Had my mind set on an inflatable - until today....

[capobeachboy]

You gotta try before you buy, and not just the board but the pump too - at full pressure.  The fact is over 90% of iSUPs are built alongside each other in the same Asian factories.  ULI had bladders made offshore for years but as other companies brought their production to the same facility the quality suffered, so they are 100% US made now.  If you want an inflatable for surfing their kevlar stringer and Wiki rail lets their board perform on par with hard boards.  They now have special edition models with fin boxes too. 

Red's boards are very high quality and I've seen them in person but haven't paddled them but I know a lot of folks love them.  They have a good dealer network too.

Mistral is building the next generation of inflatables at a factory in Europe with their iCross line - a new sustainable material that is very light, rigid, and packs up very small.  Right now there's only two models available and they're both suited for touring but more advanced shapes are coming next year.  Both of these companies boards are at the high end $$ of inflatables but you get what you pay for.     

[SaMoSUP]

If you're able to demo an inflatable (highly suggested), I suggest you get it from the shop with the board deflated and packed in the backpack and stock pump it comes with. Do not take it from the store fully inflated like a hard board. Put it in your vehicle and drive to wherever you're going to paddle. Then go ahead and unpack, inflate, paddle, deflate, pack.

You'll quickly find the effort required of all this can be a huge inconvenience, even possibly a deterrent to paddling. Oh and try inflating a board to 25 PSI with the stock hand pump or even high pressure hand pump in the sand. Good luck.

I was seriously considering the Red Paddle 12'6 Race iSUP last summer. So I took one up to Tahoe for a race. Easy to transport in the trunk of car but I almost passed out trying to pump it up to 25 PSI at 6200 ft altitude. Overall it was a good board to cruise on but not race. Even surfed it on a beach break in SoCal.

This summer, I took my hard race board up to Tahoe and had a blast going faster. However, with gusty winds along the highway, I was constantly worrying about the board flying off my roof rack. Was also worried about my vent plug properly de-pressurizing the board as I climbed up in altitude.

It's all a bunch of tradeoffs.

[capobeachboy]

Any manual pump is gonna be a challenge getting 25 psi at 6000'.  Start with a shop vac on reverse or a air bed inflator with the board's valve in the open position to blow the board to shape and it will save you a couple hundred pump strokes, then use your HP pump to go the rest of the way.  Everyone complains about flex but do you jump up & down on hard boards when you test them out?  All boards flex to a certain degree under different circumstances (impact, surf, etc) but an inflatable is not going to buckle or break and is a lot more resistant to damage than all but the most heavy duty hard boards and can be repaired quicker too.  The thing is you need to get used to the flex and smooth out your stroke with an inflatable, and eventually you can learn to use it to your advantage on flat water, chop & surf.  The only downside has been the windage effect on the thicker boards, but if you're doing downwind runs they can really fly. 

[pugsup]

About the pumping issue, thee is a nice electrical bravo pump that gets your board to 15 psi within 5 minutes and then it just takes a couple of manual pumps to get up to 20 psi.

[SaMoSUP]

Where do you plug in the shop vac or electric pump on the beach or riverbank??? Will the shop vac fit in the backpack? I suppose a generator could fit in there as well. Even at sea level, hand pumping to 25 psi is a lot of work but good warm up before paddling.

[pugsup]

If you drive to your paddle destination, you can use a 12V pump such as the bravo:
http://www.amazon.com/Bravo-BP12-Electric-Inflation-Pump/dp/B00JLMFJM2/ref=pd_sim_sbs_sg_17?ie=UTF8&refRID=13NJVEM8K5ZX52YDZKYB

For "hike-in" paddle destinations, this will of course not work. But then, a hardboard is completely out of the question as well.

Really, an inflatable makes most sense for people who have no easy way to store a board, or for people who like to not worry about damaging their board.

And, what capebeachboy said.

[SUPoftheday]

I always travel by plane with some type of air compressor for my ULIs. I used to bring along the BP12 AND the hand pump to finish it off. Now I travel with the latest compressor they offer. It's heavy but probably the same as the BP12+pump. It takes a bit longer than the BP12 but then again I'm not having to do any manual pumping.  Well worth the cost.

The other option for non-ULIs is to get one of those Halkey-Roberts valve adaptors that will work with gas station air pumps. Just bring along a travel rack for the rental car. Sorry, forgot the brand.

Inflatables will always have tradeoffs, namely speed (although I peaked at 6.33mph for a few seconds on a recent workout) and dealing with winds.  However, I can easily travel with my own board to any race and not pay a dime in airline fees (Southwest). I may not be very fast in a 6-mile race but I'll have all kinds of people asking me about my board.  People seem to be so interested in the convenience factor.  I think inflatables would gain more popularity if they had their own class here in the US.

[alap]

I have two boards, Mana 9.0 and ULi 9'3"
Yes Mana surfs better than ULI, no question about it.

However I will never take Mana on the plane with me.
And renting the board in the tropical destination... when I started it was a problem, a good board to rent... nowadays this of course is better...
still a hassle, cost money, and sometimes having your own board gives you extra night or morning of surfing when the rental is closed.
And even now there are a lot of places that have only junk for rent.

All in all ULI paid for itself for me long time ago (Maui, Kauai, Puerta Vallarta...)

Bounceness... Yes it is there, but I stopped noticing it after about 10 hours on the water. And my ULI is pumped up to 15.
Of course first hour it is very ugly feeling. The main difference between ULI and Mana - rails, plus Mana surfs faster.
Take off and basic turns are the same for me.
And again, after a while you know the limitations of the board and adjust your surfing.

One skin or two? My first ULI was one skin, my second one is double skin... I think double skin is better, you add weight but add durability, and the weight overall is not that bad. Like I can walk with my ULI for 10-15 minutes under my arm, np. And BTW not worry at all if I hit a corner or light post.... Different mindset in walking mode with Mana...

Economize or not? Totally with PB on that... greedy pays twice....

[supdiscobay]

Reading about inflatables is kind of funny.
If you want any performance at all, stay away.
If you want to travel, consider them, but realize it will never perform like a hardboard, no matter what pressure you pump it up to.
As far as the cost goes, unless you buy a top line inflatable, the market is much smaller than for any hardboards.
For me hardboards are the only way to go. I want it to perform.
For others performance is second to convenience.
Have fun no matter what your on.

[Bycyclist]

If you can - get both. They both have their place depending on the main considerations involved. I ended up getting a couple of inflatables, primarily for travel considerations and extras when taking family and friends. When I go to drive able destinations by myself, it's almost always the hardboard unless there are storage considerations like getting a session in before work and locking up afterwards - then inflatable is the go to board. ISUPs are certainly good enough to have fun and keep up your skills I would think. But there is a huge difference in feel and performance as I found when demoing the range of ISUPs at my semi local shop.

[capobeachboy]

Alap does your FAQ have a WikiRail?  The earlier WR versions worked much better on the 3 fin ULIs.  The latest version of the 9' Lopez rips - I'd say it out surfs many production surf SUPs.  It's made out of a lighter material but still a double skin and you can get it with fin boxes now too. 

[alap]

no CapoBeach Boy, my ULI doesn't have WR  and it is 4 fins.
It is probably a little too big for me too at 9'3" and 32".
Doesn't matter... it is a very nice board.. I am really happy with it...
In the system "Board+pddle+rider" it is not a weakest link...
I am not telling who is the weakest link, but I can give you a hint: it is not a paddle either

After 8 years of SUSing I am now at the plateau .. technically speaking...

there is another advantage to inflateable... ding resistance...
Last time I was surfing Mana some guy three times younger with a dreadlocks hit me and my board (will never know if it was intentional, semi intentional or an accident.... I just came from a far, like from open ocean, at least 300 meters run on the double overhead swell, the wave of my life, dozen good bottom turns... half of the lineup was cheering for me and half was booing)
He said sorry, but there was a hole in my board. Session over (although I was at the end of hour #4), few hours of work, plus it is not virgin any more...

Last time on ULI (due to my own stupidity) I hit the reef with board and fin... I got couple scratches on the fin... I don't really notice any performance difference and I don't worry about the board taking any water

alternatively... dropping it on the sand, or dragging from the water... it's fun!

once gain, I am big fun of inflatables, but better buy the best, not a costco model...
the only thing that will make you unhappy for the first few hours is bounciness... after that you'll forget about it... at least I did...

[blong5150]

The more I thought about it - I was wasting my time looking at anything that wouldn't inflate to over 15 PSI.  Thanks to Julian at Green Water for working with me, I'm ordering a Red Paddle 12'6" Race as I type this.

[Folkboat]

Don't give up. I have a Starboard Astro Touring iSUP and love it.  I've used it in very choppy water here in NorCal and off Santa Barbara.  It's very stable and forgiving.  Cuts through chop and is fairly maneuverable for it's 12'6" length.  I use an electric pump to pump it up to about 15-16 psi.  I'm 6'1", 195lbs and it works great for me. 

[blong5150]

Don't give up. I have a Starboard Astro Touring iSUP and love it.  I've used it in very choppy water here in NorCal and off Santa Barbara.  It's very stable and forgiving.  Cuts through chop and is fairly maneuverable for it's 12'6" length.  I use an electric pump to pump it up to about 15-16 psi.  I'm 6'1", 195lbs and it works great for me.

I didn't give up. I got a Red Paddle Race. Couldn't be happier!