A stand-up paddleboard is the most forgiving watercraft ever invented. It floats, it is nearly impossible to sink, it forgives bad technique, and it takes a beginner from the car park to the middle of a lake in twenty minutes. The gear you bring along is not forgiving at all. A phone at the bottom of a lake, car keys with a dead remote, a camera with a fogged lens, a drone that did not come back: these are the things that end SUP trips, and almost none of them are caused by the board. 🏄
This is a guide to the nine things that break, get wet or sink on a paddleboard trip, and to the honest answer about protecting them. We sell Peli cases and we will be specific about the small ones that actually work on a SUP; we will also be clear about where a dry bag is the better tool and where nothing you can buy will save an item you should have left in the car. If you are new to the sport, our kayaking packing list covers most of the same water, and the same rules.
Why a SUP is harder on gear than a kayak
Three things make a paddleboard uniquely dangerous to equipment. First, there is no cockpit: everything you carry sits on an open deck, under bungee cords, exposed to every splash and every wave that washes over the nose. Second, you fall in. Everyone falls in, and when you do, whatever is on you goes in too. Third, the deck is flat and the board drifts, so a loose item that slides off is not just wet, it is gone. A kayak keeps gear low and enclosed; a SUP keeps it high, exposed and one wobble from the bottom. That changes what protection means: on a SUP, waterproof is not enough, the container also has to be attached and it has to float or be attached to something that does.
The 9 things that break, get wet or sink
1. Your phone 📱
The most common SUP casualty by a distance. Modern phones are rated water-resistant, and that rating is measured in fresh water, at a fixed depth, for a fixed time, on a new phone. It is not measured after two years of pocket wear, in salt water, at the bottom of a lake where the phone is actually going. The other failure is simpler: the phone in a shorts pocket goes in with you, and the pocket does not float.
The clear-lidded pouch on a lanyard is the standard answer and it works for a swim near the beach. For a trip of any distance, a small hard case with a clear lid is the better tool: the Peli M50 micro case takes a large phone with room for a card and keys, seals with a gasket rather than a zip-lock, and clips to the deck bungee. The clear lid means you can read a notification through it; the yellow or blue body means you can see it floating if the clip fails. The compromise is that a phone in a hard case cannot be used for photos without opening the case, which is exactly the point on open water.
2. Car keys 🔑
The item nobody thinks about until they are standing in a wet wetsuit at a car that will not open. A modern key with a remote and an immobiliser chip does not survive immersion, and a spare key at home is a long way away from a lake car park. Keys go in the same micro case as the phone or, better, in their own: the Peli M40 is the smallest in the range and is essentially a keys-and-cash case. Clip it to the board, not to yourself, so that when you fall in, it stays on the deck.
3. The camera 📷
An action camera on a mount is built for this and needs nothing. A mirrorless camera on a strap is not built for this and needs a decision: either it stays in the car, or it travels in a sealed case and comes out only when the board is stationary and you are kneeling. The Peli Storm iM2100 is the case we recommend for a body and one lens on a SUP: it is small enough to sit between the deck bungees, it has press-and-pull latches you can open with wet hands, an automatic pressure valve, and an IP67 seal that has been tested by immersion rather than by splashing. Foam inside keeps the camera off the shell. It is not a pouch you can shoot through; it is a box the camera lives in between shots.
Fogging is the second camera problem on water and it happens inside a sealed case as much as outside: warm, humid air from the car park condenses on a cold lens once you are on the lake. A silica gel sachet in the case and opening it only in shade, not in full sun, solves most of it.
4. The drone 🚁
SUP footage from above is the shot everyone wants and the one that loses the most aircraft. Over water there is no safe place to land in an emergency, the wind picks up faster than it does over land, and a battery warning that gives you a comfortable margin on a beach gives you none when the beach is four hundred metres of paddling away. The drone itself should travel in a case that seals, not a backpack, and should be launched from the shore or from a kneeling position on a stable board, never from a standing position. Our rules for flying a drone over water cover the flight side; for the transport side, a Mini or an Air fits in the Storm iM2200 with its batteries and controller, and the case can be strapped to the deck or left in the car.
5. The fin 🦈
The fin is the cheapest part of the board and the one that ends the most trips. It cracks on rocks in shallow launches, it is left in the car, and on many boards it is held by a small screw and plate that fall into the sand at the moment you need them. Two habits: always check the fin is locked before you push off, and carry the spare screw and plate somewhere they cannot escape, which is another argument for a micro case with a clear lid. A detachable fin should be removed for transport and put in the bag with the board, not left to snap in a roof rack.
6. The pump and the valve 💨
An inflatable SUP is only as good as its pump and its valve. Pumps break at the hose fitting and the gauge; valves lose their small plastic cap or the pin sticks. Neither is a water problem, both are transport problems: a pump thrown loose into a car boot with a fin, a paddle and a wet board arrives with a cracked gauge. Keep the pump in its own bag with the valve adapter and spare cap, and carry the repair kit, the little tube of glue and patches that comes with every board, in a case that keeps it dry, because a wet repair kit is not a repair kit. The Storm iM2050 is the size for a repair kit, valve tool, spare fin screws, a multitool and a whistle: the SUP toolbox, in one box.
7. The leash 🪢
The leash is the one piece of gear that decides whether a fall is a swim or a rescue. On a river or in wind, a board without a leash is gone in seconds; the swimmer is then alone. Leashes fail at the swivel, at the velcro cuff and at the rail attachment, and the failure is invisible until it matters. Check the swivel turns freely, check the cuff velcro still bites when wet, and replace a leash with a frayed cord rather than tying a knot in it. On moving water use a quick-release waist leash, not an ankle leash; on flat water an ankle or calf leash is fine. This is not a case problem, it is a habit problem, and it goes on the list because it is the item most often missing from a beginner's kit.
8. Sunglasses, hat and everything on your head 🕶️
Sunglasses are the single most sunk item on any paddleboard, because they are on your face when you fall in and they do not float. A retainer strap solves ninety percent of it; a floating retainer solves the rest. The same is true of a hat, and of anything clipped to a hat. The cheap solution costs a few euro; the alternative is a lake with a lot of sunglasses on the bottom.
9. The board itself 🏄
Inflatables do not sink, but they do puncture, and they do it in car parks and on launches, not on the water: a rock under the tail while you kneel to attach the fin, a dragged rail across concrete, a valve left open in a hot car. Hard boards ding on the same rocks and in the same roof racks. The board's protection is technique, a bag, and a launch that starts in knee-deep water rather than on the shore. What the board cannot do is protect anything on top of it, which is why every other item on this list needs its own solution.
Micro cases that clip to a SUP deck
Dry bag or hard case?
Both belong on a paddleboard, and they do different jobs. A roll-top dry bag is the right container for soft, bulky things that can get damp without harm: a towel, a fleece, a change of clothes, food. It is light, it floats when there is air in it, and it costs little. It is the wrong container for anything with a screen or a lens, for two reasons: a roll-top seal is only as good as the last three folds, and a dry bag offers no protection against the item being crushed, dropped or sat on.
A hard case is the right container for the phone, keys, camera, drone, repair kit and anything electronic: a gasket seal that does not depend on how carefully you rolled it, a shell that takes a knock, a lid you can open with wet hands, and, on the micro cases, a clear lid so you can see what is inside. The trade-offs are size, weight and cost, and that it will not float on its own if it is packed with a heavy camera, which is why it is clipped to the board. The details of what the ratings mean, and why a micro case rated IP67 is a different thing from a phone rated IP68, are in waterproof, water-resistant or submersible.
| Item | Risk on a SUP | Container | Where it rides |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phone | Sinks, floods | M50 or M60 micro case | Clipped to deck bungee |
| Car keys, cards, cash | Sinks, remote dies | M40 micro case | Clipped to deck bungee |
| Mirrorless camera | Floods, fogs, cracks | Storm iM2100 with foam | Under bungees, or stays ashore |
| Drone with batteries | Lost over water, floods | Storm iM2200 | Ashore; launched from shore or kneeling |
| Repair kit, fin screws, tools, whistle | Wet glue, lost screws | Storm iM2050 or Peli 1150 | Under bungees |
| Clothes, towel, food | Damp | Roll-top dry bag | Under bungees |
| Sunglasses, hat | Sinks off your head | Floating retainer | On you |
| Leash | Fails at swivel or cuff | Inspect, replace | On you, always |
Small Storm cases for camera, drone and the SUP toolbox
How to attach a hard case to a paddleboard
- Use the deck bungees for the box, and a clip for insurance. A micro case slides under the front bungee grid; a carabiner from the case's attachment point to a D-ring means it stays with the board even if the bungee lets go.
- Put weight forward, not on the tail. A case on the tail lifts the nose and makes the board twitchy; under the front bungees it stabilises it.
- Keep the lid facing up and the latches facing you. You will open it kneeling, with wet hands, in a chop.
- Nothing on you that does not float. Phone and keys on the board, not in your pocket. A whistle and a knife on your buoyancy aid, on a lanyard.
- Tether the paddle on moving water; on a lake, learn to fall away from it.
- Wipe the gasket before closing a case at the launch. Sand in an O-ring is the one thing that defeats an IP67 seal.
- Rinse everything in fresh water after sea paddling, cases included, and leave them open to dry.
Frequently asked questions
Is a phone pouch enough for a SUP?
For a short paddle near the shore, usually. For anything longer, or in salt water, a gasket-sealed micro case with a clear lid, clipped to the board, is the safer option because it does not depend on a zip-lock and it survives being sat on.
Which Peli case fits a phone and car keys?
The M50 takes a large phone with a card and a key; the M40 is the size for keys and cash alone; the M60 takes a phone plus a compact camera or a power bank.
Can I take a mirrorless camera on a paddleboard?
Yes, in a sealed case such as the Storm iM2100 with foam, opened only when the board is stationary and you are kneeling. Use a silica gel sachet against fogging and open the case in shade.
Do Peli cases float?
Empty or lightly loaded micro cases float; a case packed with a camera or a drone generally does not. Clip every case to the board rather than relying on buoyancy.
What should always be on the board, not on me?
Anything that does not float and that you cannot afford to lose: phone, keys, camera. On you: the leash, a whistle, and a floating retainer for your sunglasses.
The short version
The board will be fine. The phone, the keys and the camera will not, unless they are in a sealed case clipped to the deck; the fin, the pump and the repair kit will not, unless they travel in something that keeps them dry and together; the sunglasses will not, unless they are on a float; and you will not, unless the leash is on. A micro case for the small things, a small Storm case for the camera or the drone, a dry bag for the clothes, and everything attached to the board. Then fall in as often as you like. 🌊
