The new 2015 Red Paddle Co inflatable SUPs are rolling into town, and everyone is inquiring about standup paddle boards. With all the models, sizes, thicknesses and activity types, how does one choose the best board?
We’ve updated our previous post on Choosing your Red Air Paddle Board – now for the 2015 models, which are arriving through January. The table (below) will hopefully take away some of the guesswork and confusing options when looking at the Red Air iSUPs.
For 2015, Red Paddle Company offers 12 models ranging in size from 9 ft 2 inches to 14 ft. 0 inches. This includes the introduction of 3 new models, a revamped look on the current nine models. Four models have been retired. (See a complete list of the new 2015 Red Air Line on this blog article.)
Well-known for their ruggedness throughout Europe, Australia and New Zealand, each of the Red Air boards utilize high pressure drop-stitch technology – allowing them to be inflated from 15-25PSI – and feature quadruple rail construction, double layering, thick traction pads and fins. Each board comes with the Red Air EZee or EZee HP pump, allowing one to inflate a paddle board to 18 PSI and higher in less than 10 minutes.
All 2015 Red Air iSUPs now come with an updated backpack featuring integrated wheels, making it easier to thread through airport lobbies, while still comfortable enough to pack into the remote country. The new packs are beefed up with tougher sail-cloth construction, larger wheels and heftier zippers that can take a beating.
This year we’ve added a couple more categories, separating “down river paddling” (wide rivers) versus “whitewater” (eddies and drops), and now including the popular “yoga” option.
How do you use this table? First, ascertain your size from the list:
Big & Tall – 210+ lbs and 6’1″ plus inches in height
Average – 140-200 lbs, 5’7″ to 6’0″ inches in height
Small – Under 140 lbs, Under 5’7″ inches in height
Child – Under 100 lbs, under 5’0 inches in height
Then decide the type(s) of paddling you want to do (paddling situations):
Touring – Ocean, waves, long paddles, camping
Recreational – Lakes, sloughs, slower rivers, coastal, calm
Whitewater – Fast-moving maneuvering with eddies, drops.
Downriver – Wide-open moving water.
Surfing
Fishing
Racing
Yoga
Determine what attributes are important (or not!) to you – do you want versatility or storage capacity? Stability or speed?
Rank your experience level, realizing that the more you get out on the water, the better you will get. More experienced paddlers can get away with smaller boards. Last of all, will this be used by various members of the family? Do you want the ability to bring along a child, dog or gear? Might two people be on this together?
Multi Paddlers/Family: Two small adults, Adult and