REASONS TO BUY
Great value
Stable
Good glide performance
REASONS TO AVOID
Heavy
Lower max weight limit
Tahe Beach Performer Review
If you are looking for a great all-around performer at a reasonable price, look no further
Great for families and novices, offering excellent stability and maneuverability. The durable Tahe Beach Performer glides well enough that it won't disappoint expert paddlers.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
RELATED: Best Stand Up Paddle Boards of 2024
Our Verdict
If you are a beginner or intermediate paddler or a family shopping for a new SUP on a tighter budget, then the Tahe Beach Performer is one of our top choices. This well-built, durable stand-up paddle board offers good glide performance, solid stability, and decent maneuverability at a price much lower than many of its competitors. It's quite easy to transport compared to some larger boards and showed only minor wear and tear after fairly rough handling and paddling. While not as high-performing as some other premium models, it doesn't have any major weaknesses and provides solid all-around performance and a good price.
Editor's Note: After retesting this board, we updated this review on November 8, 2023.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Tahe Beach Performer | |||||
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| Awards |  |  | |||
| Price | $900 List $642.00 at Amazon | $1,430 List | $1,600 List $1,600 at Amazon | $1,250 List | $899 List Check Price at REI |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | If you want a great bang for the buck when it comes to SUPs, this is a fantastic option | For the cream of the crop when it comes to stand up paddle boards, it’s hard to go wrong with the Catalyst | This is a solid all-around board that delivers stability and speed | A stable and robust SUP that is great for those who aren’t going anywhere in a hurry | We think this is a great SUP for flat water but wish it did better in waves and chop |
| Rating Categories | Tahe Beach Performer | Surftech Catalyst T... | Boardworks Kraken | SIC Maui TAO Fit AT | Pau Hana Malibu Cla... |
| Glide Performance (35%) | |||||
| Stability (25%) | |||||
| Maneuverability (15%) | |||||
| Ease of Transport (15%) | |||||
| Construction Quality (10%) | |||||
| Specs | Tahe Beach Performer | Surftech Catalyst T... | Boardworks Kraken | SIC Maui TAO Fit AT | Pau Hana Malibu Cla... |
| Measured Weight | 33.4 lbs | 27.0 lbs | 28.0 lbs | 29.2 lbs | 31.0 lbs |
| Board Volume | 185 L | 203 L | 199 L | 195 L | 234 L |
| Weight Capacity | 200 lbs | 215 lbs | Not specified | 220 lbs | 249 lbs |
| Width | 31.5" | 32.5" | 32.0" | 33.2" | 34.0" |
| Length | 10' 6" | 11' 2" | 11' 0" | 10' 0" | 10' 6" |
| Thickness | 5.0" | 5.2" | 5.0" | 4.8" | 4.0" |
| Fin Configuration | Large detachable center fin with 2 optional side fins | Single detachable center fin | Large detachable center fin, 2 optional side fins | 9" tool-free removable center fin | Single |
| Bungee Cargo System? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Inserts only |
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Our Analysis and Test Results
The 10'6 Tahe Beach Performer measures 31.5 inches wide and is 5 inches thick. It is a rugged, all-around stand-up paddle board that pairs solid performance with a more reasonable price tag.
Performance Comparison
With adequate performance and superior durability the Beach Performer offers a great introductory option for those looking to get on the water.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Glide Performance
For this metric, we looked at how much effort it took to accelerate each board and how much each would glide per paddle stroke. For a fully comprehensive test, we also compared performance in still and rough waters.
We tested a shorter version of the Beach Performer, but it still tracks decently and can hold speed across the water.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
We tested a shorter version of the Beach Performer (it's also available in an 11'6" profile), and this put it at a distinct disadvantage in this metric. However, we were pleasantly surprised by how well it glides when considering this. We appreciate how quickly it accelerates from a standstill, holding its own against boards with much more glide-oriented designs. It gets a decent amount of glide per paddle stroke, especially when taking its shorter length into account.
The Tahe's glide performance suffers a bit in choppier water but still performs better than most inflatable models and other super wide rigid models.
Credit: David Wise
The glide performance of this board does suffer a bit when it comes to choppier water. The shorter overall length and the wider, broader nose make this more of a casual, all-around board than the longer and pointier designs geared toward touring or racing. Those boards will cut through waves and maintain glide performance better than the Beach Performer will. It experiences much more bouncing in chop, significantly impacting glide. It still did all right in choppier waters, outperforming the inflatables and the super wide, rigid SUPs, but it is far from our first choice if we had a long paddle ahead of us in rougher waters.
The Beach Performer has adequate glide.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Stability
The Beach Performer is a hefty, wider board, earning it a solid, above-average score in our stability tests. This board is a great option for beginners, offering a super stable platform to get started paddling, particularly when you are on flat water.
At 31 inches wide the Tahe Beach Performer is far from the skinniest of boards, but it also isn't the widest. For smaller paddlers to mid-sized paddlers, this strikes a great compromise between stability and maneuverability.
Credit: Sara James
This SUP also does decently well in wavy and fchoppy conditions, though there is a noticeable reduction in stability. The blunt nose and wider board tend to slap the water when passing through the waves, creating some less-than-ideal oscillations compared to pointier boards that can slice through waves.
The wider nature of the Beach Performer makes it particularly stable on calm water, though its shape doesn't do as well in choppier conditions.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
The Beach Performer also has a stated maximum weight limit of 200 pounds, a bit less than some of the longer and larger boards. We noticed a significant reduction in stability as paddlers were closer to this limit, so it might not be the best option for larger folks.
In gentle moving current, experienced paddlers found the Tahe stable enough to provide a challenging by safe ride.
Credit: Sara James
Maneuverability
Our next series of tests focused on how maneuverable and agile each board is compared to the rest of the lineup. The Beach Performer is a bit of an all-around board, helping it considerably in this metric. It isn't the surfiest SUP that we have ever seen, but it did alright riding on some small waves. We tested the shorter version, which gives the board a much tighter turning radius than larger boards.
Given its length, turning the Tahe Beach Performer has a decently small turning radius.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
This board did well at performing slaloming maneuvers in both flat and rough water, and you can make a U-turn without too much difficulty. However, it still is more of a flat-water board, making it a little more cumbersome and clunky to turn than surfier boards that respond better to shifting body weight and leaning through turns.
The Tahe (front) and the inflatable Bluefin (rear), paddled similarly, even with the inflatable board having more of a touring-focused design.
Credit: David Wise
Ease of Transport
Next, we rated and ranked how much effort it took to transport each SUP to and from the water. There is no avoiding the fact that a rigid SUP will generally be much more difficult to transport than an inflatable model, particularly if your vehicle is not a truck or an SUV.
The handle on the Tahe is deep and makes for a decently comfortable carry.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
This stand-up paddle board is shorter than an extra-long touring board, making it much easier to maneuver in general. We found that we could transport it angled out the bed of a mid-size pickup truck, something we didn't feel we could safely do with the 12-foot-or-longer boards. The Beach Performer has a nice molded hand grip in the middle of the board and isn't too uncomfortable to carry for short distances.
Comparing an inflatable SUP against a rigid model.
Credit: David Wise
Despite its relative ease of transportation over short distances, this molded plastic board is definitely on the heavier side compared to some of the others, so the story changes a bit over long distances. Nothing terrible, but we wouldn't be thrilled if we had to lug this board across the land for more than 10 minutes or so.
The Tahe weighs more than many of the other boards we tested, making carrying a bit more awkward.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Construction Quality
We scored performance for this metric by assessing the construction materials of each SUP and looking at how much wear and tear was sustained throughout our rough-and-tumble testing process. The Beach Performer has a plastic construction with a foam deck pad that, overall, held up very well to our abuse. The plastic was dragged over all surfaces, such as pavement, sand, or gravel, and only showed minor cosmetic scrapes and scuffs.
The construction of the Tahe meant that we didn't worry about knocking it on rocks.
Credit: Sara James
Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said about the foam deck pad. Like most boards, it is very soft and not the most durable, tearing or scratching easily from sharper objects. We found this out the hard way, sliding it onto a set of roof racks with a slightly jagged chip. That said, the damage was just cosmetic, and we found this board to be much more durable overall than its gel-coated, fiberglass counterparts.
Some wear and tear is visible on the deck pad.
Credit: David Wise
Should You Buy the Tahe Beach Performer?
The Beach Performer is a great option for anyone looking for an all-around SUP without spending a ton. This board isn't the best at gliding, but it does well enough that you can still go on longer tours. It has plenty of stability even for novices, and is fairly surfy and maneuverable. It's not too much of a pain to haul around out of the water and can withstand a decent amount of abuse with only cosmetic damage to show for it. It's a great value option for families or beginners.
Great for families and novices, offering excellent stability and maneuverability. The durable Tahe Beach Performer glides well enough that it won't disappoint expert paddlers.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
What Other Stand Up Paddle Board Should You Consider?
If you like the durability of the Tahe Beach Performer but would like a board that is a bit lighter and more stable, consider the SIC Maui TAO Fit AT. With a similar profile and construction but a wider deck profile, the TAO Fit offers that bit of extra comfort despite being shorter and lighter. For those looking to cover some distance, particularly if you like moving at speed, the Starboard Generation LT is the SUP to jump on.
—
Sara James and Marissa Fox
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