they are addressed here
- The only title in this list dedicated to the discipline
- Useful to a keen solo practitioner as well as to an instructor
Cons
- Aimed at instructors, so a casual paddler will find much of it irrelevant
- One of the more expensive books here
- Independently published, so the production is plainer than a studio yoga title
- AuthorBill Dawes
- Subjectpreparation, planning and problem-solving
- SeriesSUP Safety, book 3
- FormatKindle, available for download now
- Levelall levels
- Extrascase studies and self-assessment quizzes
Best for: Paddling anywhere with tide, current, cold water or distance from shore
This is the part of paddle boarding that gets skipped, and Bill Dawes gives it a book of its own. Part three is about preparation, planning and what you do when things go wrong: reading a forecast, choosing where to launch, and getting out of trouble that you can no longer paddle out of.
The self-assessment quizzes and case studies are what lift it above a list of warnings. Reading about a real incident and being asked what you would have done fixes the lesson in a way a bullet list does not. It is part of a three-book series, so if you want the equipment and conditions material as well, the other two parts cover those.
Pros
- Safety gets a whole short book rather than a chapter, which is the right weight for it
- Case studies and self-assessment quizzes make it stick better than a list of rules
- An instant download, and the cheapest title in this list by a wide margin
- Part three deals with planning and problem-solving, the parts that keep you out of trouble in the first place
Cons
- It is the third book of a series, so equipment and conditions are covered in parts one and two
- Short, and it will not answer questions about technique or gear
- Kindle only
- Subjectpaddle boarding for adults and beginners
- Focusinflatable versus solid boards
- Also coversaccessories worth the investment
- PublisherMajosta
- Formatprint
- Levelbeginner
Best for: Reading before you buy a board, not after
This one is aimed at the moment before the purchase. The core of it is the inflatable versus solid question, which decides everything after it: how you store the board, how you transport it, how it rides and how much you spend.
The accessories section is the other useful part. New paddlers buy leashes, dry bags, fins and racks in no particular order and often twice, and a list of what actually earns its place saves more than the book costs. Once you own a board and the kit, its job is done and one of the technique books becomes the better read.
Pros
- The inflatable versus solid comparison is the decision every new paddler has to make first
- Names which accessories are worth buying, which is where beginners waste the most money
- Written for adults starting from nothing rather than for people who already paddle
- Cheaper than the mainstream reference books
Cons
- A buying guide first, so it is thinner on technique than the general guides here
- Independently published, with plainer production than the Bloomsbury and Wiley titles
- Its usefulness largely ends once the board is bought
- Subjecthow to stand up paddleboard
- PublisherMajosta
- Formatprint
- Levelcomplete beginner
- Lengtha short introduction rather than a reference
- Usea gift alongside a first board
Best for: A first-timer who wants the basics in print without reading a reference book
The SUP Book is the smallest commitment in this list: a short printed introduction to standing up and paddling, and nothing more than that.
Its best use is as a gift. If you are giving somebody a board, a cheap printed guide in the bag is more likely to be read than a link to a video, and it covers what they need on the first day. For your own shelf, the For Dummies title or the Paddleboard Bible will serve you much longer for not much more money.
Pros
- The cheapest printed book in this list
- Short and single-purpose, which suits someone who just wants to get on the water
- Works as a small gift to go with a board or a paddle
- Print, so it can go in the bag with the kit
Cons
- Covers only the basics, with little on gear, safety or technique beyond the first steps
- Independently published, so the production is basic
- Overlaps heavily with the beginner titles above it
Checklist: What makes a great Books for Paddle Boarders
- Content Relevance: A good paddleboarding book should cater to the reader's experience level, covering basics for beginners and advanced techniques for seasoned paddlers, similar to the "Paddleboard Bible."
- Reading Level: The language used should be approachable for a wide audience, as seen in "The Stand Up Paddle Book," ensuring the material is engaging and easily understandable.
- Quality of Information: Expert insights and practical knowledge, such as those shared by Suzie Cooney, backed by the author's professional experience in paddleboarding, add significant value to the book.
- Utility & Application: Books should offer practical instructions and visual aids, allowing for easy transitioning of theory into practice on the water, which is a praised feature in the "Stand Up Paddle Instruction Book."
- Additional Content: Inclusion of topics like safety, fitness, mental preparedness, and maintenance, as found in "SUP Safety Part Three," can profoundly enrich the reader's paddling lifestyle.
- Niche Focus: Titles offering specialized content, such as pilates on paddleboards or local destination guides like "The Best Flatwater Paddles in Oregon," cater to specific reader interests and expand the scope of paddleboarding knowledge.
FAQ
How can reading books help improve my paddleboarding experience?
Reading books equips you with knowledge on techniques, safety, and equipment, enhancing your paddleboarding skills and overall experience.
What should a paddleboarding book cover for it to be considered comprehensive?
A comprehensive paddleboarding book should include instructions, safety guidelines, fitness tips, equipment advice, and advanced techniques.
Are there paddleboarding books suitable for both beginners and experienced paddlers?
Yes, there are books with content relevant to all skill levels, from fundamental techniques for beginners to advanced strategies for experienced paddlers.
