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inflatable SUP
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I want to get an inflatable SUP. I see adds from xterra all the time for SUP for 400-600 dollar range. I went into my local REI and great outdoor provision company and their boards are a lot higher in cost. I found a badfish monarch in one of the stores for $900. I am clueless on what I should be looking for in an inflatable SUP.
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Re: inflatable SUP [dl1340] [ In reply to ]
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I bought a Star Photon 11’6” inflatable SUP this past spring and used it a ton. Just a fantastic workout and experience to tour the waterways. Not sure about the models you’re looking at, but I do recommend you get one with the new drop-stitch technology that allows higher pressures. If you can’t pump it to 15-18 psi, then it won’t be anywhere as stiff & fast as a hardboard.
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Re: inflatable SUP [dl1340] [ In reply to ]
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I'd also consider WHERE you want to use it before you buy an inflatable. Good for lakes and waterways etc. Not so good for beaches. Positively bad for surfing waves.
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Re: inflatable SUP [RizzaNZ] [ In reply to ]
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RizzaNZ wrote:
I'd also consider WHERE you want to use it before you buy an inflatable. Good for lakes and waterways etc. Not so good for beaches. Positively bad for surfing waves.
This ^^^^
We have two that we use on the local river system here. Very cool for that. The kids love them, I am no co-ordinated enough to stand up on the inflatable ones easily, the fibreglass ones seems to be a lot more stable for me. Definitely not cool in any major form of chop.
Other thing to look at-if you can splash the coin, get a specific electric pump for them. To get them to 15 PSI is hard work with a manual pump. A simple electric pump won't really push the volume of air you need either, get a nice two stage SUP specific one and it will make your days out with them a lot more pleasant (assuming you need to deflate them etc for transport and storage which is what we do).
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Re: inflatable SUP [dl1340] [ In reply to ]
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I can't talk about inflatables too much - have used them a lot, but my wife has a fibreglass one and that's what I get to use occasionally. But the volume is what you need to check and match to your weight. Simply put, the bigger you are the bigger the volume you need. But if you go too big then there will be too much drag and you'll not enjoy it. Pretty obviously then the wider the board the more stable. For a given volume, then the longer and narrower the faster it will go. If you're only doing lakes / flat rivers then a board with some webbing to stash a bag with stuff can be handy. My wife's friend has a generic inflatable and they both go out in harbours regularly with no real issues.

If you are going out in the ocean then the solid board is a major improvement, but then you get into discussions on specific shapes which is probably beyond this post.

Best place to spend the cash is a lightweight (carbon) paddle. If it's a family board then an adjustable one will allow you you to change the length of the paddle, and you definitely don't want to be sharing a fixed length paddle unless you are the same height.

Also, please get a CO2 PFD belt. $100 and whilst you are highly unlikely to ever use it, then at worst it means you've got somewhere to pop your phone and keys.

Also, if you're in rivers with weeds, get a coiled leash (so it doesn't drag in the water). If in the surf, a long straight (non coiled) leash so that it doesn't spring back and smack you.. And if in fast flowing rivers then a waist mounted leash so you can release it if you need.
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Re: inflatable SUP [dl1340] [ In reply to ]
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Costco has a great entry level isup (11' body glove performer) for $399. Comes with paddle, pump, leash and bag. It is fairly stable and supports up to 320 lbs.
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Re: inflatable SUP [dl1340] [ In reply to ]
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I bought some for me and the wife in 2016 (aqua marine brand I think) and really didn't expect very much.

Honestly, we've used them a decent amount over the years they have never given us any issues. The crappy pump that comes with them will give you a hell of a workout, and as another poster mentioned, they just don't do waves in the ocean... but for lakes / calm water, I've been pretty happy with them. The fact that they bag up is nice for travel.

That said, I never got "into" it enough to really explore nicer boards. I have no doubt we've basically been using the equivalent of "Wal Mart bikes" over the years. Still, for the low price, getting 4+ years of semi regular use I'm pretty happy with it.

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Re: inflatable SUP [450res] [ In reply to ]
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450res wrote:
Costco has a great entry level isup (11' body glove performer) for $399. Comes with paddle, pump, leash and bag. It is fairly stable and supports up to 320 lbs.

I also bought the above, works great for me, very stable
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Re: inflatable SUP [450res] [ In reply to ]
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450res wrote:
Costco has a great entry level isup (11' body glove performer) for $399. Comes with paddle, pump, leash and bag. It is fairly stable and supports up to 320 lbs.

Ditto! I picked one up for my boys so they can huck it in their car easily and was surprised how well it tracked on the lakes and slow-moving rivers. I have a fiberglass touring board for myself...had I ridden the Body Glove inflatable first, I might not have bought mine.
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Re: inflatable SUP [450res] [ In reply to ]
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450res wrote:
Costco has a great entry level isup (11' body glove performer) for $399. Comes with paddle, pump, leash and bag. It is fairly stable and supports up to 320 lbs.

We have this same Body Glove Performer and it’s been great. Our family of 4 (two teen girls) love it. Only been used in CO lakes so far.

Formerly DrD
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Re: inflatable SUP [dl1340] [ In reply to ]
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I can fully recommend the xterra inflatable sups (for full transparency I got mine through a slowtwitch promotion).
We have an array of both solid and inflatable sups (have groups of six or more kids and adults cruising the canal/lake here in Texas). For use on calm lakes etc I don’t find much difference between the xterra and our other solid boards - it is plenty solid enough for gentle cruising around.
Never taken any of the sups into surf so can’t comment to differences in that environment.
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Re: inflatable SUP [dl1340] [ In reply to ]
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Personally, I love SUP boards. Both hard and inflatable have their purpose.

Is there a specific reason why you want to go inflatable? Is it for transportation and/or storage? Or is it cost specific?

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Re: inflatable SUP [dl1340] [ In reply to ]
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I got my wife an Xterra SUP as a present, and she liked it so much I ended up getting myself one so we could SUP together.

As some other said, the performance is not as good as the solid boards, but we found that the portability and convenience of transport more than made up for that. When we go to tris that have a nice lake we just throw the SUPs into the back of the car. We often get some nice paddles in that we would not otherwise have done.
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Re: inflatable SUP [dl1340] [ In reply to ]
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I bought a pair of inflatable SUP's on Amazon for around $220 each. They are about 11' in length, single fin, and included a bag, pump, water proof cell phone case,, and repair kit. The leashes were bought separate.

You want a board at least 10' in length for better stability. Anything less than 10' in length will be less stable. As well, a single fin is faster than a three fin board. The Xterra is a three fin, which is going to provide a little better tracking, but is more geared to surfing and use is waves. From my understanding it will not be as fast.
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Re: inflatable SUP [WFPB Athlete] [ In reply to ]
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As others have said, really depends on what you want to do with it. We have a jimmy stix iSUP it works great for us, however 90% of our SUP use is my wife or I riding on it while the other OWS. We both kind of want it to be a bit higher resistance so that we can get a workout while the other is swimming.
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Re: inflatable SUP [dl1340] [ In reply to ]
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Like others have said....really depends on what you want it for. I live in Ft. Lauderdale where there are a million waterways. But, due to space limitations in my house and car, I had to get an inflatable board. I did a lot of research this summer. You really need to get a better quality and thicker board to avoid holes
(My friend got a single layer xterra board and had a hole after a few uses). My research led me to getting an Atoll board. It’s a bit more expensive but not as pricey as others and had great reviews. Came with all the accessories needed. I’ve used it nonstop on both smoother and choppy terrain (like, mega yachts passing by) and it’s performed great. In fact, I loved the board so much and had such wonderful experiences with their customer service when ordering, that I just purchased a second for my husband.
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Re: inflatable SUP [dl1340] [ In reply to ]
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As others have said, first figure out where you're going to use it (lakes vs ocean) and what you're going to use it for: general flatwater paddling or surf or long distance touring. Read reviews online for SUPs based on the type of paddling you'd like to do. Going too cheap usually ends up costing more in the end and creates a lot of waste; fortunately quality doesn't necessarily cost a whole lot more.

Inflatables are great, not just for storage but they're also much more forgiving with respect to damage - you can ride them up on rocks if you have to and since SUPs are kind of awkward to lug around, you'll probably bump them into a lot of stuff over time. Many are sold as packages with pump, paddle and carrying bag to get you up and going quickly. Eventually you might want to upgrade the individual items (carbon paddles sure are nice...) but starting off simply is a great way to fine tune what you're into and whether it's worth more investment.

Also, if you plan on taking dogs or kids on the same board, inflatables do provide better grip for your passenger, especially for pups trying to clamber back aboard.

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