12'6" inflatables: Wait until 2015?

[Underboard]

I'm close...real close...to buying my first SUP. I'm torn between the Starboard Astro Touring and the Red Paddle Race. But now I've been reading about new, super-secret, mysterious, alien technologies that claim the 2015 boards will be magical. Should I wait? Also, it looks like I'll be buying online, where is the best place to buy the above boards? California Kiteboarding has a killer price on the Starboard, but I don't know anything about them.

[pdxmike]

Are you set on buying online?  Aren't you in the Portland/Gorge area?  If so you've got two of the best SUP shops in the country close by.  Even if they don't have the particular inflatable that sounds best from reading, you could be better off buying from a dealer who can let you demo what they have and give you expert advice. 


I might think differently if you lived in the middle of nowhere (but then you'd be close to Easy Rider's shop) or were looking at buying some sort of exotic board that no shop would have, but there are lots of similar inflatables for an average-size guy.  Ignore this all if you've already tried the shops...

[PonoBill]

The new tech is 25 pound inflation, and probably up from there. It requires stronger dropstich fabric and different construction approaches, but it coming--in fact it's already here in the Jimmy Lewis lineup.

[Green Water Sports]

I'm close...real close...to buying my first SUP. I'm torn between the Starboard Astro Touring and the Red Paddle Race. But now I've been reading about new, super-secret, mysterious, alien technologies that claim the 2015 boards will be magical. Should I wait? Also, it looks like I'll be buying online, where is the best place to buy the above boards? California Kiteboarding has a killer price on the Starboard, but I don't know anything about them.

Hi Underboard, I'm not sure of any magical alien tech boards coming out next year. Some say super light materials (single layer boards) but then you're sacrificing durability and stiffness and paying extra $$. I can say though that the Red Race pumps to 25PSI here and now and I currently have it on sale: http://greenwatersports.com/shop/red-paddle-co-12-6-race
Any questions, let me know.

Julian

[spookini]

Uberboard --

That 2015 tech has been coming since 2010.  It's always next year. 

Pono, what good is 25psi?  Our friend at T0wer told us that his boards paddle well at 5psi, remember?

[PonoBill]

Two ways to make an inflatable stiffer. Increase the pressure ( linear increase) or increase the thickness (increases as a function of the square of the thickness). Thickness yields a bigger increase but isn't much fun in wind.

The future is always unevenly distributed.

[Underboard]

Many truths spoken here. Per PDXMike's slap, I went local and rented a Naish One. Although, since the these boards have me convinced that anything less than 20psi will sink me to the ocean floor, I am hesitant to purchase One.

[pdxmike]

I paddled a One when Chuck Patterson came here to Gorge Performance for a Naish demo day.  Went halfway around Ross Island on it.  It felt weird at first, but I started getting used to it  and was pretty impressed after several minutes.  Then I switched boards with my new bud Chuck and he does great on the One.  He flexes it when digging in, but then he probably flexes hard boards too.  Will be interesting to see how you like it.

[paolosup]

Naish One is a top board. I pump it to 15psi and holds 220lbs person no issue!!! it is very fast. great board!

[paolosup]

oh yes...and dont wait for 2015...as then you will wonder what new will come in 2016! get one and have fun!

[viatormundi]

IMHO, the latest interesting development in the inflatable front this year came from Mistral.

They have a new material technology which enables lighter boards. Some of the latest models weigh about 6 kg.
More information about their technology is here. http://www.mistral-sup.com/pdf/mistral-inflatable-revolution.pdf

Chris Parker from supracer.com paddled with a prototype inflatable of Mistral 14'x25'' in the SUP 11 City Race (the crazy race of 5 days total of 220 km) and came 11th in one stage with an average speed of about 8.5-8.8 km/h.

http://www.supracer.com/2014-sup-11-city-tour-photos/

Picture of the prototype which will be called Equipe I think.
http://i0.wp.com/www.supracer.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/SUP-11-City-Tour-Day-1-f.jpg?resize=364%2C550

[PonoBill]

Looks like ol' sharksup went a little nuts and started spamming. Too bad. Would have been fun to actually ask someone working in a factory some questions.

I"m an ULI fan, I don't have one, but I'd like to borrow one and try it at 29 pounds. I just need a way to remotely fill it--I can cobble that up. If the dropstitch fails catastrophically and it turns into a tube, anyone on it is gonna be in low earth orbit.

[Underboard]

Sharksup came to my house last night and whispered obscure sup facts in my ear. Very troubling.

I took the demo One out this morning. Had it at 14ish" psi and it seemed great. A little chop made me tipsy, I could feel the board undulating (that's right, I said undulating) underfoot but not terrible. It just took some getting used to. I'll have some thinking to do. I'd like to try a Starboard and a race before I spend my kid's money.

[gorgebob]

I paddled the Mistral at OR. Every inflatable mfg. says there boards are different and stiffer. Mistral said that the fibers between the the deck and bottom cross, forming a truss. This seems to make sense for a stiffer construction but even so they still all feel about the same.

[levity]

I had a chance to paddle several prototype boards by Mistral that are constructed using the new German woven technology. They're very light, about 2/3 the weight of similarly sized boards using conventional drop stitch, and seem at least as rigid or more so than the best conventional boards.  They are sweet to paddle, exhibit little/no flex, and have a "lively" or responsive feel.  The pics below show a Cruiser model, 12'6" x 31" x 150mm (5.9").  It weighed just under 20 lb. and rolled up and packed very small, but it had more volume than necessary for my 160 lb.  Unfortunately, I'm not sure exactly what sizes and shapes will be available or when.






Those interested in custom sizes/shapes might contact Uliboards.com.  They're now building boards at their shop in Vista, Calif.  They use a conventional drop stitch, but employ second skin and kevlar strip technology to add rigidity.  Uli boards well made and perform best at ~20 psi.  I just received a custom touring board, 12'2" x 28.5" x 100mm (26 lb.) and am heading to Utah for a river trip this week and will see how it does (pics and report to follow).