I was asked to share my stories with you with my boards purchased at The Wild Tribe, which I gladly accepted.
After introducing several family members and friends to SUP on the lake where we have a cottage, I came to realize that the activity was proving to be super popular and I was running out of equipment to make interesting outings with my guests. So I started shopping around. That's when I found the The Wild Tribe boards. I immediately liked the shapes and the design.
My first choice was the Naïa 11ft. It had its baptism of water on Lake Louise in Alberta with my friends.
Nice ride, nice stability with my little dog on the front. It was perfect. My son took my other board, but we had to negotiate a 50/50 deal because he wanted the board too.
The carrying bags are spacious. You don't need to be an expert at rolling a board to store it once it has been inflated and deflated. The supplied pump fits easily into the bag, as do the fins and paddle. There is even room left over. The bag fits nicely on the back for transport, without the weight being excessive. I walked a few miles with my board on my back, paddle, lunch, floatation vest etc. without any problem.
The board performed very well on Lake Louise, unsurprisingly as it is a flat lake with no waves. However, I did get to try it on a rougher lake, Green Lake in Whistler, when the wind picked up and waves started to build. I am comfortable with these conditions because on our lake at the cottage I often have these conditions. Although my board at the cottage is stiff and shorter. The Naïa 11ft has a fairly large water surface and I found it harder to handle in high winds. I was still surprised by its stability and the way it reacted to deteriorating conditions. I expected to have to put in more effort to get to shore, but it worked out fine. Yes, I had to paddle harder than I did without wind, obviously. (If you are a beginner, I would advise you to learn to paddle well and pay attention to the weather conditions to avoid getting into trouble).
Also in Whistler, there was a super nice, calm, shallow creek, Alta Creek, which was a lot of fun to navigate for me and my SUP partner (my dog).
There are several other beautiful spots to discover in the West, and there are also possible excursions.
Recently, I also fell in love with the Peyto 11ft. So it will be added to my collection of inflatable SUPs soon. Its design will perhaps be easier in rougher water for the beginners I bring with me.
- Anne-Marie Trottier
The Wild Tribe, Article from our client
