What hasn´t been taken seriously at first in the SUP scene now appears to become the future of SUP board technology. The triumphal procession of inflatable boards. Thanks to innovation of material and shape as well as increased acceptance among the worldwide SUP scene, a move from firm boards to inflatable ones seems to be at hand, not only as an alternative to be reckoned with.

The big Problem of inflatable boards used to be the insufficient firmness which couldn´t withstand the impact of powers, like e.g. moving water under the board and the driver´s paddling and his/her own weight.

As a result the boards used to deform and flutter which led to hard stalling at the ideally completely wetted bottom side of the board, and the lowering of the peak of the board deeper into the water which created bumping that made an even advancing impossible.

By innovations in material that enable a higher pressure within the board in order to allow a far higher firmness and adjusted shapes that make sure that the floating performance is optimized by lowering of scoope and rocker , they managed to free inflatable boards of their infancy problems and now they have become equal to firm boards regarding their driving performance.

Companies and developers that have been involved with the new generations of inflatable board even take one step further. They are sure that by changing the pressure punctually within the board it can be made adjustable to the major factors of SUP driving.

Of course we are talking about environmental influences in the first place, specifically the water condition, from dead water to open-ocean, to which the board performance can be adjusted.

It is of course the special shape that is very important. Mistral improved the hydrodynamic performance of the board by choosing an outline which is characterized by a very slender bow so that excess volume in the bow area, which unfortunately is the case for most boards, is eliminated. The M1 by mistral therefore shows a comparably smooth and steady water performance

Secondly, the driver is an issue; the board can be adjusted to his/her weight as well as to the individual driving ability. This means that when realized the inflatable board will be a true all-round board. Any kind of water condition can be managed and everybody is able to drive the board perfectly.

One example:

A family with children discovers SUP sports and wants to participate actively. Now the very lightweight children, the lightweight mother and the heavy-weight father can use the same board instead of having to buy three different conventional boards. Furthermore, the ambitious son could use the inflatable as a race board as well for competitions. The field of application of the inflatable board is far wider than that of the comparable firm boards.

Another big advantage is the small volume of the board and the high transportability that goes along with it. The private customer can carry it almost everywhere with a bag-pack system offered by almost all companies, stow it in the luggage compartment and take it on a plane as standard luggage when travelling with the family. You can visit a city like Hamburg or Venice in a spectacular way from waterside; you can reach your training-destination easily by bike and store the rolled-up board in the cellar in winter without any problem. Aquatic sports schools will save lots of storage space, it will be far less complicated to offer tours for bigger groups as no extra means of transportation will have to be organized.

Commerce will benefit from easier chains of distribution like e.g. parcel services to the customer.

In addition to their remarkable driving performance there is another essential asset to the new inflatables, their resiliance and sturdiness. Laminated boards, no matter which material, have to be handled with extreme care whereas you could throw the inflatables from the second floor without any damage. Of course this is a blatant example, but it obviously demonstrates the adittional value of this new board generation.

The first new generation of inflatable boards will hit the water this season already and considering their above mentioned characteristics you don´t have to be a fortune teller to see that there will be a Revolution in the SUP scene.

The future might well be inflatable….