{"id":36467,"date":"2022-11-19T07:50:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-19T12:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=36467"},"modified":"2022-11-19T07:50:00","modified_gmt":"2022-11-19T12:50:00","slug":"electric-stand-up-paddleboard-kit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=36467","title":{"rendered":"Weird Alibaba: This $300 kit turns a SUP into an electric surfboard"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For anyone who thinks the worst part of stand up paddleboards is the paddling, you\u2019re going to love this week\u2019s Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week entry. Apparently all it takes to ditch the paddle is a $300 SUP conversion kit that turns a paddleboard into an electric surfboard.<\/p>\n

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Electric conversions are all the rage these days. We\u2019ve seen plenty of electric bike conversion kits<\/a>, and there are even kits to turn an old car into a snazzy new electric vehicle.<\/a><\/p>\n

But converting a stand up paddleboard into an electric surfboard sounds like a whole new level of fun.<\/p>\n

Putting aside the fact that this kind of kills the exercise benefits of SUPs, it still sounds like a fun way to spend an afternoon out on the water.<\/p>\n

And for just $300<\/a>, it seems like this Alibaba special can help you and nine of your friends make it happen. Oh yea, that\u2019s the other thing. There\u2019s kind of a minimum order quantity of 10 units. But no worries, once your friends see how awesome this thing is, I\u2019m pretty sure you\u2019ll be able to move those other nine fins pretty quickly.<\/p>\n

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From what I can gather from the super bare-bones Alibaba sales page, the conversion kit seems to have a carbon fiber fin that houses a small electric motor and a propellor complete with prop guard.<\/p>\n

A cynical part of me wonders if that\u2019s the real fin that you get, since $300 already sounds like a pretty killer price, not even considering the carbon fiber.<\/p>\n

But taking them at their word, it looks like a pretty nice kit.<\/p>\n

The batteries and controller are housed in a nuclear football\/Tupperware\/Otterbox style case that appears to be strapped onto the board in a less than elegant style. But I guess you\u2019ll be buzzing the coast so fast that no one will get a good look at how janky the attachment appears to be.<\/p>\n

Or at least I assume you\u2019ll be flying along at a good speed. There\u2019s no tech specs to tell me just how fast this thing can go, though they did at least describe the motor as \u201chigh power\u201d, which sounds like a good sign to me!<\/p>\n

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The concept is actually pretty cool, and it\u2019s something we\u2019ve occasionally heard of before: a swappable fin<\/a> on a typical stand up paddleboard that adds a little motor and propellor to let you lazily cruise your local waterways.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s definitely not going to give you the thrill of a faster and more powerful electric surfboard. Based on the size in the images, I\u2019d guess that it\u2019s no more powerful than 250 watts.<\/p>\n

Compared to the ultra-fast 35 mph (56 km\/h) electric surfboards I\u2019m used to playing around on<\/a>, I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s going to offer the same wind in your hair and spray in your face experience.<\/p>\n

But then again, it\u2019s also considerably less expensive than most $10,000 electric surfboards out there<\/a>, so perhaps there\u2019s something to be said for taking it slow and easy.<\/p>\n

If I had to choose though, I think I\u2019d still prefer something a bit more powerful. Check out my last ride on a high power electric surfboard below. As soon as an Alibaba kit can do this, I might considering actually buying one.<\/p>\n

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