isup rental

Inflatable vs Hard Paddle Boards: Speed Comparison

Our friends over at Isle Surf & SUP recently did a really interesting speed comparison between inflatable paddle boards and traditional hard boards. The results might surprise you. They tested multiple boards and found that on average the hard boards were only 5-6% faster than the comparable inflatable boards. Proving once again that unless you're wanting to surf or race, an inflatable is the way to go. Convenience, convenience, convenience! I'll take a 5% speed decrease any day of the week if I don't have to deal with roof racks, worry about my board being damaged and have room to load three friends in my car with four iSUP's. For me, that's what The SUP Life is all about!

To see the results of the speed test and to read the full article click here.

Photos of the Week

Each week we feature our favorite standup paddle board photos from customers, staff and SUPer's worldwide.

For a chance to be featured submit your photos to contact@suprents.com

Sunset paddle with the pup.

Sunset paddle with the pup.

Sunrise at Sparks Lake.

Sunrise at Sparks Lake.

The green hue of Devils Lake makes for a memorable paddle.

The green hue of Devils Lake makes for a memorable paddle.

Photos of the Week

Each week we feature our favorite standup paddle board photos from customers, staff and SUPer's worldwide.

For a chance to be featured submit your photos to contact@suprents.com

Kelly and little Ellie thinking about an afternoon paddle.

Kelly and little Ellie thinking about an afternoon paddle.

Pure Joy!

Pure Joy!

Palm trees and paddle boards

Palm trees and paddle boards

Photos of the Week

Each week we feature our favorite standup paddle board photos from customers, staff and SUPer's worldwide.

For a chance to be featured submit your photos to contact@suprents.com 

Incredible birds eye view!

Incredible birds eye view!

Post work paddle

Post work paddle

Sailboats, sun and fun!

Sailboats, sun and fun!

Sunny San Diego with a SUPrents.com iSUP

My family loves San Diego! It's where my wife and I went to university and eventually got married, so needless to say we have tons of great memories tied up in this beautiful city.  We love visiting now because we still have friends and family in the area. We try to visit at least once or twice a year and we recently went down for a quick getaway to escape the cold and snow in Bend, Oregon. I packed the San Diego essentials - boardies, sunnies, flip flops and an inflatable standup paddle board from the SUPrents.com board stash!

I threw the board in the trunk of the rental car and was ready to hit the water whenever we had a few free minutes. Downtime is hard to come by when we're in SD because we're trying to see everyone, go everywhere and pump as many california burritos and acai bowls as possible into our stomachs, but that's where the beauty of having an iSUP comes in.... you throw the board in the trunk and you're ready to hit the water anytime/anywhere. All you need is 30 minutes to spare and it's on! It doesn't get much more convenient than that!

Here's a few pictures from our 3 days in sunny SD on the SUPrents.com iSUP...

How rigid are Suprents.com paddle boards?

Here at SUPrents.com we are all about dispelling rumors.  Lately, there has been a nasty rumor going around.  Thankfully, it doesn't have anything to do with Ashley Madison.  The rumor is that inflatable paddle boards leave much to be desired in terms of ride quality.  We have been receiving questions regarding the rigidity and durability of the boards.  We get it.  We were skeptical when we first heard of inflatable paddle boards as well.  We were picturing someone standing on a glorified pool toy half submerged in water.  Thankfully that is not the case.  The Tower Adventurer paddle board is so rigid we put one of the owners of Suprents.com on the board being held 3 feet off the ground to demonstrate just how stiff this SUP gets.  

One of our co-founders Scott took the family to the Oregon Coast recently.  Somehow he was able to sucker Jeff and Rick into holding him and the board up so he could demonstrate just how rigid our inflatable boards are.

One of our co-founders Scott took the family to the Oregon Coast recently.  Somehow he was able to sucker Jeff and Rick into holding him and the board up so he could demonstrate just how rigid our inflatable boards are.

The development of iSups or inflatable paddle boards has improved so much in the last 2 years it is truly astonishing.  With the advent of drop stitch technology inflatable paddle boards have essentially leveled the playing field with traditional fiberglass boards in terms of rider experience and far surpassed them in terms of convenience. 

We have heard the complaints from people that have tried an inflatable SUP in the past and hated it.  When pressed for more information it turns out these people were on a cheap 4 inch thick glorified kids pool toy over 3 years ago.  After some convincing, we got them to try the 6 inch thick Tower Adventurer board and they were shocked at how well it performed.  This board is made of 6 inch thick military grade drop stitch rubber.  This is the same material used in Zodiac rafts.  The way we see it, if it’s good enough for the Navy Seals it has to be good enough to SUP.  

Jeff and Rick were not harmed during the photo shoot. ;)

Jeff and Rick were not harmed during the photo shoot. ;)

Still skeptical?  Take one out for yourself and see.  Our rental program is the perfect way to try before you buy.  Starting next week if you rent a board from us and decide you want to keep it we'll sell it to you at a discounted rate.

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