Which Red Paddle Co inflatable air SUP is right for me?

By far the most common inquiry is “Which Red Paddle Co inflatable stand up paddle board should I get?” This usually means they have been looking at the 9’8″ Ride, the 10′ Surfer and the 10’6″ Ride and need some guidance from me to help steer them in the right direction.

The inquiry sounds pretty general but it usually involves someone around 140 – 180lbs, about 5’5″ – 6’2″, who will most likely paddle for fun on flat water, occasionally in the ocean (waves) or on white water, and might on occasion carry a young child or a dog on board too. Well, the question is narrowed down immediately to a recreational paddler who wants a nice stable board possibly some tie downs, room for a passenger, but nothing too big that they’ll grow out of quickly.

On the whole, the boards are very similar, hence the indecision, yet offer a few different perks. So, let’s start with some board specifications to compare. I’ve included the 10’8″ Ride for comparison as there are plenty of 180+lbs paddlers out there, myself included, or people who want to do more, carry more with their boards. The Mega also caters for 2 booming sections of the stand up paddle boarding market – yoga and fishing.

Board	Length	Width	Thickness	Volume	Board Weight	Max Weight	RSS
9’6″ All Water	9’6″	32″	3.93″	193l	25lbs	210lbs	Yes
10′ Surfer	10′	30″	3.93″	190l	27lbs	200lbs	Yes
10’6″ Ride	10’6″	32″	4.72″	218l	28lbs	220lbs	No
10’8″ Mega	10’8″	36″	4.72″	296l	29lbs	220+lbs	No

Not sure what RSS is? The Red Paddle Co Rocker Stiffening System (RSS) is a patented technology which uses battens inserted into the rail of the board to aid in board stiffness. Read more about the RSS battens here and how to insert RSS battens here.

Now to a comparison of the board’s features, strengths and weaknesses.

Board	Manuverability	Stability	Glide	Tie Downs	Deck Space	Kick Pad
9’6″ All Water	Awesome	Great	Good	Yes	OK	Yes
10′ Surfer	Great	Good	Great	Yes	Good	No
10’6″ Ride	Good	Awesome	Great	Yes	Great	No
10’8″ Mega	OK	Off the chart	Good	Yes	Acres	No

And now to the style of paddling you’ll be doing, or expect to be doing.

Board	Recreational	Touring	Whitewater	Fishing	Surfing	Yoga
9’6″ All Water	Great	OK	Great	Great	Great	Good
10′ Surfer	Good	OK	Good	Good	Awesome	OK
10’6″ Ride	Awesome	Great	Good	Great	Good	Great
10’8″ Mega	Great	Good	OK	Awesome	OK	Awesome

If you are needing a more detailed look you can read my review of the the 10’6″ Ride inflatable SUP or my review of the 10′ Surfer inflatable SUP. Each article has a video and close up images of all of the main features of the board and bag.

Don’t forget, if you’re interested in longer cruising trips or extra glide, at the pointy end of the race or surfing markets, Red Paddle Co also caters to you. There is the 9’2″ Surf Star for the surfers and the 12’6″ Race, 12’6″ Elite and 14′ Elite for the paddlers who want extra glide, tour longer distances, overnight trips and racers.

Links to the featured models: