Inflatable vs Hardboard: performance

[singingdog]

I paddle a BIC Tracer WS, really like it. I am a 5x/week fitness paddler, not a racer. I do enjoy going out in a variety of conditions but live inland, so that means "calm" to most of you. I do like touring and adventure paddling where I feel like my BIC has to be treated with kid gloves: anyplace I am going to paddle is very rocky with challenging landings. I have been considering selling the BIC and going to an inflatable for the durability in those conditions. What am I giving up in terms of performance? I have spent some time on a RED 12 6 Race. I find it still has a "flexy" feel. I also find it feels like it's sitting "on" the water as opposed to "in" the water (if that makes sense). Any input is appreciated.

[oceanAddict]

I don't know what your board is made of, but from my personal experience BIC boards were most durable board I have to deal with. Plastic hard shell is indestructible in my book comparing PU, carbon or inflatable. Performance is better on rigid boards in my opinion. My infallibles have naturally more pronounced  flex that my rigid boards but this is expected and it don't bother me much.  Sitting ON vs sitting IN water - bothers me more, esp on a windy day

[LoudounSUP]

IMO, everyone's first SUP should be an inflatable. They are just so forgiving to drops, bumps, and other 'accidents'. Sure, they may be slower than a comparable hard board but their versatility really provides an extra layer of forgiveness for newbies. I'm on a 'performance iSUP" and sure, it was still way slower than my 14x22 NSP Ninja, but the journey was far more enjoyable. I also launch and dock off a rock so rubbing against vinyl is no problem compared to the awful stretches that an carbon or epoxy board would sustain.

[deepmud]

I do many days a week for fitness snd fun, at 260 thr Starboard Airline and (borrowed) Starboard Dual Chamber Touring have both been a lot of fun. I am starting to stay above 5mph on the Airline too. It's slower the my unlimited but so easy to deal with. Its super durable against rocks etc. I find it about as stiff as my 2015 Red Elite at 25 psi and way more stable so way more fun.

[LoudounSUP]

I do many days a week for fitness snd fun, at 260 thr Starboard Airline and (borrowed) Starboard Dual Chamber Touring have both been a lot of fun. I am starting to stay above 5mph on the Airline too. It's slower the my unlimited but so easy to deal with. Its super durable against rocks etc. I find it about as stiff as my 2015 Red Elite at 25 psi and way more stable so way more fun.

That's really moving. The Airline, racing Shark iSUP, and 2020 or newer RS Air Glide with hard pointy bow all appear to have true displacement bows for flatwater speed. My 2019 RS Air Glide is basically an iSUP raft and is always planing. Still, my best 2-mile avg. speed is 5.03 MPH and 4-mile avg. speed is 4.78 MPH.

[singingdog]

My BIC is a 24 lb carbon/glass board: 14x26. My worry about moving to an inflatable is the loss in preformance, especially in open water cross chop.

[burchas]

My BIC is a 24 lb carbon/glass board: 14x26. My worry about moving to an inflatable is the loss in preformance, especially in open water cross chop.

In certain conditions you'll see loss in performance for sure. cross-wind/cross-chop are not good friend with inflatables based on my experience.
One could push really good speeds on inflatable in flat water but when it comes to open water and challenging conditions, I'll always reach for my hard board.

I think oceanAddict was spot-on in his description of sitting on the water for the inflatable VS in the water for the hard board. That's why you see the big difference in performance
in cross-wind/cross-chop conditions.

That said, the peace of mind and ease of transporting/storage space makes a really good argument for the inflatable if your conditions are not too challenging.

Here is a video I made few years back when I just started paddling. You can skip through and see how the board is affected by the various conditions.
Inflatable boards have improved much since but are still lacking. The second video show a board model 2 years after the first one and you can notice the difference in stiffness.
No matter how stiff these boards are, you're still sitting on the water and I still think the experience on inflatable is not on par with the hard board

[singingdog]

My BIC is a 24 lb carbon/glass board: 14x26. My worry about moving to an inflatable is the loss in preformance, especially in open water cross chop.

In certain conditions you'll see loss in performance for sure. cross-wind/cross-chop are not good friend with inflatables based on my experience.
One could push really good speeds on inflatable in flat water but when it comes to open water and challenging conditions, I'll always reach for my hard board.

I think oceanAddict was spot-on in his description of sitting on the water for the inflatable VS in the water for the hard board. That's why you see the big difference in performance
in cross-wind/cross-chop conditions.

That said, the peace of mind and ease of transporting/storage space makes a really good argument for the inflatable if your conditions are not too challenging.

Here is a video I made few years back when I just started paddling. You can skip through and see how the board is affected by the various conditions.
Inflatable boards have improved much since but are still lacking. The second video show a board model 2 years after the first one and you can notice the difference in stiffness.
No matter how stiff these boards are, you're still sitting on the water and I still think the experience on inflatable is not on par with the hard board

Thanks. I appreciate the thoughtful response.