Urban Surf recently re-opened after Stay Home orders and we were so impressed with their service. First, they took all of the precautions for personal and public health. Second, we were purchasing our first paddle boards and they gave us excellent information. They were patient and thorough, we never felt rushed. They know their stuff. Excellent, easy going customer service! Thank you! read more

I have really enjoyed their SUP rentals this summer. Took a few to the San Juans on a trip and had a ton of fun. They have Wed night SUP races and tried my first last week. Great store... my only complaint is that sometimes they're not super friendly. I have waited at the counter numerous times for a good 5 min while in a bit of a hurry and was not acknowledged by the employee, also at said counter, who was looking at the computer. Then a greeting was given, though, without taking eyes away from the screen. Like the store but a few times I've come away needing to vent my frustrations. read more

Urban surf you are kind and laid back but way helpful when it comes to keeping your lessons safe and fun. I appreciate their style...

Oh where to begin.... This is a review for the kite school, not the shop. AVOID THE KITE SCHOOL! First thing is first, I'm a new cancer survivor. I let the school know that it was my dream to learn how to kite board. I signed up for the season pass. Due to weather (and the fact that they overbooked people) I couldn't get a first lesson until June (I signed up in May) June passed us by because for every weekend date I had set, the weather wasn't cooperating - fair enough. But, when I finally had my first lesson, they paired me with an instructor who was "new" "had never taught at the school" "was unfamiliar with the harness" I was using. At first, we just didn't seem to hit it off, and that was fine. He wasn't super encouraging, he seemed to be annoyed that I had literally no experience, and wasn't the most patient human being when I made a mistake. "How did you do this? I don't even understand how you did this?!" He exclaimed when I didn't string the kite up right, it was only my second time after all. He would sternly correct me for the strangest things, like pumping the kite with my sandals on, told me that I had put on sun tan lotion wrong (with the palm of my hands) The first time we went into the water, he reminded me that I had forgotten some gear, thing is, he never told me what gear to bring out. And lastly, he would go out for 10 -15 minute riding sessions on my dime without much of an explanation. I would talk to a friend on the beach, see him waving me to come in the water 15 minutes later, and then yell at me saying, "I've been waiting for you while you've been talking on the beach!" I exclaimed, "Dude, I've been waiting for you to teach me while you've been out here riding and doing whatever it is that you're doing" On our second day, I had asked Jeffro (head of the school) early in the morning that maybe it would be best if I had a different instructor. He said to just give it a go today and we'll see how it goes after. I got into the water and while the kite was on me, my harness flipped up stabbing me in the stomach. That's when the instructor told me he had "never used the harness before" He jabbed it into my stomach more as he was trying to get the kite off of me in frustration. It felt like something had literally cut into me. When he finally got the kite off, he first said to go to shore and get the harness fixed, and then 180ed seconds later and said stay here as he went on another 15 minute joyride with the kite. At that point, I had had it. I went to shore in wretched pain, trying to find a competent instructor to get the harness off of me. I was hunched over, I could barely walk. It was then Jeffro approached. I told him what happened, the instructor came back to shore eventually and talked to him as well. That's when Jeffro came over with the harness, at this point, the safety mechanism was broken. What was odd about this is I didn't remember that it wasn't broken when I took it off. Either way, he seemed more irked by his harness being broken than he did about my well being. I could tell he wasn't very empathetic, my friends could too. At this point, after 2 days of this, I was weary about getting back into the water with this instructor, but I was determined to get up on that board. The rest of the day went about as bad as it had been the day before, I was definitely done working with this man. He would yell at me when I got things wrong, etc. I definitely wasn't getting this and I felt, as well as my friends who were with me, it was because I didn't have an adequate instructor. Fast forward to the next day. I email Jeffro asking again to get a different instructor. Now here's the thing, when you pay $2100 to a school up front, I expect to not have to wait 48 hours to get a reply. That was my first red flag, it happened a lot. He writes me back and says that he is going to refund me the remaining money and is going to take me off the season pass due to the events of this weekend. I ask him why? My future lessons will be more expensive, and he literally writes: "The behavior myself and others observed you display on the beach in attempt to address the issues with equipment, instructor and a seemly a sever injury from a commonly performed small action of switching the kite has caused our business to be concerned with the liability of working with you to learn an extreme sport in a extremely dynamic environment. This raises our concern in your ability to manage the intense physical requirements associated with this sport, as it often can put extreme stressors on the body." The behavior that I displayed? I got hurt because your instructor didn't do a gear check. He was an awful instructor! And physical requirements? I just beat final stage cancer! You want to talk to me about physical and mental requirements? The man literally insulted me and blamed me! It was incredible, couldn't believe it. So, I told him we were done. I paid $700 for this, never with them again. read more

Well, you won't get the biggest or best surf selection in Seattle, we are however many miles inland after all... but that's cool - it's nice to have a resource here. Too bad I can't get my head around the stand-up paddleboard trend (yet).. I think stand up paddle-boarding might be the newest item on that website - thingswhitepeoplelike.... read more

Urban surf is the perfect go to place for water sports adventure. Everyone there is so knowledgeable and friendly . You don't have to be a surfer. They have something for everyone ! Ask for paddle board Matt ! He's the best. read more

Not a fantastic intro kite class on land. The instructor was a bit late for the 9am start time, and we had to wait for other class stragglers to arrive. There was a lot of seemingly unnecessary discussion of high and low pressure and winds which was wasted time when we just needed to practice the kinetic skills of getting the kites in the air. Only one instructor for 7 people meant that there wasn't much time individual attention. Instructor needed to be back on the shop by 11, so we maybe each had a 20-30 minute window of time to practice with a kite. There was also no explanation of when, where, how to return kites. The instructor was nice and provided helpful corrections and encouragement. read more

Loved my SUP lesson there. Very friendly staff!

Really nice, laid back staff. Will continue renting SUP from these guys over Surf Ballard any day. Make sure you make reservations for rentals because they are busy being so close to Gas Works Park. read more

I was trying to track down a board for an upcoming trip to Nicaragua. The shop went out of their way to help me track down the specific board I was looking for in time for the trip. It's almost unbelievable how much effort this shop put into it. I'll bring all of my business here in the future. read more

Decent selection of wetsuits, boards and clothes. Surf wear is always over priced, so I never buy surf brand clothes. I kind of moved on after I graduated from high school and moved away from Hawaii. Also, I'm not paying $30 for a t-shirt. I mean that's standard tho, not specific to this store. Friendly staff. Knowledgable. My fiance found out some information about kite boarding. They also do lessons. Looks like they rent SUPs, etc. read more

I've been a customer of Urban Surf for about 5 years, they're by far the best surf/paddle/beach shop in town. No pressure sales and great customer service. Everyone in there is a water enthusiast. They also offer really reasonable hourly paddle board rental rates. read more

It's a tiny little shop right across from Gasworks. I was surprised how much they were able to cram inside, though. Even if you're not a big surfer, they still have a good selection of boardshorts and other accessories. Kind of an interesting location and they could use more space, but they accomplish what they're after. read more

Love this place! Great selection without a ridiculous mark-up. Staff is super knowledgable and low pressure. Best location to rent a SUP, you can just walk over to Lake Union and start cruising! read more

All of the guys were friendly and helpful. But Kyle (I think that was his name) went above and beyond to get my friend and I the right setup and even helped us figure out the best way to strap it to my truck. read more

I come here occasionally since its closer to where I live than other shops around town (I live at Alki). The store layout is pretty rad and chances are they have the selection you are looking for. Board bags are limited right now cause everyone wants one, but they are quick to order what you need and get a hold of you when it arrives. Great shop and location read more

5-Stars all the way! Had a great lesson this morning; left the store feeling confident and empowered. Teacher-brothers Eric & Nick were the perfect pair to impart their knowledge on this nervous nellie. But we did it! Thanks, Gents, I'll be back! read more

These guys were very helpful. I had never been on a SUP and am from out of town, and I was impressed with their approach.

Mark is awesome. super chill babes. not kooks at all. definitely will be back

Terrible shop with clueless staff. If you are a kite-boarder go elsewhere on the internet. High prices (basically retail) and seem rather lethargic. I heard good things about their school. But if you want gear go to realwatersports.com or kite-line.com. You will get much better service and price. read more

Brothers Eric and Nick at Urban Surf were incredible this morning! My friend and I took a SUP lesson this morning on Lake Union, in breezy, drizzly conditions They were so patient with us - we told em we were water babies from California, so they didn't have to worry about us being in the water. They were kind, smart, PATIENT, encouraging, and funny! I loved our private lesson. read more

i was only one in there when i walked in close to closing time and Devon helped with out with a lot of great info on hoods, booties, gloves and wetsuits. couldn't ask for much better customer service and advice on gear at the time! they had a nice dog (not barking a lot, didn't jump up on me) in there and he cut a big foul rancid one while Devon was consulting me...we had to move to a different section of the store. but i picked up some 3mil gloves and i can't wait to try them out! read more

Urban Surf is awesome - I highly suggest renting from them. Last Friday I used Urban Surf to rent a Stand Up Paddle Board, and it was great. First of all, they allow you to reserve the boards. Most other places that I've been are first come first serve, with huge lines late in the day. The weather has been awesome and we were a little late to make reservations, but they were able to accomodate us with a tandem board. Secondly, they are very easy to work with. They stored our bags/phones/keys in the store, and helped us carry the boards to the water. It's VERY convenient. After renting in Greenlake last year, and having to transport the boards from the rental store to the water, I was expecting the process to be difficult. Urban Surf is right on Lake Union, making this all seamless. It's also reasonably priced; comparable/cheaper to other places for SUP rentals. Thanks for a great experience, looking forward to renting again! read more

If I could give them 0 stars I would. They are super nice and friendly, and maybe it's a good place to rent a board. However, I don't recommend buying from them. When I had a manufacturer's issue with my board, the manufacturer requested that I go through the shop where I bought it, so I took the board back to Urban Surf. They managed to fail to follow-up on the issue for multiple weeks in a row, despite the fact that I pinged them every few days to follow-up on the status! They even lied about having followed up, saying they did when they didn't. They have been super apologetic, but at the end of the day it's just a bunch of hassle for me and I still don't have my board replaced! If customer service were about being nice, they would be okay. But the way they have handled this, I wish I had purchased through REI. read more

The guy who worked there was on the phone for 10min, didn't even bother to ask what I needed or wanted... thank god there are alternatives around here. I guess they don't need business? read more

I just tried paddleboarding through Urban Surf. First, I have to say that if everyone tried paddleboarding we would have something akin to world peace...but, I digress. The staff (the owner himself works the shop floor) were super helpful in giving me guidance not just on what I could expect from the sport but also where to go. Their local knowledge was great. read more

Fantastic customer service - fun and friendly staff. Rent a SUP board from Urban Surf - you won't regret it!