Enjoying a lovely stretch on my Glide Lotus SUP Yoga Board
When Glide claims that their boards are “Made in the U.S.A.” they are telling you the 100% truth. Every process that goes into making their stand-up paddleboards, from initial design, to cutting the EPS blanks, to shaping and sanding and painting and shipping… EVERYthing happens at the Glide Factory located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Even their EPS foam blanks (the “core” of the board which unfortunately is toxic at its base level and has a half-life of thousands of years) is purchased from a factory just a few miles from Glide – where most other board manufacturers import these foam blanks from other countries. According the Glide website, “Thanks to this proximity, not only is the carbon footprint minimal getting the [EPS foam blanks] to and from locations but—more importantly– [the foam company] picks up our remnants to recycle them into our next order of foam. The result is zero waste and not a single ounce of foam biodegrading in a landfill over the course of millennia.”
I really dig the fact that Glide is so concerned about reducing (and reversing) the impact that board manufacturing has on the planet. It is a company that is constantly driven to keep searching for newer and better processes and products in order to reduce their carbon footprint as much as possible. Some steps that Glide’s already taking are: “limiting fossil fuel consumption, using sustainable resins, reducing waste by recycling our EPS, development of new coatings, and eliminating use of harmful epoxy paints.”
But don’t let this adherence to environmental awareness and activism lead you to think that the quality of Glide products are compromised in anyway. My Glide Lotus SUP is, in my opinion, the best made paddleboard I have ever seen. From the design, to the deck pad, to the patent-pending GSS coating, I know this board will last. And it will be able to handle ANY adventure that I want to take it on. The Lotus board is great for SUP yoga, SUP fitness, and general paddling in flat water or in the open ocean. I am super impressed with the stability of the board during my SUP yoga practice and with how well it paddles when I take it out for a cruise – usually you get one or the other – but with this board you get both. Plus I absolutely love the bright colors and the design. It’s a board that really makes me want to“paddle the planet…” and I can’t wait to have a whole fleet of these babies one day soon!
I deeply admire Glide’s commitment to both the consumer and the environment. So if you are looking into purchasing a Stand Up Paddleboard I highly recommend that you take the time to research and compare your options and if you’re ready to purchase a board that is high in quality and low in negative environmental impact (and made right here in the good, old U.S. of A!) I suggest you give a Glide SUP a try!
If you’re on the island and want to test out a Glide Lotus SUP before you make a purchase, feel free to send me an e-mail and we will link up!