Red Paddle Co Compact 9’6” 2019

[Area 10]

Interesting design. And I can imagine how this paddles in flat water. But has anyone tried to surf it? I’m not sure if the wide ass, double keel-type fins, and flat rocker would make it virtually unsurfable, except maybe for pushing kids into tiny foam rollers...?

Any hands-on surf experience of this board out there?

[baddog]

I'm a sucker for this kind of hype and think how cool it would be to have that board in the back of my truck.

Then I remember I still have a Red that popped like a balloon, sitting outside.

[spirit4earth]

I'm a sucker for this kind of hype and think how cool it would be to have that board in the back of my truck.

Then I remember I still have a Red that popped like a balloon, sitting outside.

I think it’s unusual for a Red to pop.  Which board did you have?  What happened?

[Area 10]

Yes, very unusual. Sadly it is a risk for any inflatable however, just as a few hard boards will delaminate. But Red are usually better than most at correcting problems, if they do occur.

[srowndedbyh2o]

Older thread with more info:https://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,34580.msg395294.html#msg395294

[Area 10]

Older thread with more info:https://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,34580.msg395294.html#msg395294

Oops, I hadn’t seen that. Thanks for the link. Although it doesn’t contain much info from actual users.

I went ahead and bought two of these. I paid full price (ouch!) and have no connection to the company or the retailer.

The boards work surprisingly well, and you can surf them for sure. In surf they are no worse than many other iSUPs, and are better than many. However, of course, this isn’t saying much since inflatables are generally hateful things to surf. Nevertheless, it can be done. Kinda.

The boards are great for general cruising in flat water - they track much better than you’d expect, and are faster too. They are super light, and I can walk with it inflated well over a mile to the beach no problem at all. It’s handy that the fin boxes will take conventional FCS fins. I’d prefer it if the fin boxes were not a click-in system though, since I can already see some corrosion occurring on the ball bearing, just after this short time. And they aren’t easy to get out sometimes. Having said that, in practice the twin system works surprisingly well, giving good tracking yet still the board is easy to turn. I think Red have discovered something really useful here, and I expect to see other twin fins soon.

The stringers seem to work. They are placed pretty much where you stand, and you can feel the stiffness they impart.

So, in general, the board performs well. However, I’m not keen on everything else about the package, especially the paddles, with which I have had problems. And one of my boards has a valve I can’t seem to get leak-free. So, overall, I’ve had a very mixed experience. I’m not going to go into the details because Red Paddle, and the retailer, have been very good indeed about these issues, which are being resolved. It is reassuring to know that Red Paddle continue their reputation for good service, and no doubt that is part of what you are buying when you buy a Red, which tend to be a bit more expensive than many others on the market today. And this particular model is extremely expensive compared to even other Red boards.

My advice to Red would be to design a smaller and lighter pump to go with this board. The USP of this board is its portability, and this is severely compromised by lugging a great big Titan pump around, and the Titan is still hard to use if you want to get it up to maximum pressure, anyway. The bag, also, is luxurious, but it adds a lot of weight. I have ditched the bags, and in use normally carry the boards inflated - they are so light. For air travel, I bought a Prolimit wheeled iSUP bag and can get both boards and paddles etc in there together. I also would suggest that Red consider a new joint system with their paddles, that uses a longer joint overlap to make the paddles stronger and stiffer. Maybe also a hexagonal fitting, rather than just an offset cut. I personally also loathe the leverlock system, and find that the sharp edges on the underside of the handles really hurt my hands in hard use. Why on earth would you design a handle that has sharp edges anywhere near it???!! So. there’s a *lot* of work to be done on the paddles IMO. I’ve ditched them for more conventional 3-piece paddles, but this does of course mean that I can’t fit them in the backpacks, which kinda defeats the purpose.

But the boards, when they have been working, have been great, and Red service has been good (and the retailer’s service has been truly outstanding - if you are buying in the UK, PM for more details). Red are definitely onto something here, with the board design and concept.




 

[air7]

Hi,

sorry to hear you have some corrosion on the mechanism in your fin boxes.

if you can, please send me photos / post here of the corrosion in your Click Fins boxes.

I'd like to bring this up with the factory in Japan that makes the mechanism (aka "Kumano Bearing").

thanks