Smorgasboarder_23_Feb_2016-s

DOES IT
WORK?
TRIED AND TESTED
THE WHIP
8’10” × 29” × 3.93” (150 litres)
INCLUDES:
• Red Paddle Co backpack
• HP pump, repair kit
• Water-resistant phone case
• RSS batten
• Removable US Fin Box system
CRACK
www.paddleboarding.co.nz
THAT
WHIP
WORDS: JEFF MORRIS
I
don’t know about you guys but I hate
travelling on airlines with sporting
equipment. For me there’s nothing
worse than carting oversize luggage such
as surfboards or snow skis around airports.
Better to rent when I get there, usually.
After a conversation with Roman Hartmann
at Surfari Surf Store in Zurich last year I
realised that for many people things aren’t
always as easy as throwing a board on the
roof or under your arm and heading for the
nearest expanse of water with waves on it.
He sells heaps of Red Paddle Co. inflatable
SUPS to people with little storage space
and when the only sensible travel option to
the ocean is an aircraft.
I have had quite a bit of experience with
Red Paddle Co. Sups over the last few
years doing lessons and rentals off my
local beach. Initially I had no interest in
them at all, but seeing their development,
innovations and almost indestructibility,
my respect for them grew and grew. Then I
found out that they had developed a model
specifically designed for surfing. It’s called
The Whip, it’s 8’10” × 29” × 3.93” (150
litres) and I needed to have a crack at it.
It’s taken 6 years of design development
for the Whip, they realised that you can’t
just copy a hardboard shape and expect it
to behave in the same manner because it
won’t. The main challenge is maintaining
SUMMER 2016 | SMORGASBOARDER 97