Glide O2 Retro Inflatable SUP Review

Here are the specifications for the Glide O2 Retro Inflatable SUP:

• Dimensions:
  • Length: 10'6" (10 feet 6 inches)
  • Width: 33.5 inches
  • Thickness: 6 inches
• Weight:
  • Board Weight: Approximately 21.8 to 23 pounds, depending on the source.
• Weight Capacity: 400 pounds
• Construction:
  • Dual layer fusion PVC
  • Cross-knit woven drop stitch
• Fins:
  • 9” US-box center fin
  • 2 x 4.5” fliplock side fins
• Recommended PSI: 15-25 PSI
• Accessories:
  • Backpack with rolling wheels
  • Adjustable paddle
  • Leash
  • High capacity SUP pump
  • Fin
  • Repair kit
  • Inflatable AirThrone kayak conversion seat (for some models)
• Performance:
  • Stability: High, suitable for beginners and general use.
  • Speed: Moderate
  • Tracking: Good
  • Maneuverability: Fair
• Price Range: Approximately $699
• Warranty: 10 years

Glide O2 Retro 3.0 Inflatable SUP – Pros & Cons

The Glide O2 Retro 3.0 is a versatile and beginner-friendly inflatable stand-up paddleboard (SUP) known for its stability, durability, and value. Below is a breakdown of its strengths and areas for improvement based on expert reviews.

Pros ✅

✔ Exceptional Stability – With a 33.5-inch width and flat rocker profile, this board is highly stable, making it ideal for beginners, yoga, fitness, and even paddling with pets.

✔ Versatile Performance – Suitable for flat water paddling, river running, light surfing, and SUP yoga, offering all-around functionality.

✔ Highly Durable – Built with an AeroMatrix Elite core and triple-layer PVC with Thermofuse rails, ensuring rigidity and longevity.

✔ Kayak Conversion Option – Includes an inflatable AirThrone kayak seat, allowing for easy conversion into a kayak.

✔ Great Accessories – Comes with a high-quality paddle, wheeled backpack, pump, and fins, making it a complete package.

✔ Affordable Price – Offers high performance at a lower cost compared to similar boards in its category.

✔ Good Tracking & Speed – The fin configuration and design contribute to decent speed and tracking on flat water.

Cons ❌

✖ High PSI Rating – Although rated for up to 25 PSI, experts recommend inflating to 15–20 PSI for the best performance.

✖ Kayak Paddle Blade Not Included – The kayak conversion requires an additional paddle blade, which is sold separately.

✖ Struggles in Choppy Water – The low nose rocker makes it less effective in rough or choppy conditions.

✖ Less Stability for Pivot Turns – Due to its narrower tail design, stepping back for quick pivot turns can feel unstable.

Glide O2 Retro Inflatable SUP Review

People of the interwebs, prepare yourself for an unboxing of the nautical variety.

Okay, some unboxing action. First things first, about 40 pounds. Take it away, Jenny.

All right, so first things before we even open the box, look what it has on the end right there. You have to scan that right there, and it's going to show you what you need to do. Technology. Yeah, but let's get it open. Let's get it open. The first thing I see is a backpack. Let's take a closer look at the backpack because it looks pretty amazing.

First things first, the straps on the back are padded. Nice. And there's a nice thick padding here too on the actual back for some support. Love it. The backpack straps have a chest strap buckle and one down below for some more support. Oh, and some more padding here too. This is going to be a little heavy, so some extra support is nice.

How about those wheels? Yeah, check out those wheels. It's like reinforced here too. Okay, let me see. Awesome. Let me spin those things. Spinny action here. That's it. That's some nice rugged action.

Look at that. It's a nice wheel. Okay, we've got the bag on. How does it feel? It feels pretty good. Granted, it's empty right now, but it feels good. Let's do a little spinning tour.

Okay, so do you feel like there's a lot of support there? I do. I feel good so far.

All right, so I'm gonna kind of check it out here while it's on her. We've got a nice padded handle up top here. This is a nice like neoprene padded situation. That's nice. I feel like I could pick you up like that. We've got the glide on there.

Very nice. Look at that nice bag. All right, let's check out the side. Another nice handle, same thing. Like the finish on it.

All right, these zippers. These are some big huge zippers. I was toying around with these. These zip really, really nice. And then inside here, I mean, look at this. Oh, cavernous. And then we have some straps up here against the back so we can cinch it down.

All right, moving on to this secondary pouch here. And again, all the dimensions and everything are gonna be in the description, along with some links so you can go check it out for yourself. This is a huge, huge pocket down here. This bag is pretty nice and pretty. This is an awesome bag.

All right, there's more in this box to check out.

Next step, we have a seat. Taking a closer look at the seat here. So it has a nice rigid back. It's padded. It looks like there's some gel in there. Behind the seat on the back of it, there does appear to be this pocket. A zippered pocket. Nice and convenient.

All right, so let's go over the other components in here. It looks like we have a 10-foot leash, a repair kit, the fin, and a carry strap.

Okay, upon closer inspection, we have the carry strap. Nice little padding here. Adjustable. Some clips on the end. We also have the 10-foot leash with the expandability. Then we have the fin. Dolphin fin. Yay.

And lastly, here we have the repair kit. Looks like we have the tool, some patch, and some patch goop stuff. Things you might need.

Next up, we have the paddle. Here we have the three-piece multi-positional fiberglass paddle.

So we have the pump, which can be single or dual action. The hose for the pump. And an o-ring. Hey, and don't forget this. This cool-looking gauge here on the pump too.

And last up, we have this baby. The paddleboard comes wrapped up in this plastic and secured with a strap. We'll get this all unpacked.

All right, we've got the Glide all laid out. Now it's time to follow some assembly directions, instructions, whatever you call them. So we are going to inflate this right here. You need to make sure this is in the up position and then attach your hose.

Attached. Then we're going to attach it to the pump.

So, attaching it to the pump.

All right, the directions say to start with the one on the right. So the double action, I think.

Okay, here we go. We got the whole kitten caboodle blown up and up to 12 PSI. Took less than 15 minutes. Not too terribly bad. It's nice to have help with it, but not too bad overall.

Yeah, now that we have it inflated, we have been putting on some of those accessories. So there's the carry strap just connected to two of the D-rings. We also threw on the kayak seat just to see how it was. Probably a little more adjusting we need to do, but so far, you know, for a bonus seat, gotta love it.

The leash, we still need to attach to that D-ring back there, but that's where you need to attach it to.

We threw the paddle on there just for fun. Nice little elastic straps there as well. So far, this thing looks pretty nice. I cannot wait to get this out on the water.

We do need to put the fin on the bottom, so we'll flip it over and take a peek at it.

We have flipped over the paddleboard and we're going to install that fin. So that goes up here. Nice. And here we have the fin. So you just kind of slide that in there. Take out the thumb screw and then screw it back down once it's inside there.

Tada. It's done.

So this baby is ready to go to the water.

I think honestly, like, this strap, it's pretty comfortable. Be easy to carry it to the water. This deck pad seems to be pretty thick and squishy. I like it. And it runs the entire length of the board. I really like that. That's super sweet. Luxurious deck pad situations. Love it.

Deflation time.

So pretty much what you need to do is open this up, go ahead and push this down, and then you'll roll it from the nose.

Okay, many things today, you go and you get that thing, that item, and it's hard to put it back together, put it back in the original packaging.

Not with the Glide SUP. Everything fits beautifully in the bag. Like everything.

I mean, there's just enough room for everything. And actually, I shouldn't even say that. There's more than enough room for everything.

I mean, let's look. Everything is in here.

We have the SUP cinched in tight, and then we also have the original strap around it. We have the paddle right there. The seat in here. Yeah, plenty of room.

And this again, awesome bag.

Okay, fully loaded. How does it feel?

Let's get some walk-around action on that.

So how does that feel?

It feels good.

Feels good?

Yeah, we're fully loaded.

Jenny?

Yeah?

Is it comfortable?

It is.

You got a SUP on your back.

I know, this is fun.

That's a nice bag.

It is a nice bag.

It's sturdy. Like, it feels...

I feel like a girl for a while. Let's walk to the beach.

No, no.

But hey, that's nice.

We got some wheels on there too. Let's check them out.

Okay, doing a little testing of the wheels here on the sidewalk.

How's that going?

It works. It works pretty good.

So yay.

Yay, wheels.

Love the wheels.

All right, guys. We're going to get this out on the water real soon.

Check the link down below if you want to check out a Glide for yourself.