What Am I Giving Up With An ISUP?

[Hiker]

This has been an interesting ride, lots of differing opinions and tangents, but I am definitely coming away from it with confidence in an iSUP for my needs and appreciate all the feedback. It is always interesting on forums how threads have a life of their own.

Sorry! We all tend to go on tangents in here.

Not a problem. This is normal on the outdoor forums I frequent.

[Hiker]

I have not yet put much energy into choosing the board to buy and as a novice have no personal experience with any of these companies. I do have a fair amount of outdoor equipment and have done considerable online research, including Amazon reviews. One of my considerations regarding reviews on retail sites vs forums is that on the former it appears that many of them tend to be shorter term, often just after someone has purchased the product. On forums there is more feedback from people that have used the products over longer periods of time. If I am reading an Amazon book review I am not concerned with long term quality or performance so the short term product experience is fine. Gear is a whole other matter. Not saying there are not great gear reviews on retail sites, just something I consider. Also depends on the site.

[PonoBill]

Poniferous, surely you must be pulling my ankle leash..   
Weren't you just griping in the "Revolutionary" thread about Tower's bogus marketing claims??

Not all things are created equal.  Not all products offer equivalent performance.  Despite what Mr. Tower tells us..

Which would you purchase??

(Pictured:  Red Paddle 12'6"; Tower 14'.  (Sorry, female not included  ))

Hmmm, that Red is a pretty slick looking ride. If they did it in Gulf Motorsports colors as a 16-17' I'll be there with wallet open. On the other hand, that tower board looks very friendly. It's got a great smile. Oh, wait...

[Tower]

You make a good point Hiker. Here is a pretty comprehensive video review from a river guide. He just sent it into us one day. This should also give you a better sense of iSUPs in general, not just ours. hope this helps.



-Stephan

I have not yet put much energy into choosing the board to buy and as a novice have no personal experience with any of these companies. I do have a fair amount of outdoor equipment and have done considerable online research, including Amazon reviews. One of my considerations regarding reviews on retail sites vs forums is that on the former it appears that many of them tend to be shorter term, often just after someone has purchased the product. On forums there is more feedback from people that have used the products over longer periods of time. If I am reading an Amazon book review I am not concerned with long term quality or performance so the short term product experience is fine. Gear is a whole other matter. Not saying there are not great gear reviews on retail sites, just something I consider. Also depends on the site.

[sup_romer]

Since this has turned into a tower thread I'll weigh in since we just got the Adventurer 9'10" for my wife.

I'm comparing it against my $1600 Astro Fisherman.

Does if flex more? Yes
Is the fit and finish as good as the Astro? No
Does it have the the bungee tie down area like the astro? No
Does it track well? Yes

Is the Astro over $1000 better...No, I don't believe it is.

I really enjoy my Astro but I gotta say the Tower is a hell of a value for money.
I'm a big guy at 270lbs so the tower board does flex a fair bit. But in terms of usability the tower is very decent.
my wife kept up with me on a 3 mile paddle in some pretty heavy winds with no issues.

If I had to nit pick..the seams on the tower are kinda ugly, there are bumps, and folds. The Astro has a much cleaner and more uniform finish to it.  Also the center skeg on the tower board is crazy long. I'm guessing this helps to make a board this short track well. It was an annoyance on the flats when my wife had to get off and walk and my Astro paddled on through. How will it stand up to heavy use? I guess we'll have to see as I've only had it out 4 times since we got it last week.

I can say without a doubt I think it makes an excellent first board. My wife supped a few times. But wasn't sure if she wanted her own. We bought the tower because it was pretty affordable and I already had a pump from my Astro that would work for both. It's got a lot of volume but it's not 12ft so it's easy for her to maneuver and she can bang it around without dinging it.

[Green Water Sports]

I'd rather not revive this old thread but the new information I have with the recent test I did backs up the previous info I mentioned about stiffness, thickness and pressure. Read it all here: http://greenwatersports.com/3126/the-definitive-inflatable-sup-stiffness-guide

Just looked up that board, thats a 9'-2" Surf Star, so gauging from that picture the span between the two supports is maybe 5' to 6'. Correct me if I am wrong, but I would hope a 4" board with battens along rails and a cost of +/- $1200 could make that span without buckling.

True, not the best representation of the case at hand but an indication that Red do in fact put their boards over a span at trade shows and invite people to stand on, and jump on their boards.

10' Surfer with and without RSS battens at 20PSI. I think the span here is about 7-8ft.

For reference, I am told my wife is 150lbs. I did not question this.

"They offer a 30-50% increase in stiffness when riding with them installed"

"Their primary function is to distribute the weight of the rider over a larger area. At the feet, as this is where the majority of the flex originates, the battens work against the downward force of the rider to produce a stiffer board by preventing flex – similar to how a stringer works on a hard board."

Full article here: http://greenwatersports.com/1587/rss-sup-rocker-stiffening-system-in-action

And now the Taiwanese guys took my demo a step further an added 15PSI and 20PSI photos on the 9'2". Span looks pretty wide here, maybe 7-8ft again.

It's a bit confusing so allow me to summarise. Rider is 150lbs.

15PSI, no RSS, no rider, 0cm sag.
15PSI, no RSS, rider, 11cm sag.
20PSI, no RSS, rider, 7cm sag.

15PSI, RSS, no rider, 0cm sag.
15PSI, RSS, rider, 5.5cm sag.
20PSI, RSS, rider, 3.5cm sag.

So an increase in 5PSI resulted in 36% stiffer board. Regardless of RSS.
RSS made board 50% stiffer at both 15PSI and 20PSI.

Thats what I am talking about! Controlled testing!

I forgot to include the 15PSI (no RSS) to 20PSI (with RSS) difference: 68% stiffer thanks to 5PSI and RSS.

Let me see if I can get the 12'6" Race over a span for similar testing...

[Off-Shore]

This is quite a good video of an iSUP in action with RSS batten stiffening.