New inflatable sup's?

[Easy Rider]

The new Starboard Astro Touring works really well on frozen water too! 

[pdxmike]

The new Starboard Astro Touring works really well on frozen water too! 

Dang--mall closed early?

You could fill that inflatable with hot air and it'd be so comfortable in the snow that you'd probably never ski on a conventional board again.

You could get the hot air from the political thread.

[ADKSUPr]

I love that pic Easy Rider!

[Easy Rider]

Also notice that the carry handle works really well as a foot strap!     

[blueplanetsurf]

That looks fun.  Looks like you already have a good amount of snow in Canada.

[gafas]

JP also launched an inflatable SUP line.

The 12'6 shape looks very similar to the Naish ONE.

[feet]

So I'm looking to buy a 12'6" inflatable board  in early 2013.  I was thinking Uli all the way.  Now, after reading about Mistral and Starboard, I feel like I should consider them before making a purchase.  Can someone help by answering these questions:

Can I pump the Mistral and Starboard up to the same PSI as ULI at 18psi?  I have a k-pump so as long as I'm not in a rush, I can pump it up to higher PSI.

What is the cost of the Mistral and Starboard?  The Uli 12'6" is somewhere between $1500-1600 depending on options like extra d-rings, wiki rail, etc.

Does the longer fin on the Mistral and Starboard noticeably increase tracking compared to the Uli's 3 smaller fins?

Of course, other things I need to consider like Uli's reputation for great customer service, being a US company producing boards mostly in the US, bombproof construction, high resale value, etc. kind of tilt the equation to Uli.

So, who can help me out??  Testing all of these inflatables is nearly impossible for me.  Any info is greatly appreciated.

[Tom English]

Try a 14' Uli Race board, or the 12'6" at www.AlohaStandUpPaddle.com in Leucadia. 760 213-4133.

[viatormundi]

So I'm looking to buy a 12'6" inflatable board  in early 2013.  I was thinking Uli all the way.  Now, after reading about Mistral and Starboard, I feel like I should consider them before making a purchase.  Can someone help by answering these questions:

Can I pump the Mistral and Starboard up to the same PSI as ULI at 18psi?  I have a k-pump so as long as I'm not in a rush, I can pump it up to higher PSI.

What is the cost of the Mistral and Starboard?  The Uli 12'6" is somewhere between $1500-1600 depending on options like extra d-rings, wiki rail, etc.

Does the longer fin on the Mistral and Starboard noticeably increase tracking compared to the Uli's 3 smaller fins?

Of course, other things I need to consider like Uli's reputation for great customer service, being a US company producing boards mostly in the US, bombproof construction, high resale value, etc. kind of tilt the equation to Uli.

So, who can help me out??  Testing all of these inflatables is nearly impossible for me.  Any info is greatly appreciated.

You can pump the SB up to 20 psi. I do that all the time. I am sure Mistral can be pumped to that level too. It is from the same factory and the construction looks very solid.

The longer fins will increase the tracking for sure. As all the race boards have these type of fins, on surf board style 3 fins. Also the slot gives you the possibility to try different fins.

About the cost, I can't help. We don't have ULI in Spain but SB, Mistral and Naish. SB and Mistral have the same price of 1250 euros. Naish can be little more expensive as usual. (It has better colors :-)

[viatormundi]

Today we tested the 12V pump for my SB inflatable.
The pump is designed by Bravo http://www.scoprega.it/en and made in China. It has a maximum pressure of 14.5 psi. It takes about 5 minutes to pump to that pressure. In the video we connected it to the car battery. It also has a own battery pack which gives about 20 minutes of pumping time. After the electric pump it takes about 3-4 minutes to pump to 18-20 psi level using the manual pump. Very convenient.

The short video

[viatormundi]

Here is more information about the pump I have, it BP12

http://www.scoprega.it/pdf/brochure_BP_BTP.pdf

[Easy Rider]

Can I pump the Mistral and Starboard up to the same PSI as ULI at 18psi?  I have a k-pump so as long as I'm not in a rush, I can pump it up to higher PSI.

What is the cost of the Mistral and Starboard?  The Uli 12'6" is somewhere between $1500-1600 depending on options like extra d-rings, wiki rail, etc.

Does the longer fin on the Mistral and Starboard noticeably increase tracking compared to the Uli's 3 smaller fins?

1) Yes - up to 20psi with no issues.
2) It is $1499. Canadian (slightly cheaper in the USA) - comes with D rings and tie down.
3) Yes - better tracking and the ability to change fins - Starboard is working on a few different designs.
4) Bomb proof construction = breaks through ice = good enough?   

[airSUP]

Today we tested the 12V pump for my SB inflatable.
The pump is designed by Bravo http://www.scoprega.it/en and made in China. It has a maximum pressure of 14.5 psi. It takes about 5 minutes to pump to that pressure. In the video we connected it to the car battery. It also has a own battery pack which gives about 20 minutes of pumping time. After the electric pump it takes about 3-4 minutes to pump to 18-20 psi level using the manual pump. Very convenient.

The short video

I've got this same pump, as you can see from the video it's "whisper quiet"
in summer the hose near the pump gets a little hot (but not hot enough to burn).
the optional battery is handy too.

[mtmilam]

HI FEET..

I Was right where you are and Bought 2 ULI's...a 11' steamroller and 10'6" GL (for surfing)...although I don't surf much, but at least we can use the boards in the Surf (gulf coast P'cola area).....but we mostly flat water in Bayou's or lakes or Bays......The ULI is well made for sure, but heavier...not so heavy that its a problem, just that the Mistral 14' (that I have), is just Really Light...which is nice!!  The MIstral is fast (14')  and a well made board...PRICE IN USA Shipped to my house from CAnada was about 1700.00 or so, but it included  the Bag and Pump.....ULI just includes the Pump, bag is about 79.00 extra....Although I use a old nylon sail bag for my ULIs......

YES, the mistral can be pumped up to 20...its hard to reach 20 psi, so I usually stop at 17....the ULI pump is much better and I'm going to use that with the Mistral, but I'd recommend a good electric pump, just makes life easier. 

The Longer fin gives me about 10 strokes on each side for the Mistral 14' ...maybe 5 on the ULI....

I guess my whole point is...WHAT Do you want to do with the board.....If you want to Race, the Mistral 14' is fast ( I havent tried the Naish 12'6" or SB, but I assume they are good boards too and would maybe get a Naish One in the future, just because the Yellow looks cool ....But The SB is nice also and wouldn't Rule one out. ....

If you Want Stability, Then the ULI Steamroller 11' is ver stable and Well made and....not That heavy, just not "light"....NOTE:..I don't have the Wikki rails, they weren't available 6 months ago when I got my ULIs...Bummer, or I would have gotten the Wikki Rail option. .....HEY ULI...."ARE you SURE I CAN"T RETRO FIT THEM....I"m GOOD WITH GLUE and FOLLOWING  DIRECTIONS... ....Pretty Please... .     

Anyway...If you're only getting one inflatable, man, its a hard choice now........I had to get a few of each, sometimes I feel like a Nut.....sometimes I don't ........ 

Mistral 14'  inflat.



Here is a Friend on my 11' ULI and my daughter in background



I'd like to see some Video's of the ULI 14'  paddling.....and I hear that make a ULI 14' single skin, which is probably why the Mistral and Naish and SB are so light....So...Who has tested That one???

Mark

[JillRide45]

I had a 14' x 28" Uli, single skin that weighed 24 lbs.  Really nice board, sold it on here as I was just not using the inflatable.  Also now I have sold all my 14' and I am back to only 12'6".  For my size I like the 12'6". 

As far as the 3 fin vs. 1 large fin, I have no trouble at all with the tracking of my 12'6" ULI with 3 fins.  The ULI actually tracks better than my race board.  I find I really like the 3 small fins on the river where there are shallow rocks.  Nothing like hitting that long fin on the rocks just as you are entering the rapids. But by the way, you can order the ULI 12'6" or 14' with a single fin if you wish. 
 
Some pictures of the 14' Uli