The Best Kayak Seat for a Paddle Board – Turn Your SUP Into A Fun Kayak

Updated July 2nd, 2023

Do you sometimes wish for a kayak when you are out on your paddleboard? Sometimes sitting down is nice, especially when it’s windy. Sometimes you just want a relaxing paddle. Maybe you aren’t that comfortable standing on your board and you’d like to sit down. You can use a kayak seat for a paddle board to turn your SUP into a sit on top kayak. Let’s talk about how to convert your SUP into a kayak.

What do you need to turn your SUP into an inflatable sit on top kayak?

You only need 3 items to turn your inflatable paddle board into a kayak. You need a SUP kayak seat, a kayak paddle, and D-Rings to attach the seat. Will this make the best performing kayak in the world? No. Will it make a fun and easy to use kayak? Yes. This isn’t going to perform like a premium kayak or ocean kayak. Your converted inflatable board will be just as good as the average inflatable kayak you can buy.

A kayak seat for your paddleboard will run you $40-$50. An in expensive kayak paddle will run you $30-$50. You can easily get both for under $100.

SUP Kayak Conversion Kit

Some paddleboard companies sell a conversion kit for their kayak. It is a seat and extra blade that will convert their paddle into a kayak paddle. All paddles that come with inflatable paddleboards do not use the same handles and attachement methods. If you want a one stop shop kayak conversion look for one from the brand you brought the board from.

Kayak seat for a paddle board

You need a seat to sit on. There are only a few seat options available that are sold under many brand names. The most common one is the black seat with grey cushion pads in the center. There are a lot of companies selling the same identical kayak seat on Amazon and other places online. The price varies a little bit. Some come with a small carrying bag. Some do not. For this review, I am using the version sold by OutdoorMaster. These are folding padded seat with some straps to hold it in place.

The other option is an inflatable kayak seat such as those sold by Sea Eagle for their inflatable kayaks. They attach the same way using straps. An inflatable seat may give your butt a bit more padding as well.

A kayak seat for your paddleboard will run you $40-$50.

Kayak paddle

You need a kayak paddle with 2 blades. You have 2 ways you can go with this. You can get a second dedicated kayak paddle to use when paddling like a kayak. You can get a convertible paddle that can be assembled as either a SUP paddle or kayak paddle. For this review, I am using the YVLEEN Alloy SUP Paddle which is a convertible paddle.

A in expensive kayak paddle will run you $30-$50.

We really like the Aqua Bound Stingray 2 Carbon paddle for a better option. It costs more but has a much better feel and features.

BOTE Inflatable Kayak Seat

If you want to make a more comfortable kayak out of of a stand up paddleboard there are some other options that work well. They cost more but they are worth every cent.

The basic seat mentioned above works okay and it’s comfortable for a little while. The inflatable Aero SUP Seat from BOTE is a thousand times more comfortable to sit in. It gives more back and thigh support. It feels like a real chair. The only downside to this chair is that it lifts you higher above the board making it less stable than the basic seat. Use the BOTE seat only on 32 inch, or preferably 34 inch wide big stable boards.

You do need to get a few adapter straps off of Amazon to make it work. BOTE put fittings on it that don’t work with regular D-Rings. That won’t stop us from using this great seat on other brand boards. The BOTE seat runs $169

Paddleboard with D-Rings

Many paddleboards come with enough D-Rings to attach a seat. If your kayak doesn’t have a set in front and behind where you would sit you can add some. For this review, I am using the Chasing Blue Infinite Kayak that has 22 D-Rings.

SUP Kayak hybrid packages

If you just want to buy 1 complete package there are options out there for you. There are a few inflatable kayak packages out there that come with a seat and convertible paddle. Bluefin SUP is one of the most popular options. See our guide to the best SUP kayak hybrids to learn about other options. There are a few companies making a kayak conversion kit as well. These are just the seat and a cheap paddle being sold together.

Mounting the SUP kayak seat

The most difficult part of this process is setting up the kayak seat. There are 4 straps on the seat. 2 straps go forward and 2 go backward. Do the following to mount the seat.

• Place the seat on the paddleboard. Center the seat bottom where you put your feet when your standing on the paddleboard. This will get the balance and trim close enough when your sitting down.
• Hook the 2 forward straps up to the next set of D-Rings forward of this position. Attach the rear straps to the set of D-Rings behind this position.
• Hold the kayak seat back vertical. Tension the forward straps up. This will get the seat into the right position for you. When you lean back on the seat your weight will flex the seat. If you start with the seatback leaned back, when you put weight on it, it will flex back even farther and not support you.
• take the slack out of the rear straps. The rear straps are only there to keep the seat bottom from sliding forward. The front straps are doing all the work.
• With your board floating in the water, sit down on the board in the seat. If the seat doesn’t feel like it’s supporting you, tighten the forward straps more. If the seat feels like it’s too upright, loosen the front straps. Do this until you find a comfortable position.
• Once you have set the straps, you can take the seat on and off as much as you like and it will be roughly in the right spot and right angle. It might take you a few uses to get the strap setup correct for you.

The below video by iRocker gives a good demonstration for setting up this type of seat.

Assemble the paddle

If you have a convertible paddle, assemble it with both paddle blades attached. If you have a dedicated kayak paddle, put it together if it is a mutli piece paddle.

Go for a paddle

Now that you have set up your SUP kayak hybrid it’s time to go for a paddle. An inflatable SUP with a seat will handle just like a sit on top kayak. If you think about how an inflatable sit on top kayak would look you would come up with something like an inflatable SUP. I found it much easier to paddle as a kayak going into the wind or with chop than standing. Your body has less wind drag when seated. The fins work as well for tracking in kayak mode as SUP mode.

Why convert your paddleboard into a kayak?

People with poor balance skills or a fear of the water can find standing intimidating and difficult. My wife is a bit afraid of the water and doesn’t like standing on paddle boards. She will try to stand up while paddle boarding for a few minutes. After a few minutes she usually kneels or sits on her board. She really likes this seat on the paddleboard to make sitting more comfortable.

Paddleboards are easy to get back on in the water. Another big advantage of kayak conversion with a paddleboard is getting back on the kayak in open water. A sit in kayak is very difficult to get back in if you are in deep water. Inflatable kayaks aren’t any easier. Rigid sit in kayaks aren’t much better. You have to lay on it and squirm back into a seated position. With a paddleboard, you are much closer to the water and they are wider. This makes them really easy to get back on and into a seated position.

Kayaks can be easier to paddle into wind and chop. You have less windage sitting down close to the water than standing. If it’s windy out and you still want to get on the water, a kayak can be easier than a paddleboard to get around on.

Sometimes you just want to do something different. I enjoy paddleboarding but I enjoy kayaking also. I don’t have space to put a kayak, paddleboard, windsurfer, and all my other outdoor gear in the garage. Having anything that can serve dual purpose is a plus.

Board, seat, and paddle used for this review.

Chasing Blue Infinite iSUP

This was my first inflatable paddleboard. It is 34 inches wide which is on the wide and stable side for a SUP board. This makes it very stable as a kayak. It won’t be as fast as a narrower board. The extra stability is really not needed when you are sitting down. It has a high weight capacity of 320 lbs, which we have tested. It is good for a larger paddler. The board has 22 D-Rings, 7 handles and a bungee cord in front and back so you can easily attach a kayak seat.

Overall it works very well as SUP board or a kayak. The only downside is a little more drag due to the width.

As a bonus, it is sometimes packaged with the Shark 2 Electric Pump which makes inflation and deflation much easier. See my review of the shark here.

Padded SUP kayak seat

I found this paddle board kayak seat comfortable for an hour of paddling. The backrest did a good job of supporting my back. It takes some playing with it to get the straps set up. Once you have the tension right on the front adjustable strap it works very well. It does not come with a small storage bag other versions of this SUP seat do. It does have buckles on the back where you could attach your own bag.

Will it be a comfortable seat for an 8 hour all day paddle? Probably not. Neither is the seat that comes in most low to mid range kayaks. Overall it works well for a SUP kayak to paddle around for a couple of hours.

YVLEEN Alloy SUP Paddle

This is one of the most popular and highest rated convertible SUP paddles on Amazon. The paddle uses a symmetrical center section with plastic quick releases on both ends. There are grooves in the center section to make alignment simple for the handle and blades. The paddle is easy to assemble with the plastic quick release clamps. You can quickly change it from SUP to kayak paddle and back in a few seconds.

You must tighten the quick release clamps so they hold the blades and handles without slipping. They needed to be 2 turns tighter for me out of the box.

This paddle works very well as a SUP paddle. The grooved sliding joints and quick release give a solid connection with the handle and blade with no play or wobbling. This is an improvement over most pin connectors found on the aluminum paddles that come with inflatable paddleboards. I am not convinced these plastic quick releases will last in the long term as the plastic wears. I will be paying attention to this part on a couple of paddles I have that use them. They work very well when new.

This paddle works as a kayak paddle but it does not work as well as a true kayak paddle. It has several things working against it. These are true for most convertible paddles out there.

• There are no grips on the shaft or drip cups. I found that I had to grip the plastic quick release fittings to hold the paddle. After an hour of paddling I can feel blisters starting to form. I would recommend wearing gloves to kayak with this paddle.
• It has paddleboad shaped blades. They are angled to work as a paddleboard paddle. When they are on a kayak paddle they are out of balance. When holding the paddle, the blades want to tip forward. It constantly feels like you are putting effort into holding the blades vertical. The blade shape is not correct either so this will not paddle as with the efficiency of a kayak paddle.

If you want a convertible paddle that can fit in your inflatable SUP carrying bag this is a good choice. If you don’t mind carrying 2 paddles, I would get a kayak paddle instead of a convertible paddle

BOTE Aero SUP Paddle Seat

The BOTE seat is inflatable and by far the most comfortable SUP seat available. You can adjust the pressure from 7 psi to 10 psi to change the amount of cushion. It uses standard H3 valves so your handpump or electric pump can inflate it. My only complaint with this seat is that they used fitting on it meant to work with webbing straps instead of D-Rings. You can get webbing straps with a hook on Amazon that solve that problem for $10. See the link below.

This seat should only be used on big wide paddle boards. I recommend 32 inch or wider. It raises your CG a couple inches higher off the board than the thin generic seat.

Aqua Bound Stringray 2 piece Carbon Kayak Paddle

We have had nothing but good experiences with Aqua Bound paddles. We use the Challenger 85 for SUP. The Stingray 2 piece carbon kayak paddle works great for kayaking. It has a quick link at the middle of the paddle that lets you separate the halves and adjust the angle. It has good balance and drip rings at each blade. It’s available in several lengths.

You might also like:

• OutdoorMaster Shark ii Electric Pump Review – The Best iSUP Pump
• Can You Sit On A Paddleboard? 8 Fun Easy Ways To Enjoy Your Paddleboard Without Standing
• The Best Inflatable Paddle Board Accessories You Need Now