Smorgasboarder_23_Feb_2016-s

Gee Hard model – blows itself up. Apparently
you can inflate these to around 25psi, but I
reckon you’d have to be Arnie Schwarzenegger
to do it. Best I could get was around 17psi, but
that’s really solid anyway.
First paddle out was in a small swell and as I
went over the first wave I could appreciate if
the board wasn’t pumped up to a good level, you
would feel like you’re surfing a bouncy castle.
It’s definitely different to surfing a standard
hardboard SUP as the board sits high and on top
of the water so that you feel every bit of water
movement, add a strong wind to 8’10” x 29” and
it can be a bit of a challenge, but you do get
used to it and pretty soon I was getting a few
nice rides.
Once I got the feel of the board I found that it was
quite easy to ride further up the nose longboard
style as well as being quite manoeuvrable
towards the tail.
It certainly attracts plenty of stares and
questions as you might expect. My basic
explanation is that it’s a great traveling board.
One guy said it would be a shame if you turned
up at 6’ and perfect Angourie and that’s all you
had to ride. My reply was if you’re travelling
with limited resources and space, such as a
hire car and family and you turned up at perfect
Angourie with nothing, that would be a bigger
shame.
Like everything it’s how you approach it, so
with a bit of practice, perseverance and good
paddle skills the Red Paddle Whip surfs just
fine, so well in fact that a young Spaniard by
the name of Xavi Masdevall won the inflatable
division of the 2015 Euro Supa Surf Champs on
one. This is a great product that perfectly does
what it’s designed to do, be easy and cheap to
travel with, catch some waves, with the added
bonus of a possible quiet paddle in some great
locations.
The guys and Red Paddle do a great job of
designing, constructing innovative inflatable
paddleboards, they’ve turned a bit of a skeptic
and naysayer into a bit of a convert over the
last few years. I’m looking forward to their next
offering.
P.S. I reckon these would be great shark
repellents – shark bites into 8’10” of 20psi
paddleboard, shark inflates in 2 seconds
then travels 500 metres across ocean at
approximately 100kms per hour in a circular
fashion, shark has stomach ache for 3 days
leaving plenty of time to safely exit the
water.
Not only is JEFF ‘JIFF’ MORRIS the guy
that runs around for Smorgasboarder in
NZ, he’s also a mad keen surfer and SUP
rider, world traveller, gear tester and an
ace with a keyboard.
jeff@smorgasboarder.co.nz
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SMORGASBOARDER | SUMMER 2016