Anyone have any reviews on the Jimmy Lewis Air Maestro? Getting my better half into SUP and she very much likes the idea of an iSUP - less easy to damage, softer to land on if she falls, and more easily storable (my non-inflato Mana takes up just about all the storage room we have!). Obviously Red Paddle Co. are one of the ISUP leaders, but Jimmy Lewis have a good rep in solid SUP's - would assume they'd not put their name to something crap! Added to which they're at a decent price point for a board that will be used sporadically (ie. she doesn't have the stoke, but doesn't want to be a SUP Widow EVERY weekend!

http://jimmylewis.com.au/Boards/SUPs/All-Round-Touring/Inflatables

I am an old bugger on the wrong side of 60 and weigh 109 kg & 1800 tall. I am a big fan of good ISUP having owned Hobie, Starboard ISUPs in the 11 - 12'6" range over the past four years. I have used them on mostly flat water. The reason that I like ISUPs is that I they are very portable and easy to store. I use them for touring around lakes and rivers and for me they perform well enough. I no longer have the need to compete for sheep stations so they do not have to be the fastest things on the planet - Just fun to use.

Recently I have bought two Jimmy Lewis ISUPs - the Maestro Air and the Stilletto Air. Both are well made boards and appear to be as well made as any of the other name brands. I believe that they are made in Vietnam.

These ISUPs are light enough. I pump them up to 20 psi using the Bravo Manometer electric pump (14 psi) and top off with the hand pump. It is not too hard to pump them up solely using the hand pump, it just takes a while. Anyway pumping by hand is good for my fitness. Fourteen psi might be enough depending on the weight of your better better half.

I use the ISUPs every couple of days for 2 hours each to improve my fitness. Both are very stable boards and very rigid. The Maestro Air is more stable and more manouverable than the Stilletto Air. The Stilletto Air appears to be a bit faster and tracks better due to its increased length. I bought the Maestro Air for use in the small beach waves, but have not had a chance to try it out in the ocean yet. ISUPs have certainly improved over the past couple of years.

So far so good and I would buy them again if I was looking for another.

FWIW

Select to expand quote

seasdes said...
I am an old bugger on the wrong side of 60 and weigh 109 kg & 1800 tall. I am a big fan of good ISUP having owned Hobie, Starboard ISUPs in the 11 - 12'6" range over the past four years. I have used them on mostly flat water. The reason that I like ISUPs is that I they are very portable and easy to store. I use them for touring around lakes and rivers and for me they perform well enough. I no longer have the need to compete for sheep stations so they do not have to be the fastest things on the planet - Just fun to use.

Recently I have bought two Jimmy Lewis ISUPs - the Maestro Air and the Stilletto Air. Both are well made boards and appear to be as well made as any of the other name brands. I believe that they are made in Vietnam.

These ISUPs are light enough. I pump them up to 20 psi using the Bravo Manometer electric pump (14 psi) and top off with the hand pump. It is not too hard to pump them up solely using the hand pump, it just takes a while. Anyway pumping by hand is good for my fitness. Fourteen psi might be enough depending on the weight of your better better half.

I use the ISUPs every couple of days for 2 hours each to improve my fitness. Both are very stable boards and very rigid. The Maestro Air is more stable and more manouverable than the Stilletto Air. The Stilletto Air appears to be a bit faster and tracks better due to its increased length. I bought the Maestro Air for use in the small beach waves, but have not had a chance to try it out in the ocean yet. ISUPs have certainly improved over the past couple of years.

So far so good and I would buy them again if I was looking for another.

FWIW

Fantastic - thanks for the info! Sounds like the inflato's have really come into their own - they'll never be the same performers as solid boards, but they're a good option in some circumstances. Thank you for including the Stiletto too

Yeah ISUPs are great if you travel. I always keep mine in the boot when travelling and will always have one of the JL ISUPs with me.
Now how do I carry an ISUP on my Suzuki DR650?

Select to expand quote

seasdes said...
Yeah ISUPs are great if you travel. I always keep mine in the boot when travelling and will always have one of the JL ISUPs with me.
Now how do I carry an ISUP on my Suzuki DR650?

Is the answer 'carefully'?