There are dishes that almost everyone likes and that's the case with the 11'6" touring all-rounders. As a hybrid between the compact, easy-turning all-rounders and the long, fast sports tourers, they simply fulfil the purpose for many: an occasional one-hour tour, a bit of paddling up and down in front of the beach on some days, then sometimes leaving it to the children as a play island. The compromise between manoeuvrability and already good performance is simply what most people expect from a SUP. In addition, the 11'6" boards are already much more directionally stable than a compact, wide 10'5" all-round board; two more paddle strokes per side, without running off track, are quickly achieved and allow you to tackle a slightly longer tour in a much more relaxed manner. Here too, the hardboards compete against inflatable boards.
In terms of directional stability and use of force, the duel is the same as in all board groups. However, the differences are small, but manoeuvres are a different story. A hardboard with a thin tail is pushed deep into the water during a pivot turn and turns more like a buoy. Feeling and timing are key here. On an iSUP with - due to its design - a thick and usually wide tail, the bow usually only lifts slightly out of the water, the tail doesn't really sink in and the board turns as easily as a fried egg in a greasy pan.
You can find out what the ideal "all-round touring board" should be like in the test. You can find the complete test report of these 10 all-round touring boards with all technical data and ratings as a PDF in the download area below:
- Aqua Marina Hyper 11'6'' x 31.0''
- CrosLake Bellagio SL5 11'6'' x 33.0''
- Fanatic Diamond Air Touring 11'6'' x 31,0''
- JP-Australia Hybrid 11'6'' x 32,0''
- JP-Australia Outback 12'0'' x 32,5''
- Naish Alana Fusion 11'6'' x 32,0''
- Paddleboard Allround Touring 11'8'' x 32.0''
- RRD Airtourer 12'0'' x 32.0''
- Starboard Go ASAP 12'0'' x 30,0''
- Starboard iGo Deluxe DC 12'0'' x 33,0''
Downloads:
Stephan Gölnitz
Deputy Editor in Chief surf
