In October, some of the new Red Air 2015 models from Red Paddle Co arrived in the States. Having previously reviewed the 2012 and 2013 models, we were eager to take a re-look to see how the boards had evolved; we weren’t disappointed.
The bulk of the 2015 inventory sailed in a few weeks later. Our first choice was the Ride 9-8, a new 2015 model which blended the best attributes of the previous Allwater 9-6 and Surfer 10-0.
Well-known for their ruggedness, each of the Red Air boards utilize high-pressure, dropstitch technology – allowing them to be inflated from 15-25 PSI – and feature quadruple rail construction with double layering.
Following is our write-up on the 2015 Red Air Ride Nine Eight from Red Paddle Company. (Please note, some of this is repeated from previous writeups.)
Getting Started with the Red Paddle Co Ride 9-8
The box as received weighs 36 lbs, measuring 37 x 15 x 15 inches.
Inside the box is the SUP body, back pack, HP EZee pump, pressure gauge, cinch belt, fin guards, RSS side battens, instructions and repair kit – and a very nifty bonus cell phone case! Once rolled up, the SUP board and pump fit into the backpack, as well as a breakdown paddle under 37 inches.
Weight is 33 lbs for backpack, board and pump, which all easily fit in the back of a small car. The board alone is just under 25 lbs.
The 9-8 Ride inflatable SUP arrives rolled up inside the backpack. While French instructions were sitting in the box, if you locate the cell phone case (attached to the back pack), the English version is folded inside.
Remove the fin guards and unroll the SUP body. There are three integrated tracking fins at the rear of the board. Lay it out face up (fins down) so that you can access the military valve.
The Red Air Ride 9-8 utilizes one spring-loaded military valve for inflation. These are very simple to use and feature an inflate mode (spring plunger is UP) and a deflate mode (spring plunger is DOWN). By using your finger to gently push on the plunger, it can be moved to the inflate mode (air goes in and doesn’t come back out) and deflate mode (air goes in and comes back out). Before you go to all the effort of inflating the board, PLEASE make sure the plunger is in the inflate position.
The included single-action pump comes with a pressure gauge, so you can monitor the board’s PSI. The gauge screws onto the pump – pull the pump handle up (so the pump body doesn’t get in the way) then start with the gauge face down and it will screw on to end face up.
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