Red Ten - Surfer

Red Paddle Co makes some of the best inflatable boards. The quality is great (even better in the 2016 models), and they are really fun to paddle. The Surfer 10' wasn't difficult to pump up. The last few psi might require body weight to get the pump handle down, but it was very doable for this mid-fifties female. The board is lightweight and easy to cartop. The material is extremely tough and offers great grip for dogs and humans. Pros Weight, durability, very dog friendly. Easy to maneuver. Stable. Easy enough to inflate, and can be left inflated with no problems. Don't need to worry about rocks or dropping the board, as it's nearly indestructible. Cons As a 10' board, it doesn't track or go as fast as a longer, narrower board. Bought new, Red Boards are a bit expensive. Usage Surfing, wave play, lake and river recreational paddling.

Note that this a review from a dealer of this board. This is a great board. The thinner construction to the 10'6? gives a more planted feel and better traction on a wave face. With the RSS battens and high denisty drop stitch pumped up to 20PSI, it really gives you a solid, basically hard board ride. For general cruising or larger riders, it is on the smaller size, but this is true for any 10ft board on the market today. As the inflatables become better known for having comparable performance characteristics to a hard board, you should expect to see more of them at your local spot! Pros The bulk of the paddling for this review was on our local river. There was a bit of wind and some chop but on a whole it was pretty flat. It cruised well, was rather stable and had no notable flex. The EVA deck was very comfortable and grippy under foot and of course the inflatable body provided some extra comfort. On my hard board surf SUP, my feet are always falling asleep, however on the inflatable (my go to board for everything but big waves is the 10’6″ Ride) I never have any trouble. Even on longer paddles. The iFin 3 fin thruster set up gave it decent tracking on the flats and good grip on the wave. Red Paddle Co have a standard iFin size so you have noticeably more grip on this board than the 10’6″. The fins are super tough and will bounce off anything. Great for the logs I hit in the river! That goes for the inflatable construction all over. Bombproof, ding proof rails and boards are a god send to anyone who paddles on a river, has kids or is generally tough on gear. This board is only 3.93″ thick which is similar to many hard boards so it’s right on the money for performance. You’ve probably seen other inflatables on the market which look about 8″ thick and only pump to 11PSI. If you gave this board to someone and didn’t tell them it was inflatable, the only giveaway would be the valve in the tail, it feels that good. Cons It's a little low on volume and therefore load carrying capacity is down but that's about it. Usage General cruising, small waves.