Hi I'm new to the SUP scene and will be buying an inflatable SUP so travelling to locations will be easier for me.
I would like to know your thought on the Red air 10'6 and the Starboard Astro whopper 10' I will be using the board in Moreton bay which can be choppy and in waves like at mooloolaba not too big. Which board would you recommend?
Thankyou appreciate any help

Both are good boards. I purchased a whopper last easter 2012, as a board to take away on trips when space is limited. The starboard is well finished and looks good, however the crocodile skin deck pad does seem to wear and get damaged easily. I mainly use it in flat water, and have surfed in waves up to waist high, which is fun, nothing radical.

I have also recently ridden the new 2013 red air 10'6", this is a good value board comes in at $1099 with pump and bag. The red is 1" thicker than the starboard and handles more PSI if you can be bothered to pump it up that hard. It paddles and surfs better than the starboard, being 3" thinner in overall width means paddling is a little easier on the shoulders and for smaller people.

I personally think the new 2013 Red boards are of a higher build quality than the starboards.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info yes you did help me I was leaning towards the red air but have decided ifcthectest rude hoes well will definitely be getting one. Cheers

Not sure if all that info is current.
Last time I checked the Starboards can be pumped pretty hard. 15-20Psi
They are offered either with or without the diamond grip.
Also if you want a faster board for flat water there are other options like the 11'2" x 32" Astro Blend which starts at $1249

Whatever you choice between 2013 Starboards and 2013 RED, both are good boards to have fun on the water with. Just remember unless you intend to get an electric pump (expensive), then the bigger boards with more volume will take longer to inflate up to 15PSI, sometimes this can be more of a work out than paddling.

My record for the whopper stands at 90 seconds from bag to fully inflated. I would recommend you use a double action kite pump for the initial stage as it gets a higher volume of air into the board faster (0-7PSI) then finish it with the single action pump supplied for 7-15 PSI.

Thanks for the info. The electric pumps do sound good, I think when I get my board I will give it go with the hand pump then if I'm struggling will checkout some electrics. Thankyou

The Red board is a step up from most other inflatables (including Starboard, Naish, etc.) in terms of solidity of construction. You can safely pump the Red to 25psi and get performance closer to a hard board. The stiffening battens you can insert into the rails of the Red provide even more stiffness. The downside is that the Red board is heavier as a result the higher density of drop stitch fibers (which lets you pump it up to the higher psi).

If you want to pump up your inflatable to 20-25psi, you'll need a good pump. I think the latest pumps provided by Starboard are pretty good. The Red Air pumps are great.

The Mistral pump is crap (although their board is great).

Here are a couple of add-on pumps that can make life easier to reach those high pressures:

www.amazon.com/Viair-00088-88P-Portable-Compressor/dp/B005ASY23I/ref=pd_sbs_auto_1

www.k-pump.com/products/pumps/k-pump-k20.html (Used it to take a Mistral 14' infaltable from 12psi to 20psi)