downside to inflatables?

[TN_SUP]

Any issue with transporting an inflatable on the roof rack for local paddles? Not sure if wind would bend or crease it, or if a piece of flying gravel would pierce it.

[SteamboatBORN]

Any issue with transporting an inflatable on the roof rack for local paddles? Not sure if wind would bend or crease it, or if a piece of flying gravel would pierce it.

I strap mine down to factory roof rack (VW GTI) but my iSUP is only 9' so something longer may need a different rack set up. I drive it all around town and had car up to 60+ mph with no issues and with inflatables you can crank it down and not worry about damaging board. If you get a good quality one, they are bomb proof and it would take shrapnel to pierce it. I hit mine on rocks, logs, etc in river all the time.

[mtmilam]

I put my Red Air 12'6" race one (25 psi) on the Rack  upside down and do 80...rides like a hard board .

The Red Air..or Red Paddle Company makes a Great board...I used ours for 8 days off the Sailboat and when I got back, the Pressure was exactly the same...the Battens are NICE....The Bag Unzips length wise, so you don't have to put the rolled up board in the bag,  like a Condom...you just lay it in and zip around it...Very NICE!!! 



I do think the ULI Wikki rails would be nice also...Seems like the perfect board would be a combination of Wikki rails, battens, 6 in. , 25 psi, and a nice Bag, like Red Air....

I also use a electric pump (tire inflator Vivair 70) with a portable 12 vlt battery you get for a kids Car...like 20  bucks or so...I hand pump to about 8 psi then use a Valve adaptor I got from England, that has a Tire (Schrader valve) inside the regular valve adaptor, so you can Screw on the tire inflator, twist in your Valve and hit the Pump...takes about 10 minutes to reach 25 psi....otherwise its a workout to hand pump to that.

[anotherncbeachbum]

Any issue with transporting an inflatable on the roof rack for local paddles? Not sure if wind would bend or crease it, or if a piece of flying gravel would pierce it.

When I bought my C4 I asked the guy about it, he said he lets a bit of air out of it when transporting,  esp if it's hot - I guess sitting in the sun for a while can cause them to expand a bit too much.

I bought an inflatable for ease of transportation plus they work better on the waters around here. There are a ton of lakes near me but they're all private or they charge per use. The other lakes are out a bit but are a hike in. Rather than carting a board 3.5 miles up and over hills on a path I can just toss the inflatable into the pack and carry it. On the rivers they're good, I can bounce of rocks (the board, not me) and be ok.

If you see one you like demo it first if you can.

[jwongbc]

mtmilam,  could you post a pic or link to your compressor adapter?

[TN_SUP]

Good info, Im definitely getting one for family outings, I banged my boards into everything when carrying them to / from a dock this weekend, not to mention stacking boards on the roof rack makes me nervous.

[firstglide]

mtmilam,  could you post a pic or link to your compressor adapter?

Yes please, I would like to get that info as well!

cheers

[mtmilam]

Here is my Electric Pump set up for reaching 25 psi EASY.

First, I have a electric pump similar to the 159.00 Bravo, for pumping up Zodiacs...it will go to 14.5 psi, but it struggles and I need more.

The KEY is the Adaptor from the UK...its called Blue Chip Gizmo and it has a valve to attach a regular schrader valve to it.  62.00 bucks and includes Shipping to US....Yes, Its Ridiculously priced,....Maybe someone on this side of the pond can make some



Here is there Website to order:
http://www.windsurfer.co.uk/SUP_InflatableSparesAndAccessories.htm

Next, I got a Viair 88P tire inflator...its Really nice and can run for 25 minutes before having to stop and cool down....more than twice as long as others.....61.00 at Amazon. ...it has a Screw on connector, so you don't have to hold it on the Valve.  I then use a 12 volt kids Car battery....9 amp hours i think, about 20.00 bucks from Chrome batteries on line......This makes the whole system portable and I put it in a little Tool back i got from Lowe's.....I even got two batteries.   Each battery will run about 25 minutes wide open. and can Easily pump up one board to 25 psi. from totally Flat.

Here is setup with Battery





What I do is pump up the Board with the hand pump, to about 5 or 6 psi, or until I"ve had enough pumping, just to get the Shape..then I hook up the electric inflator and it takes about 10 minutes to get to 25 psi, you have to turn the pump off to read the Gauge.   The valve adaptor fits Mistral, Red Paddle, BOTE, inflatables...but NOT the ULI...for some reason, I don't know why.....

so, for about 140.00 or so, you can have a Pump that gets to 25 easily...and pump up your car tires Too ...You just have to order the Valve adaptor from the UK, Viair inflator from Amazon, and the Portable 12 volt batteries, online ...I used Chrome batteries.....Or you could just use your car Battery, ...but I like the portability of the pump with the Batteries.....Oh, I also got a Charger from Chrome batteries also. 

[firstglide]

awesome & thanks for your detailed description.

I'll give it a try!

cheers

[SteamboatBORN]

Here are a couple options from cks. Cheaper too.
http://www.coloradokayak.com/Traveler-Inflater.html

http://www.coloradokayak.com/Shop-Inflater.html

Just need to buy the valve connector that fits your board.
http://www.coloradokayak.com/Summit-2-Valve-Adapter.html?sc=26&category=83348

http://www.coloradokayak.com/Short-H-R-Fill-Adapter.html?sc=26&category=83348

[mtmilam]

Dang.. Wish I would have known that before I bought the "Gizmo". .

Thanks.  Does anyone know the valve adaptor that Fits on the Red air, mistral, bOTE boards.
I'd like to order a extra, but not sure what its called. It's different from a ULI and has a Red silicone O ring. If that matters  all are 2013 models.

[SteamboatBORN]

Dang.. Wish I would have known that before I bought the "Gizmo". .

Thanks.  Does anyone know the valve adaptor that Fits on the Red air, mistral, bOTE boards.
I'd like to order a extra, but not sure what its called. It's different from a ULI and has a Red silicone O ring. If that matters  all are 2013 models.

Take a picture of the connector for your Red.  Curious of what it looks like. Thanks.

[Argosi]

Here is my Electric Pump set up for reaching 25 psi EASY.

First, I have a electric pump similar to the 159.00 Bravo, for pumping up Zodiacs...it will go to 14.5 psi, but it struggles and I need more.

The KEY is the Adaptor from the UK...its called Blue Chip Gizmo and it has a valve to attach a regular schrader valve to it.  62.00 bucks and includes Shipping to US....Yes, Its Ridiculously priced,....Maybe someone on this side of the pond can make some



Here is there Website to order:
http://www.windsurfer.co.uk/SUP_InflatableSparesAndAccessories.htm

Next, I got a Viair 88P tire inflator...its Really nice and can run for 25 minutes before having to stop and cool down....more than twice as long as others.....61.00 at Amazon. ...it has a Screw on connector, so you don't have to hold it on the Valve.  I then use a 12 volt kids Car battery....9 amp hours i think, about 20.00 bucks from Chrome batteries on line......This makes the whole system portable and I put it in a little Tool back i got from Lowe's.....I even got two batteries.   Each battery will run about 25 minutes wide open. and can Easily pump up one board to 25 psi. from totally Flat.

Here is setup with Battery





What I do is pump up the Board with the hand pump, to about 5 or 6 psi, or until I"ve had enough pumping, just to get the Shape..then I hook up the electric inflator and it takes about 10 minutes to get to 25 psi, you have to turn the pump off to read the Gauge.   The valve adaptor fits Mistral, Red Paddle, BOTE, inflatables...but NOT the ULI...for some reason, I don't know why.....

so, for about 140.00 or so, you can have a Pump that gets to 25 easily...and pump up your car tires Too ...You just have to order the Valve adaptor from the UK, Viair inflator from Amazon, and the Portable 12 volt batteries, online ...I used Chrome batteries.....Or you could just use your car Battery, ...but I like the portability of the pump with the Batteries.....Oh, I also got a Charger from Chrome batteries also. 

Thanks for the detailed descriptions and pics. These were all the items I suggested for your inflatable a few months ago - great to see they're working well for you. I think you can get the Gizmo adapter for a lot less if you buy from Kayaksport.net. That's the shop that sold you your Mistral inflatable. They bought a decent number of those adapters after I recommended the product to them. They just had an inflatable demo day at our local beach with Red, Starboard, Mistral, and Badfish boards. They used an electric pump with batteries and the adapter to pump all the boards up quickly. They had a higher capacity pump that worked even faster than yours.

The Red board was inflated to 25psi, the Starboard and Mistral to 18psi. Not sure what the Badfish was inflated to.

I didn't have a GPS but I'd guess that the Red 12'6" Race was about even with the Mistral 14' as the fastest board. The Starboard 14' was close behind but a bit slower due to being wider than the Mistral. The Red was significantly stiffer than the other boards and felt better as a result. That Red 12'6" Race is a great inflatable board. It will work better as the water gets choppier since it's stiffer. The true test of an inflatable is in choppier water. Flexier boards will absorb the chop energy resulting in lower speed - especially downwind.

By the way, Kayaksport.net sells all these boards as well as the pump adapter and ships to the US and Canada.

[Argosi]

Dang.. Wish I would have known that before I bought the "Gizmo". .

Thanks.  Does anyone know the valve adaptor that Fits on the Red air, mistral, bOTE boards.
I'd like to order a extra, but not sure what its called. It's different from a ULI and has a Red silicone O ring. If that matters  all are 2013 models.

Take a picture of the connector for your Red.  Curious of what it looks like. Thanks.

The Red has the same type of valve as the Starboard and Mistral inflatables (and most likely also the Naish and others as well). Some brands have slightly deeper or shallower valves, which can affect how well the Gizmo pump adapter works.

Also, most 2013 boards have the H3 valve which is more resistant to being blown out sudden deflation of the board from high pressure. A lot of earlier boards had the H2 valve which would sometimes get blown out. Just let out the air slowly at first when deflating 2012 or earlier boards - unless you know it's a H3 valve. The newer valves also hold the pressure better over time.

I believe the Mistral inflatable race board from 2012 has the H3 valve.

[SteamboatBORN]

Dang.. Wish I would have known that before I bought the "Gizmo". .

Thanks.  Does anyone know the valve adaptor that Fits on the Red air, mistral, bOTE boards.
I'd like to order a extra, but not sure what its called. It's different from a ULI and has a Red silicone O ring. If that matters  all are 2013 models.

I think you are right that the H3 valves are pretty much on everything. I have heard ULI may use something else or it could be the H2. I have never seen one up close.

Take a picture of the connector for your Red.  Curious of what it looks like. Thanks.

The Red has the same type of valve as the Starboard and Mistral inflatables (and most likely also the Naish and others as well). Some brands have slightly deeper or shallower valves, which can affect how well the Gizmo pump adapter works.

Also, most 2013 boards have the H3 valve which is more resistant to being blown out sudden deflation of the board from high pressure. A lot of earlier boards had the H2 valve which would sometimes get blown out. Just let out the air slowly at first when deflating 2012 or earlier boards - unless you know it's a H3 valve. The newer valves also hold the pressure better over time.

I believe the Mistral inflatable race board from 2012 has the H3 valve.