Inflatables?

[Miss Adventure]

Can someone please tell me the advantages and disadvantages of inflatable paddleboards? I've never had the opportunity to try one.
Thanks!

[PDLSFR]

Advantage number one is storage, you can easily store an inflatable in your trunk or any place you can fit a large suitcase. Second advantage is that they are usually more durable than a traditional paddleboard (they can take more abuse).

The convenience of being able to take it easily on a plane for quick and easy trips was my reason for buying one. I have let friends borrow it without the concern it will come back damaged with paddle scraps, dings, or worse. It's also seen plenty of fun days in the pool as I don't have to worry about the pool liner getting damaged.

There are many advantages to traditional shaped boards and I'm sure you'll hear all the pros and cons on this tread within a few days.

If storage or travel is an issue go with an inflatible, if not I'd stay stick with a regular board.

After you decide one way or another, you'll need to decide size, brand, shape, etc.

Good luck....best advice you'll get is whatever you decide, do not buy a cheap paddle, spend the money on a quality paddle, trust me it's a solid investment!

[Quickbeam]

Can someone please tell me the advantages and disadvantages of inflatable paddleboards? I've never had the opportunity to try one.
Thanks!

Is this going to be your first board? And is there a specific reason you are thinking of an inflatable?

For the advantages, I think PDLSFR pretty well nailed it.

But if you don’t have storage issues and transporting the board isn’t going to be an issue, then I think most would recommend a hard board. I have both and I much prefer the hard board. A hard board is usually faster, more responsive, and at least in my experience just nicer to paddle.

And the one huge disadvantage I’ve found with an inflatable is paddling against wind. Some have said it’s because you are higher off the water on an inflatable, but whatever the reason it is just crazy difficult to paddle against wind on an inflatable. Should say paddling against wind on any board isn’t really a lot of fun, but on an inflatable it takes that to a whole new dimension.

[JimK]

+1 to Pdsrf & +1 to QB

They are a design compromise for ease of transport/storage If you don't NEED that feature you'll be happier with a hard board IMHO

JimK
Extreme Windsurfing

[LeeBee]

A couple more of the downsides. You stand higher so in addition to being harder to paddle against the wind, you will need a wider iSUP to be as stable as on a similar hard board, another is flex when there are waves are present, especially if you are fairly large which also hurts upwind speed.

[Green Water Sports]

+1 to all of the above. For general use, inflatables offer 90% of the performance without the storage problems, and offer better durability.

[Miss Adventure]

Thanks everyone! Really the only reason I considered it was because the inflatables I found around my area cost less than the hard boards and I'm on somewhat of a budget.

I have also wondered how inflatables would perform around oyster shells/beds. Seems like that wouldn't be a good combination.

[Ichabod Spoonbill]

I agree. Where are you located?


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[Miss Adventure]

In Eastern NC.

I agree. Where are you located?


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[2Rivers]

Can someone please tell me the advantages and disadvantages of inflatable paddleboards?

I can confirm some other disadvantages.
iSUPs have a shelf life and will eventually fail.
Once damaged, their integrity is compromised for life. Not worth repairing even if it can be repaired. Basically they're very expensive disposable toys.
iSUPs are not recyclable, so they will end up in the land-fill which is not good for the environment.
The have very little performance attributes other than durability (debatable).
Not fun to pump up, especially when all your friends are waiting anxiously for you to hurry up or it's nearly 100* outside.
Expect them to develop a twist. The longer the board the more prone it is to twisting.
Enjoy!

[2Rivers]

I can confirm some other disadvantages.
iSUPs have a shelf life and will eventually fail.
Once damaged, their integrity is compromised for life. Not worth repairing even if it can be repaired. Basically they're very expensive disposable toys.
iSUPs are not recyclable, so they will end up in the land-fill which is not good for the environment.
The have very little performance attributes other than durability (debatable).
Not fun to pump up, especially when all your friends are waiting anxiously for you to hurry up or it's nearly 100* outside.
Expect them to develop a twist. The longer the board the more prone it is to twisting.
Enjoy!

Sorry to come off so cynical. I think I'm just a bit bitter still about my loss...
http://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,29858.0.html
It did open my eyes up to the drawbacks of iSUPS that I'd never conceived before.

[comeu]

Everything has been said. I want to add problems often occur with the pump. Very frustrating when you're on the beach with an half inflated board and a broken pump

[Fog City Rider]

Can someone please tell me the advantages and disadvantages of inflatable paddleboards?

I can confirm some other disadvantages.
iSUPs have a shelf life and will eventually fail.
Once damaged, their integrity is compromised for life. Not worth repairing even if it can be repaired. Basically they're very expensive disposable toys.
iSUPs are not recyclable, so they will end up in the land-fill which is not good for the environment.
The have very little performance attributes other than durability (debatable).
Not fun to pump up, especially when all your friends are waiting anxiously for you to hurry up or it's nearly 100* outside.
Expect them to develop a twist. The longer the board the more prone it is to twisting.
Enjoy!

All things being equal I'd rather paddle a hard board 10 times out of 10, but I'll add comments on a few of these points. 

First off, plenty of torn inflatable boards have been patched and repaired successfully.  Not sure what happened to yours, but it must've sucked.   

Secondly, both inflatables and hardboards end up in landfills.  Sure, the EPS foam core of a hard board is technically "recyclable," but that doesn't really mean sh*t.  You ever tried to peel off the entire fiberglass skin of a snapped board so you could put the foam core in the recycling bin?  Yea, me neither.

And lastly, have you ever seen an inflatable board develop a twist?  That interests me.  In my 2 yrs. as a dealer, all the inflatables I saw either HAD a twist or they didn't.  I never saw one develop over time.   

 

   

[zachhandler]

Many good points all around.

I have a hard board and a 12'6" red race inflatable. Love it. it is worry free. Not as fast as or well mannered as a hard race board but much much faster than the typical cheap hard board. Amazingly light at 20 pounds. inflation takes 5 minutes of hard work. Usually now I just store it inflated.  Can tie it on the roof rack with no padding. I let my kids beat on it without worry. Run it up onto the beach. In my experience rigid race boards are as durable as an egg shell. I have no concerns about bumping the inflatable into things. Inflatable rafts, kayaks, pack rafts, and even SUPs are taken down some pretty nasty white water. I have only had mine a year so can't comment on long term durability.

[2Rivers]

First off, plenty of torn inflatable boards have been patched and repaired successfully.  Not sure what happened to yours, but it must've sucked.   

Secondly, both inflatables and hardboards end up in landfills.  Sure, the EPS foam core of a hard board is technically "recyclable," but that doesn't really mean sh*t.  You ever tried to peel off the entire fiberglass skin of a snapped board so you could put the foam core in the recycling bin?  Yea, me neither.

And lastly, have you ever seen an inflatable board develop a twist?  That interests me.  In my 2 yrs. as a dealer, all the inflatables I saw either HAD a twist or they didn't.  I never saw one develop over time.

The seam on my board failed. The pressure from the burst also destroyed the drop-stitch near the seam, so even if the seam was repaired/patched it would not be able to be inflated since the internal structure was compromised. It would simply bulge out around the patched area, then burst again. Maybe if the drop-stitch was still intact it could maintain it's integrity, but since iSUPs are a single-chamber design, I would never trust it to not fail again. The patch will always be a stress point and prone to failure. Btw, the guy I spoke to about repair wouldn't touch my board because he didn't want to be liable if the patch failed.
 
It's true that both types of boards will end up in land-fills, but hardboards can last 50+ years if well taken care of. It comes down to frequency. iSUP materials and adhesives will never last that long, so they will be more frequently thrown away. The iSUP materials also take longer to decompose compared to fiberglass, resin, and foam.
I've already spoken with some shops that are telling their customers that the iSUPs they're purchasing have a 6-10 year shelf life and will need to be disposed of for safety reasons. This rule is comparable to climbing ropes. 10 years is the maximum shelf life for climbing ropes when NOT used. Similar to climbing ropes, iSUPs experience UV degradation, oxidation, abrasion, and exposure to contaminates, which all degrade the integrity of the materials. The end result caused by the short life span of these boards is the increased "frequency" of the these boards going into the land-fills.

Regarding twists... Both of my RPC's developed twists. It's very likely that they came from the factory with a minor twist (not noticeable or pronounced) that then worsened over time. My reference to this change was the increasing gap along the rail crated by the twist when trying to lay them flat (garage floor, roof rack, etc). I know for fact that when they were new they laid flat. My 12'6 developed the worst twist at about 2"+ of deviation. My 9'6 had less and was about 1"+.
Maybe it was because I left my boards pressurized for several days on end or I just used them too much. Either way, they were both twisted and the twist did have a negative effect on the board's performance. You could see and feel it "plowing" the water on the one side of the rail where it twisted downward. 
Others have reported twisting issues, so this is not new...
http://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,29175.msg311345.html#msg311345