ROC 2024 Stand Up Paddle Board Review

One Saturday afternoon I found myself on Lake Irogami in Wisconsin, lying on a paddleboard and reading. Guest as the water crashed against the dock, I was tied to my friend’s family’s lake house. My head was resting on the mandatory life jacket I had strapped to my board—the water wardens don’t make you wear one unless you’re a kid. I was floating, but everything felt solid. It was my reward for paddling around the lake in a meditative state for an hour and a half. I got a full-body workout and barely broke a sweat: my core, legs, and arms were all a little sleepy.

With more than a month of summer left, it’s not too late to invest in an inflatable stand-up paddleboard. You don’t need anything fancy. In fact, this inexpensive Amazon bestseller will work just fine — and if mine is any indication, it’ll last you a while and save you the cost of renting a SUP.

I bought my white and turquoise ROC board in April 2021. Unlike some other stupid purchases during the height of COVID, I’ve never regretted the decision (buying a wetsuit in the spring and fall was probably an exaggeration). It’s been with me on crystal-clear lakes upstate and lush green bays in the Midwest, in Maryland Bay where wild ponies grazed on the shore, and on the gentle ocean of my own Brighton Beach in Brooklyn where the cries of the peanut guy echoed off the water.

(Note: Like the peanut man, stand-up paddleboarding is illegal on New York City beaches, but the only time I got in trouble was when a lifeguard spotted me paddling out to Manhattan Beach to spy on rich people’s homes.)

Paddleboarding is a simple pleasure. You simply stand (or sit, or kneel) on the center of the board and push off like a Venetian gondolier (find a YouTube tutorial to learn how to do it efficiently). When inflated to the required minimum of 10 PSI, the ROC is shockingly solid. You can put a friend, a child, or a dog in front of you (the board has a 350-pound weight limit).

I bought mine when I was living in Brighton, determined to stay surfeuse without the necessary upper-body strength or steep learning curve. In the summer, I kept it inflated on my balcony and walked four blocks with it hanging from a special shoulder strap I bought. I lugged it to the beach out of laziness, not wanting to spend the seven to ten minutes and moderate arm workout to pump it up with the included high-capacity pump. In retrospect, this made no sense at all, since the ROC board, pump, and paddle fold into a convenient — and most importantly, included — backpack. It’s easy to take on the subway, I’ve flown it (as checked luggage, but it’s 100 percent worth it), and I’ve driven it 1,000 miles in a car with a ton of other luggage and people in my Prius.

You don’t really need anything beyond the kit that comes with the board—a life jacket aside, and a cheap one will do. ROC even includes a waterproof bag to carry your keys and phone. But learn from my mistakes: fold the paddle up as soon as you’re done to prevent it from sticking irreversibly to sand and saltwater. Also, if you’re traveling, make sure to pack a detachable fin—this is essential if you don’t want your board to just spin in circles.

You can buy a fancier board. One that’s faster and more agile to handle. But this one costs less than $300 and is relatively compact, and you can even buy a seat to turn it into a kayak.

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