Test 2016: WindSUP - Inflatable windsurf boards
Who needs that anyway? Rarely have we heard this question more often. You'll always meet them: The sceptics and pure utility surfers. But there are also the visionaries, the inventors who are not deterred by small setbacks. And only they drive development forward. Like RRD and Starboard in this case. And so, on the beach, just as often as the critical glances, we also experienced amazement and admiration when a completely surf-ready board unrolled from the boot under the rattling roar of the compressor.
Admittedly: Even we still find it difficult to categorise all inflatable boards one hundred percent, to evaluate them with pinpoint accuracy. We - the test team - are often expected to give the thumbs up or thumbs down, to make a recommendation: "buy" or "sell". During this test, however, we often got lost in internal discussions of principle: why would you need an inflatable board at all, the roof rack has already been invented and a car "topless" looks strange anyway. But at the same time, we were thrilled that it works at all. No matter for what or for whom. Just that it works. The fact that you can glide across the lake on a customised stand-up board is fascinating enough. Regardless of whether it is (still) not a suitable alternative for most surfers. Inflatable windsurfing is roughly at the "monkey leaves the tree" stage of development, at least in terms of time, but evolution is proceeding faster than expected. 40 km/h with an inflatable board, almost 50 km/h with a 7.0 folding sail. This was unthinkable a year ago and is now possible. You will find less suitable boards, but also some that already work quite well and some that can already be a real buy if you have certain requirements. Like the SUPs with a glide option.
SUPs with glide option
The trick is actually obvious, just like the paper clip. Someone just has to think of it. Previous iWindSUPs, i.e. inflatable paddleboards with a mast foot insert, suck themselves into the water like any displacer with increasing speed, sometimes more, sometimes less, but actually always more. Weightless gliding is difficult with the round, thick edges at the tail of inflatable boards. Only the flexible, sharp trailing edge, which Starboard presented on the Airplane for the first time in 2015, brought real freedom from this displacement shackle. The tuning with the additional sharp rubber edge was also clearly noticeable on the 11'2" and 12'6" WindSUPs tested here.
The entire article with these boards is available as a PDF in the download area below:
