Review of the Red Paddle 12'6" Race INFLATABLE.....I'm impressed with this board

[Green Water Sports]

Great review mtmilam.

[levity]

Don’t want to dis Red Co. or mtmilam’s nice review, but feel would like to offer another view, one from the perspective of a lighter weight paddler (165 lb).  I demo’d the board over the weekend and was disappointed.

General style/shape/rocker:  Nice looking.  Promising all ‘rounder?

Size:  12’6’ x 30.75” (measured) x 5.9” (150mm).  That’s a lot of volume.  I stood about 5” above waterline.  OK on flatwater, though not ideal.  In open ocean it felt corky and unstable.

Weight:  A 32.5 lb tank.  Work to accelerate.  Because iSUPS by nature have limited glide, the width and wetted surface area gave a lot of drag so it required a lot of additional work to hold speed.

Side battens:  These add weight and drag.  Do they really add any significant rigidity?  I had the board at 25 psi and it was plenty stiff, just flexing a bit over swells or when jumping up and down.

Fin box:  Accepts some standard hard board fins, but the 8.25” slot is too short for many.  In addition, the slot (10mm wide) required a shim to prevent wobbling of the fins I tested which had 9mm wide bases.  I prefer the simple light-weight clip-in design used on other iSUPS even though it limits fin selection.

Front ventral “fin”:  Just don’t understand what purpose this 13“ x 12mm high x 7mm wide ridge serves.   (May be good for jamming over rocks?)  Tracking was not particularly good.  Seems like another unnecessary weight penalty.

Handle:  Too short (4”) for such a beast, fingers crushed during any extended carry. Fortunately, it was centered at the balance point.

Summary:  a big, heavy, slow iSUP for big, heavy paddlers or those who don’t put a premium on efficiency.  It may be a “Race” board for those over 250 lb or an OK and durable iSUP for those in the 200-250 lb range, but I think that it’s overkill for folks 190 lb or less.

[spookini]

Levity,

They now make this board in a 12'6" x 26", also a 14' x 26", both which supposedly perform very solidly in race conditions.   Would be interesting to hear response to your critiques from others who have experience on the board.   Personally I'd choose a durable iSUP over a lightweight thin-skinned one..   A ripped or torn iSUP would be the ultimate bummer.

[Argosi]

Don’t want to dis Red Co. or mtmilam’s nice review, but feel would like to offer another view, one from the perspective of a lighter weight paddler (165 lb).  I demo’d the board over the weekend and was disappointed.

General style/shape/rocker:  Nice looking.  Promising all ‘rounder?

Size:  12’6’ x 30.75” (measured) x 5.9” (150mm).  That’s a lot of volume.  I stood about 5” above waterline.  OK on flatwater, though not ideal.  In open ocean it felt corky and unstable.

Weight:  A 32.5 lb tank.  Work to accelerate.  Because iSUPS by nature have limited glide, the width and wetted surface area gave a lot of drag so it required a lot of additional work to hold speed.

Side battens:  These add weight and drag.  Do they really add any significant rigidity?  I had the board at 25 psi and it was plenty stiff, just flexing a bit over swells or when jumping up and down.

Fin box:  Accepts some standard hard board fins, but the 8.25” slot is too short for many.  In addition, the slot (10mm wide) required a shim to prevent wobbling of the fins I tested which had 9mm wide bases.  I prefer the simple light-weight clip-in design used on other iSUPS even though it limits fin selection.

Front ventral “fin”:  Just don’t understand what purpose this 13“ x 12mm high x 7mm wide ridge serves.   (May be good for jamming over rocks?)  Tracking was not particularly good.  Seems like another unnecessary weight penalty.

Handle:  Too short (4”) for such a beast, fingers crushed during any extended carry. Fortunately, it was centered at the balance point.

Summary:  a big, heavy, slow iSUP for big, heavy paddlers or those who don’t put a premium on efficiency.  It may be a “Race” board for those over 250 lb or an OK and durable iSUP for those in the 200-250 lb range, but I think that it’s overkill for folks 190 lb or less.

I've tried several 14' and 12'6" inflatables including:
- 14' x27.5" Mistral
- 12'6" x 30" Starboard
- 14' x 30" Starboard
- 12'6" x 30" Red Air

The Red was inflated to 25psi while the others were at 17-18psi (the upper end of the recommended pressures). Conditions ranged from choppy (about 15mph wind) to flat.

In flat water, the 14' Mistral was the fastest board. In chop, the Red was my preferred board, primarily because it handled better due to its greater stiffness. All the boards were stable enough for me.

In terms of performance, the biggest issue with inflatables is that they're not as stiff as hard boards. This becomes increasingly important (regardless of your weight), as the conditions get choppier/rougher. If you're paddling on glass, there's not much difference between the performance of a good inflatable and a hard board - the hard board might be 5-10% faster, depending on the board.

In chop, hard boards are far superior to any inflatable I've tried. Going downwind, inflatables tend to absorb the wave energy in the hull  rather than using the energy to propel the hull onto the wave. Going upwind, inflatables again absorb the wave energy into the hull which makes it less efficient for plowing through the waves. This is true regardless of the paddler's weight.

So to me, one of the most important things about an inflatable is how stiff it is - since I like to paddle in rough conditions as well as flat. If you stick to flat water, then it's less of an issue.

Some of the features of the Red that you're not thrilled about are ones that make the board stiffer:
- RSS battens on the rails
- 6" thickness (quite a bit stiffer than 4")

Most inflatables don't track well, so I like the idea of the front ridge. It should help tracking without adding much drag.

The weight of the Red is heavier than the single skin boards but you get a more durable board - personally, I'm not sure I need a double skin board so I might agree with you here.

Overall, I really liked the Red. Now that they make it in the 26" wide and 14' versions, it's even more appealing. If I were buying an inflatable, I'd go for one of the 26" wide Reds.

For surfing, it's a whole different set of comparisons - but again stiffness is still critical. Thickness becomes more important as a 4" thick inflatable will surf better than a thicker one. The stiffest 4" (or under) board might be one good way to narrow your list. Again the 25psi and rail battens of the Red designs sound good to me here as well although I've never tested their surf boards.

[levity]

Thanks, Spooki.   Unfortunately, my lack of balance precludes being 4-5" above waterline on 26" wide board (think "log roll").

Re durability: I only have limited time on iSUPS, but haven't had a puncture or failure on my single-skin Uli boards in 2+ years.
Yes, I try to take care of them, but I don't hesitate to take them on overnight tours in remote areas.
Uli uses a non-stretch Kevlar fabric strip to help stiffen the boards, and it also adds a light protective layer.
I'd like to see a manufacturer use double skin on the bottom (for protection, stiffness) and single-skin on top to save weight.


Good comments re effects of flex, Argosi.  But I'm still uncertain about the battens.

Has anyone done the experiment and tried the Red +/- battens to see if it makes any difference?

Geez, 25psi on a 6" thick board should be plenty.  (If not, you need a hard board.)

[Green Water Sports]

Good question levity. I'll try to test the boards +/- RSS battens.

[Green Water Sports]

The following image illustrates part of the benefits of the RSS batten system. It does not show the on board riding benefits as outlined by the text below.

What is shown here is how: "They work by spreading the riders weight across a bigger area."
Left side is with RSS battens, right side is without. Notice a flatter/stiffer board on the left side. Both at 20 PSI.



This is from Red Paddle Co:

"They make the board stiffer. Simple as that. They decrease the flex in the 100mm/4" boards by 30-50% (depending on pressure). Without them fitted you you feel more flex in the board. They work by spreading the riders weight across a bigger area. The extra stiffness gives a more authentic ride and a faster ride. We are all about delivering an authentic paddling experience. Just because you choose to ride an inflatable board shouldn't mean you have to compromise on performance.  The RSS system is just one of the ways we make our boards perform better than standard inflatables."

Keep in mind that the pictured board is the 4' thick, 10' Surfer model: http://greenwatersports.com/shop/red-paddle-co-10-surfer

Other boards are 6" thick and are much stiffer because of this thickness. The RSS serves to "give a more authentic ride and a faster ride" on an inflatable SUP.

I did not get to take this on the water where I would really be able to feel the difference. A stiff inflatable is alwasy going to be fairly flat when between two sun lounges but what you can see in this shot, is how the weight of the rider (150lbs) is spread over the centre of the board.

[firstglide]

thx for the illustration

[levity]

Nice photo comparison, Julian!  Seeing is believing.  What pressures did you use?
It would be interesting to see if the effect is as dramatic with the 6" boards at high pressures, ~25 psi.

Your test prompted me to do a similar experiment comparing the 6" thick 12'6" x 30" Red (25psi) with my 4' thick 12'6" x 31" Uli (20psi).
I didn't take pictures, but put the nose and tail on chairs and measures how much the standing area sagged when I sat on the boards.
Not a carefully controlled study, but the difference was obvious and dramatic. The Red sagged ~3.5" and the Uli sagged ~7".
The 6" thick boards are significantly more rigid, and we all know that extra rigidity can enhance performance (!).

That said, a well constructed 4" thick board (Red's battens or Uli's kevlar strips) may be rigid enough for lighter paddlers.
Here's a pic that shows my Uli doesn't bend/flex much when fully weighted, at least in flat water.

[SteamboatBORN]

By adding 2" to a 4" board you have a 50% stiffer board. Same goes with lumber, a 2x4 is much stiffer then a 1x4 laid flat.

[Green Water Sports]

Used about 20psi for both shots.
I was in two minds about posting the shot as the real benefits of RSS are felt on the water. It may only be 1-2" sag without battens but every little bit helps and on the water, I'm sure you'd notice the difference more.

What happens when the Red is at 20psi as well?

Nice photo comparison, Julian!  Seeing is believing.  What pressures did you use?
It would be interesting to see if the effect is as dramatic with the 6" boards at high pressures, ~25 psi.

Your test prompted me to do a similar experiment comparing the 6" thick 12'6" x 30" Red (25psi) with my 4' thick 12'6" x 31" Uli (20psi).
I didn't take pictures, but put the nose and tail on chairs and measures how much the standing area sagged when I sat on the boards.
Not a carefully controlled study, but the difference was obvious and dramatic. The Red sagged ~3.5" and the Uli sagged ~7".
The 6" thick boards are significantly more rigid, and we all know that extra rigidity can enhance performance (!).

That said, a well constructed 4" thick board (Red's battens or Uli's kevlar strips) may be rigid enough for lighter paddlers.
Here's a pic that shows my Uli doesn't bend/flex much when fully weighted, at least in flat water.