SBS Stand Up Paddle Board Rail Savers (Jumbo 83" x 3.5") - Clear SUP Protection

My new 10'6" 2+1 SUP arrived and I wanted to add a lil extra protection.The SBS Stand Up Paddle Board Rail Savers (Jumbo 83" x 3.5") thickness is 0.020" (0.50mm) for $18 is the perfect size for my board.I admit I was going to simply use my tried and true ISC Racers (Helicopter Tape) that I have on hand and use on my mountain bikes, but the SBS rail savers is thicker thus capable of taking a harder blow. I know this because I put the ICS helicopter tape through its paces one day. For example, I was riding down a rock garden and slammed my BB (not on purpose). Once I cleared the rock garden I checked out my bike because I thought I damaged the frame. Luckily I had ICS helicopter tape covering my BB and all that was messed up was the tape - not even a scratch. So why am I telling you about this other product? Well, the SBS Rail Savers tape is thicker and I know what ICS is capable of so I can only imagine the level of protection that the SBS Rail Savers will provide.COST COMPARISON* SBS Rail Savers tape is $18 for two 3.5” x 7’* ICS helicopter tape is $40 for 2" x 30 ftINSTALLATIONThere are two methods.1. Dry method - peel and stick.2. Soapy water method.I use this method because it allows you to position the tape exactly where you want it.DIRECTIONSFirst, the directions that came with the SBS rail savers recommends the Dry method.HOW I INSTALLED THE SBS RAIL SAVERSAs I mentioned I use the soapy water method.TOOLSYou need a large spray bottle. You don’t want to run out of soapy water and as you read on you’ll understand why I say large spray bottle.Before starting, make sure your rail is clean.1. Mix just enough dish soap with water to have a “slightly slippery feeling” on your fingers. When mixed spray on your fingers; if it’s totally slippery then you have WAY too much dish soap. Sorry, I don’t have a mixture ratio. You can look up window tinting and find a ratio - but seriously once you do what I am explaining it will make sense when I say slightly soapy water.2. Before pulling the paper backing off, spray your hands with the soapy water. This will keep your finger from sticking in the next step.3. As you peel the paper backing off the rail saver, spray the sticky side with the soapy water. Remember step two where I said spray your hands with the soapy water. You can now touch the sticky side without repercussion. Also, this keeps little floaters from getting stuck to the sticky side, and the other benefit is that you can move he rails saver around to get them exactly where you want it.IMPORTANT, use the soapy water and lots of it. You can’t use too much. You want to keep your hands and the rail savers wet. Don’t worry, the next step will change everything real quick.4. Now we’re ready to place the rail saver on your SUP. With wet hands and wet rail saver, position your rail saver on the rail and use your hand has a squeegee to move the soapy solution from under the tape. the first run, do not put too much pressure. This is an opportunity to make sure it’s positioned exactly where you want it and if not, you can peel up and spray with the solution and reapply. Once positioned, it’s just using your hand as a squeegee with moderate pressure using your hand (I mean sliding the area between your thumb and index down the rail). You can use a soft flexible rubber squeegee if you feel compelled for the smaller end areas.Now the SBS directions explicitly say do not do this in high heat. Well, that’s exactly what I did (sort of) mainly because I’ve done this many of times over the years with window tint. Yes, this is the same process as window tinting. In fact, the thicker the tinting in the case rail tape the easier it is to install. The primary difference between windows and a SUP is that you NEVER EVER, NEVER NEVER NEVER use a hair dryer or heat gun to dissipate the water faster to make it stick quicker; doing so is a great way to damage your board. So what I did was apply my rail tape on a sunny day that was pushing 90+ degrees Fahrenheit. Just take your time and you be done before you know it.CONCLUSIONI’d buy the SBS Rail Saver tape again and I definitely recommend it.

Great price for a great product. Went on very easily with some warm soapy water. Squeegeed out the excess and dried perfect. Took board in the water and no problems with adhesion and did its job. Would hands down recommend, no need spend more for other brands, these work great!!

Installed on a brand new board. Wiped it down with alcohol before installing so absolutely no risk of residue. Towards the back of the board where the rail gets more angular, this material started to peel off after one use. Ended up having to cut off over a foot of the material that wrapped around anything that was not a soft rounded edge. Now that part of the board’s edges are no longer protected. Not at all the level of adhesion I hoped for or expected. Very disappointing.

Let me start by saying my board is a 10'6" SUP. the center of the board seems to be wider than most so this tape was perfect for my board- at a reasonable price I'll add. But no directions to apply. Went to You Tube and there were various ways to apply demonstrated but mostly surf boards. There were 2 videos very helpful and, with the hint of - use lots of water- on the box with the tape, found the video I needed. I think I did it correctly and paddled for 2 hours yesterday without issue, but do think I went too far to the bottom of the board in one section.Bottom line- Great product, reasonably priced.

Third set of this brand because I am stripping all my boards and only using this brand. I’ve used rspro and it is really good, but more than 3x cost and the value I just can’t see. This product offers the protection and is way more affordable so u can protect all ur boards for the price of rspro on one. None of these are easy to install in my opinion, it takes two people to get it right and keep the board from sliding away from you as u pull tension so the tape will wrap correctly around rails but once on, it is great.

Great product, I would purchase again

The problem with taping any board, is the board has curves both horizontally and vertically, so the tape is going to pucker somewhere no matter how good you are at applying it (thus causing bubbles or creases). Unfortunately, the directions to install are completely different on the box than they are on the online video. Which one do you go with? (We went with the video, because we didn't like the idea of applying the tape on a WET board per the box instructions.) They should also tell you to avoid applying ANY of the (rather wide) tape to the bottom of the board, because it will come off in the water. We had about 1/2" curled under on one side and it stopped sticking after the first ride, so we had to trim it off with scissors. Maybe they should make this stuff a little less wide for easier application? Either way, we're hoping it will protect the sides of our board, and it probably will. We shall see...

Very thick rail tape. The thickness makes it more challenging to apply, I normally spray with soapy water before rail taping. Doing that makes it even harder to apply. Had to squeeze the water out for a long time before it finally adhered to the SUP. I have a race board so the rails are pretty wide. The 3.5 inch tape is ideal for my board. It was almost better to use less soapy water. However, you can’t be as flexible with the positioning doing so.I bought a much thinner 4 inch tape for another sup that cost almost 4x this tape. So the price and the thickness make up for the application difficulties. Will definitely use this again.