The 10 Best Inflatable Paddleboard (iSUP) Brands in 2026

Thurso Surf has, in the past, been more of what I consider to be an honorable mention brand, but in 2025 they stepped up their game bigtime and now have a very well-deserved place on our list of the best inflatable paddleboard brands.

New materials, construction, and shapes, along with options to purchase kits or boards-only has given Thurso one of the most diverse lineups of quality iSUPs on the market. And they work incredibly well on the water.

They’ve also created a truly modular 3-piece carbon fiber paddle that lets you upgrade just the blade when you want, and they’ve even partnered with Oscar Propulsion to bring a truly unique touring paddle to market in North America.

Red Paddle Co is, flat-out, the best known brand of inflatable paddleboard in the world. Red got in on iSUPs early in the game and rather than churning out whatever a factory could make, they invested time and resources into making their own materials and construction process – culminating in the often mimicked, but never repeated, Monocoque Structural Laminate (MSL) material+process.

Red’s lineup of iSUPs is extensive with over 20 different models for all styles of paddling.

Red’s iSUPs are well known for a reason – they perform well on the water. But as a primarily retail-focused brand, prices are high, and out of reach for many paddlers.

Isle Surf & SUP is one of the more popular names in inflatable paddleboards. Their designs are beginner friendly with wide, stable shapes and value-heavy pricing.

When former professional kayaker Jimmy Blakeney took the design helm, Isle switched to modern, high quality materials and partnered with Inflatable Composites to create their Infinity Fiber stringer system.

Isle’s Pro series iSUPs have some unique performance potential with their ultra-rigid Infinity Fiber stringer system, but their highest performance boards (the Explorer Pro) are limited by their extra-wide sizing.

Isle’s boards are great for newer paddlers looking for excellent quality and beginner-friendly shapes.

iRocker and it’s sub-brand Blackfin are one of the most prolific US-based (Jacksonville, FL) SUP companies around. They got their start, and continue to focus on making quality all-around and cruiser style inflatable SUPs.

The Blackfin sub-brand is all about fishing. These boards feature tons of accessory points and are compatible with a slew of accessories.

The most recent addition to iRocker’s lineup are their Ultra series compact boards. These folding iSUPs are lighter and more compact, but still make a great choice for all-around and cruising.

What’s missing from iRocker’s lineup is a dedicated touring or fitness board.

Recently iRocker has had inconsistent stock, especially for their Blackfin boards, so we’ll be keeping an eye on them to see what they are up to this year.

NRS is one of the most widely-known brands (and retailer) of river paddling equipment in North America. They got into making their own SUPs well over a decade ago, and are now on their third full generation. Their boards are heavily river-focused and make some interesting claims about where they are built that we have yet to be able to verify through our contacts with NRS. While we are very familiar with their Gen 2 boards (Thrive, Quiver, Escape) The new boards have some interesting designs that we look forward to putting through the wringer, but can’t determine how effective they are yet. What we can verify is NRS’s customer service is fast, efficient, and very customer friendly.

The Wild Tribe is a Canadian brand (Quebec) that is new to the SUP scene. They’ve come out strong with a large variety of inflatable paddleboards – though with the world’s most confusing naming convention – all of which are 4.7″ thick. This thinner profile is typically associated with better stability and paddling performance compared to standard 6″ thick boards, but only when it is built well enough to handle the additional stress imposed on a thinner board. The Wild Tribe is close to cracking this design limit, but currently their shapes, while effective, are really only recommended for lighter paddlers. The overall value is also quite variable as their standard pricing is quite high for the total quality of the kit, but can offer a great value when on sale.

Shark SUPs is a newer company based out of the UK. While our full-time team hasn’t had a chance to use these boards yet, our friends in the UK have been giving us reports from their experiences – and it is promising! Shark is focused on performance-driven shapes and matching board size to the paddler to a nearly dizzying degree. Shark has 8 different core shapes, but each of those has different size options for a total of 39 different SUPs. That’s more than any other brand that I’m aware of. Shark’s construction is clearly described for each model, and their unique flat-rocker profile and nose-cone combination on their performance models offers intriguing performance possibilities. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more about Shark and get on their boards in the future.

Bote used to be a huge name in the SUP industry. Truthfully they still are, but for other reasons. Once Bote was purchased by a private equity firm their build quality not only stopped improving with the industry, but they actively reduced the build quality of some of their key models. They’ve eliminated their single performance model from both their inflatable and hard board lineup, and have instead focused their business on lifestyle products like docks, chairs and speakers. They do still make good fishing SUPs if you are looking for a dedicated SUP Fishing setup. They also make a couple of decent inflatable kayaks. But their core iSUPs have dropped in overall value significantly in the last decade.