Glide O2 Angler Fishing iSUP Review | 2024

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Glide O2 Angler Fishing iSUP: Overview

The Glide O2 Angler fishing iSUP combines Glide’s high-quality construction, an extremely stable shape, and enough extra features for all of your fishing adventures without getting in your way. Unlike many other fishing iSUPs that require you to purchase loads of accessories before you get out on the water, the only thing you need to add to the Glide O2 Angler is your fishing rod and a PFD.

— Glide O2 Angler iSUP Summary Ratings and Review —

Construction and Durability

Glide’s choice in materials and construction techniques creates an inflatable paddleboard that performs well on the water and is long-lasting.

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The Glide O2 Angler fishing iSUP is built around a 6” thick woven drop stitch fabric core. Additionally, the drop stitch yarns themselves are placed at an angle (creating a series of V shapes) which further enhances rigidity while reducing weight. Both of these materials are excellent upgrades over the more traditional knitted fabrics and linear drop stitching. The deck and hull of the board are made up of two layers of high-density PVC tarpaulin. This material uses 1300 Denier fabric as a base layer for the PVC material, adding more rigidity and durability compared to lighter-weight materials. A strip of PVC is then heat-welded to the deck and hull around the entire edge of the O2 Angler to create an airtight seal. Heat-welded seams physically bond the layers into a single material rather than adhering them together with glue. A second layer of PVC is then wrapped around the paddleboard again to further reinforce and protect the sides of the board.

All of these construction components work together to create an inflatable paddleboard that can live up to the rigors of regular use for years and years. It also allows the O2 Angler to be inflated to higher pressures than your average iSUP, with a maximum pressure rating of 25 PSI. Most paddlers don’t find a need to inflate their boards beyond 20 PSI (or even 15 PSI in many cases) however knowing that the board is rated to higher pressures does provide peace of mind against environmental factors that could cause the pressure in the board to increase during use. The O2 Angler’s construction is also backed by Glide’s lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects.

Once it’s all put together and inflated, the O2 Angler provides excellent stiffness, and is among the highest rated iSUPs in our bend test to date. At 20 PSI, the O2 Angler deflected (bent) just 1.0” in our 170 lbs bend test. At just 15 PSI, the results were equally as good with a deflection of just 1.25”. This puts the Glide O2 Lotus among the current top 3 scores in our bend test.

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Dry-land stiffness is one thing, but we have seen cases where inflatable paddleboards can feel more or less rigid on the water than what their dyr-land bend test indicates. While paddling the Glide O2 Angler, I did feel some light flex in the board while bouncing up and down (shown below) and while paddling as hard as possible during our speed tests. Both of these situations are extreme edge cases and are intended to find the most flex possible in any iSUP.

During normal use, moving around on the board, and even during quick (but not sprinting) paddling, the O2 Angler remained pleasantly stiff on the water with no noticeable board flex. I did feel some light reverberation while walking around on the board, but none while paddling.

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Specifications

Features, Accessories and Versatility

The Glide O2 Angler is set up with everything you may need for a day (or even weekend) of fishing from your paddleboard, and does so without making the board cluttered or difficult to use otherwise.

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Starting at the front of the paddleboard, the O2 Angler has a carrying handle and a rather large, 6-point, bungee cargo area. There’s plenty of room for large dry bags (or soft coolers) and of course the D-rings can be used to tie down even bulkier items if needed. The brushed EVA deck pad does stop prior to the O2 Angler’s front cargo area. This is a relatively normal thing, but I call this out because the O2 Angler is Glide’s only inflatable SUP that does not have a full-length deck pad. While you may not be walking all the way to the nose to go fishing (especially if the cargo area is in use), having a full-length deck pad here would open up the O2 Angler to more comfortable paddling with passengers/dogs or potentially even some light tandem paddling.

Between the front cargo area and the main standing area, there are two mounting points specifically designed to work with Glide’s fishing rod holders. The rod holders slide into place with a toothed foot to let you set how they are oriented in the holder. They lock into place using a white sliding clip which also gives you quick visual indication if the holder is locked in place or not. You can also adjust the vertical angle of the rod holder and there is both a latching clasp and stirrup to help securely hold your fishing rod in place. I do like the implementation of this system and the placement of these rod holders. However, I’m not totally wild about how proprietary they are, as this limits where you can put the rod holders (only on these front mounting points) and replacement rod holders are not currently available for sale on Glide’s website if they do become lost or broken.

Just behind the standing area are two Scotty-style mounting points. These mounting points can use any compatible four-bolt accessory, and Glide includes a pair of fishing rack mounting feet with the O2 Angler. You can also use these points to attach additional rod holders, fish finders, and more.

There are four D-rings placed around the middle of the O2 Angler designed to be compatible with both the padded seat and the padded shoulder carrying strap. The included seat offers back-support for those anglers who like to sit while fishing and landing their catch, however there are no foot braces and the low seating position may be uncomfortable for long periods of time compared to an inflatable (or otherwise elevated) seat. There is also a webbing loop on each side of the board, next to the rear D-rings, that is compatible with an anchor pole for holding your position while fishing in shallow flats.

At the rear of the board the O2 Angler has another large, 4-point, cargo area. In addition to the cargo area itself, the D-rings and the mid-board D-rings make excellent and well-placed tie down points for a hard-sided cooler. Last, but not least, a rear carry handle with integrated leash D-ring rounds out the features on the deck of the O2 Angler.

On the board’s hull is a nose D-ring for anchoring or towing, and a center US fin box and two fixed side-bite fins under the tail.

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The Glide O2 Angler includes quite an impressive kit of accessories. The O2 Angler includes your standard array of accessories – a three piece paddle, repair kit, leash, and double action hand pump. It also includes a tool-less touring-style fin, padded seat, padded shoulder carrying strap, two fishing rack feet mounts, and two fishing rod holders. All of this fits into the included heavy-duty wheeled bag. I do have some minor difficulty getting the O2 Angler to fit into the bag when it is rolled up – there’s very little wiggle room lengthwise in the bag, so it’s important to make sure you roll the board tightly and straight, so it doesn’t become “longer” than necessary.

Paddle

The O2 Angler comes with the same fiberglass and nylon three-piece adjustable paddle that is included with the O2 Retro and O2 Lotus iSUPs. This paddle works well for all three of these boards, but could benefit from a stiffer construction for a fully-loaded fishing iSUP.

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Fiberglass paddle shafts tend to sit in the happy medium where cost, weight, and performance all balance quite nicely. With standard load-out for a day of fishing (rods, tackle, dry bag, water) the included paddle works well with the O2 Angler. The fiberglass shaft gives a comfortable amount of flex without feeling too soft. The medium-size paddle blade could benefit from a few more square inches to match the larger-size board, but overall still does a good job.

For larger paddlers and/or those paddling with more equipment (or a passenger), the pleasantly soft feeling of a fiberglass paddle shaft can sometimes leave you feeling under-gunned and overworked. It would be nice to see the O2 Angler either come with, or have an option for a paddle with a carbon fiber shaft and/or composite blade. These paddle materials are stiffer do a much better job of transferring power, especially with a heavier setup.

Stability

One of the requirements of any fishing paddleboard is that it needs to have plenty of stability to support you while paddling, casting, and landing fish all day. The O2 Angler provides excellent stability for all three.

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The Glide O2 Angler is 11’ long and 36” wide which would give any normal iSUP a significant amount of stability and volume to begin with. However, the O2 Angler steps it up a notch through its shape. Rather than focusing the width of the board only at the standing area, the O2 Angler remains very wide as you approach both the nose and the tail. This creates a long parallel section in the middle of the board that extends all the way forward and back through the two sets of mounting points. This means that as you reach for your fishing rod or other items you won’t experience any change in stability that you might with a paddleboard that has more aggressively tapered ends. There is zero wobbling, rocking, tipping, twitching, or any other sensation of instability when standing or paddling on the O2 Angler.

Additionally, the nose and tail of the O2 Angler are also kept nice and wide. In particular, the tail is nearly 26” wide at the end of the deck pad (compared to 22” or less on most other fishing iSUPs). This very wide tail and nose help keep the O2 Angler stable no matter where you are standing on the board, and when the board is tilted on its edge. The parallel shape and wide ends keep lots of surface area in contact with the water when the board is tilted. It’s almost as easy to keep the O2 Angler balanced on its rail as it is to stay balanced while flat. This is particularly helpful in choppy conditions or when landing fish off to the side of your board.

Speed

At 36” wide, there is a lot of paddleboard to move across the water when paddling the Glide O2 Angler. While it’s not the fastest iSUP on the water, I was surprised with its speed given its size.

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In our 100m sprint test, the Glide O2 Angler crossed the finish line in an average of 45.5 seconds for an average speed of 5.0 MPH. For such a wide paddleboard and with a fiberglass paddle, I was quite impressed with this result. The top speed I recorded during testing was only a little bit faster at 5.2 MPH. One thing I did note during these speed tests was a moderate-to-high amount of flex in the board. The O2 Angler is neither a race SUP, nor even a touring paddleboard, so I’m less concerned with its top speed and more interested in how it paddles under more normal conditions.

In our quarter-mile cruise test, the Glide O2 Angler clocked a 3.1 MPH average speed at a moderate, but consistent pace of 25 strokes per second. This is a fairly average speed for most iSUPs we’ve tested (all sizes and shapes). We also measure each iSUPs glide ratio – or how far the board will move with each paddle stroke before it slows down. We found the Glide O2 Angler to have an average glide of 1.6 board-lengths per stroke. This is again about average for an iSUP of this size.

Overall, the Glide O2 Angler is neither a speed-demon, nor a slow-poke. It’s designed to get you, and all of your fishing equipment, safely to the next fishing hole at a reasonable speed.

Maneuverability and Tracking

Sometimes large paddleboards can feel like you are paddling a barge – slow and difficult to move. I’m glad to report that is not the case with the Glide O2 Angler. It’s actually quite nimble on the water.

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Longer and wider paddleboards can often be difficult to turn as you push more paddleboard sideways through the water compared to their smaller counterparts. In our 360° turning test, I found the Glide O2 Angler to be extremely maneuverable for its size and nearly as quick to turn as many smaller iSUPs. It took an average of just over 5 forward-sweep paddle strokes to turn the O2 Angler in a full circle from a standstill. This is about 2 strokes faster than the norm for paddleboards this size. When throwing the O2 Angler into reverse, it only takes 4 reverse-sweep strokes to turn a full circle. While still a great result, it’s more on-part with its counterparts.

When you don’t have the O2 Angler loaded up, stepping back to the tail of the board for a quick pivot turn is simple and smooth. The board’s excellent stability easily supports you as you step back, and keeps things moving effortlessly with the nose out of the water.

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With such a great result in the maneuverability test, I was expecting the O2 Angler to struggle during the tracking test. While paddling toward a distant target, after 10 forward paddle strokes on one side, the O2 Angler strayed off course by only 14° on average. Rather than struggling through the tracking test, the O2 Angler did pretty well and kept on par with many other 11’ boards. When you add that result to its excellent maneuverability, the O2 Angler actually did really well in this test. A big part of that is thanks to its touring-style fin.

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There are tons of different lengths, shapes, and materials for SUP fins – especially for the standard US fin box that’s used on the O2 Angler. Glide includes a low-aspect ratio (wider compared to its length) touring-style fin. These style fins tend to provide better tracking ability and more stability than the more common “dolphin” style fin. Additionally, the included fin is a tool-less design. Instead of needing a nut and bolt to install the fin (if you’ve ever lost one or both of those while getting ready you know how frustrating they can be) the included fin has a pressure-fit bearing that presses into the fin box, keeps the fin secure during use, and then easily lifts out at the end of the day. I’m a huge fan of this style of fin attachment.

In addition to the central US fin box, the O2 Angler also has two fixed side bite fins. In my experience, these little, but thick, fins add drag (slowing the board and reducing glide), but don’t help with tracking or stability.

Warranty and Customer Support

The Glide O2 Angler is covered against manufacturing defects by Glide’s lifetime warranty. Between the heat-welded seams and high-density materials it’s not likely that you’ll need to use it, but it’s great to know that the product has such fervent backing by Glide. All of the other accessories included with the O2 Angler are covered by a 1 year warranty as well. If you do have questions or concerns about the O2 Angler, you can reach Glide’s customer service team through their website, email, phone, social media, or in person through their dealer network and at their Salt Lake City headquarters.

Value

The Glide O2 Angler presents an excellent value to any SUP angler, whether you are just getting started or a seasoned pro. The high-quality materials and construction provide a rigid and worry-free platform to paddle and fish from, and the O2 Angler also includes a ton of accessories to get you fishing fast. When considering the kit, performance, lifetime warranty, and price, the Glide O2 Angler is possibly the best value fishing iSUP on the market today.

Overall Impressions/Review Summary

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Whether you’re a pro-angler or taking your kid out with their first Snoopy pole, the Glide O2 Angler is an excellent choice for a fishing iSUP. It’s excellent maneuverability and stability make it easy to get to your favorite fishing spot. The rigid construction and high weight capacity make it easy to bring everything you need for a day or a full weekend, or even go fishing with a friend. The included accessories mean you won’t get nickel-and-dimed just to get out and enjoy wetting a line, and the lifetime warranty will have you paddling your O2 Angler for years to come.

Glide O2 Angler Fishing iSUP FAQ