Looking to buy a 12,6 inflatable SUP and have been researching between the Naish One, Starboard Astro and Mistral M1. Any one had the chance to try any of these on the water?
Already own a Gerry Lopez 8,11 and Starboard Nose rider but want an inflatable cruiser and space is a premium..

I've tried most of them except the Mistral because no one sells them here but I'm sure they're very good.. Red air is another very good one including the new Uli's but I've not seen them yet..

I'm planing to buy the One Naish inflatable because I'm a Naish fan.. I don't think there's much difference between the Naish and Starboard so it comes down to colour's and brands that you like.. Here's vid that I did a few months ago.

DJ

Great vid, seems there is not much between the Naish and Starboard.
The Naish looks the goods and I'm liking the deck pad coming further back on the board, interesting to see on the vid that your standing in front of centre and the board doesn't even look like nose diving
On the stats for the Naish it doesn't detail fin length? Assuming it is 8 inches same as starboard.
Best price I can find for the Naish one is $1599 in Vic but Waterman Depot in the US will sell and ship for around $1450 Aus even with our ****ty dollar at the moment that is pretty good. Do you know of many suppliers and any in the West?
Cheers, Brian

Hey Sollies
I've used the Starboard 14' x 30" and 14' x 26" inflatable. Haven't tried the 12'6, but I know stand up paddle sports in osbourne park have the full inflatable range to demo - so try before you buy!
I really rate the 14' x 26" it's as fast as some hard boards and very stable as well.

I just bought at JP Sportsair 12'6 at lunch. Its my first SUP. I will try it tonight and report back.

I got it from these guys www.silentsports.com/

Hi Solies
Do yourself a favour and try a ULI before you buy.
These boards are super stiff at 18 psi , paddle as good as most hard boards in flat water surf well and keep their shape.
We have used the 12'6" ULIs for two years now and they travel with us all the time great boards we love them
I have no connection with any brand just appreciate quality products.
Cheers
John

I've seen the Uli but don't know much about them, there is a local shop that sells them, will check them out.
The only concern with the Uli is set up with a thruster configuration with I thing 4.5 inch fins, I thought for a longer board the longer single is the way to go.
Leaning toward the Naish. Need to find a good deal in Aus.
Cheers

I have boards that pump to both 15psi and 18psi and don't think I can notice any difference when paddling. By far the biggest difference is 6" thick boards over 4" ones for rigidity.
I would be wary of buying one OS, we just sold a board to somebody who had a big failure with a brand name import board.

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Sollies said..

Great vid, seems there is not much between the Naish and Starboard.
The Naish looks the goods and I'm liking the deck pad coming further back on the board, interesting to see on the vid that your standing in front of centre and the board doesn't even look like nose diving
On the stats for the Naish it doesn't detail fin length? Assuming it is 8 inches same as starboard.
Best price I can find for the Naish one is $1599 in Vic but Waterman Depot in the US will sell and ship for around $1450 Aus even with our ****ty dollar at the moment that is pretty good. Do you know of many suppliers and any in the West?
Cheers, Brian

Actually the fin is the one obvious difference between the Naish and Starboard 12'6" inflatables .. The Naish comes with a fin that is about 8" long and the Starboard only comes with a small fin that looks about 6" long.. I'm sure you could put a Naish fin in the Starboard if you wanted to because they look to have the same fin box type. The Naish has the pump up point in the tail nd on the Starboard it's near the nose.. and I agree about the deck grip on the Naish being better.. Starboard have fixed this issue with their new narrow race inflatables that are coming out soon.

DJ

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DavidJohn said..

Sollies said..

Great vid, seems there is not much between the Naish and Starboard.
The Naish looks the goods and I'm liking the deck pad coming further back on the board, interesting to see on the vid that your standing in front of centre and the board doesn't even look like nose diving
On the stats for the Naish it doesn't detail fin length? Assuming it is 8 inches same as starboard.
Best price I can find for the Naish one is $1599 in Vic but Waterman Depot in the US will sell and ship for around $1450 Aus even with our ****ty dollar at the moment that is pretty good. Do you know of many suppliers and any in the West?
Cheers, Brian

Actually the fin is the one obvious difference between the Naish and Starboard 12'6" inflatables .. The Naish comes with a fin that is about 8" long and the Starboard only comes with a small fin that looks about 6" long.. I'm sure you could put a Naish fin in the Starboard if you wanted to because they look to have the same fin box type. The Naish has the pump up point in the tail nd on the Starboard it's near the nose.. and I agree about the deck grip on the Naish being better.. Starboard have fixed this issue with their new narrow race inflatables that are coming out soon.

DJ

Yes the narrow Race inflatable from Starboard has deck grip going much further back and the fin is also the same length as the Naish on the new ones. There's a new ULI coming soon which will have a single fin set up but I don't know if it's going to be removable like the Naish and Starboard.

Funloving stuff watching that vid, especially as the weather here is cold, windy onshore mess. The 12'6 inflatables make a lot of sense for BOP close-quarter racing. I have a 9'3 C4 iSUP inflatable for family & friends to use. Fun for mucking around on, teaching newbies, but nowhere near the performance of a glass board re speed & surfing. Interesting to see the nose of the Naish seem to suck down onto the wave base, then breach before you wiped out. Looked like you were on the tail, but the nose wasn't coming up. Still looks like heaps of fun.

check out last weeks kawana time trials... not much in it between starboard and Naish boards... check the width of them, the Naish is very stable so I wouldn't go any wider.

Fanatic have a huge range of inflatables out in 2014 also. Won't say much more than that but it would be worth looking at their 2014 range also.

I'm thinking more brands will get into the longer inflatables in the next couple of years.
Anybody out there got any EOFYS deals on inflatable Naish one??
Cheers.

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Maroubra SUP said..

Funloving stuff watching that vid, especially as the weather here is cold, windy onshore mess. The 12'6 inflatables make a lot of sense for BOP close-quarter racing. I have a 9'3 C4 iSUP inflatable for family & friends to use. Fun for mucking around on, teaching newbies, but nowhere near the performance of a glass board re speed & surfing. Interesting to see the nose of the Naish seem to suck down onto the wave base, then breach before you wiped out. Looked like you were on the tail, but the nose wasn't coming up. Still looks like heaps of fun.

That was my first waves on an inflatable and they do take some getting used to.

These long flat 12'6" boards don't have much rocker to make them fast on flat water.. When standing in the middle they get a slight bend giving you some rocker.. Once on a wave and you jump back towards the tail you loose the bent bit of rocker and the board flaterns out causing the nose to drop and stick to the water.. You need to keep the nose up and resist the urge to get right back on the tail.. I started to get the hang of it after a while and was able to ride the waves all the way in.. It's a bop style wave ride.. No real turning going on.. and yes.. Heaps of fun..

DJ

I have been trying a 12'6" Redpaddle Explorer on flat water at Nelson Bay and found it really good for distance paddling. The 6" depth gives it plenty of rigidity and with the random drop stitch they can be inflated to 22 PSI. If you are looking for a good inflatable check out the pattern on the drop stich (the little dimples on the board), random pattern will let you inflate to higher pressures, straight line drop stiches mean lower pressures. The higher the pressure the more rigid the board, bit tough with a hand pump but am working on an adaptor that fits a Service Station air gauge. The Redpaddle boards seem to have enough rocker but I stand about 400mm back from the centre which helps.

We have the Starboard 12'6" Astro, well the wife has it. Went the Starboard over the Naish because she likes the colour. The Starboard has a narrower tail than the Naish, don't know if that helps. We tried the 4" and the 6" and found the 6" much stiffer to use and the best option.
The Starboard comes with a high pressure pump, not a standard kite pump, yes it will get it to 18 psi but takes ages. I have adapted a kite pump to make initial inflation quicker. The portability of the board is great, means we can have the board in the car on holidays, rather than stuck on the roof in an underground car park.
Jason at BrisKites gave us a great deal, definitely give him a try, these boards can be shipped anywhere easily.