A quick review of the 2015 Red Paddle Co 11’ Sport inflatable SUP

In this article we will provide a quick review of the 2015 Red Paddle Co 11′ Sport inflatable SUP. This is a new model in the 2015 Red Paddle Co range and slots between the all round boards like the 10’6″ Ride and the 10’8″ Ride, and the faster and touring style boards like the 12’6″ Race and 12’6″ Explorer. It’s faster than the Rides but quicker to pump up than the 12’6″ boards. At just 120mm or 4.72″ thick, but with RSS Battens, it’s a great board for someone looking for more speed than the Rides but more manoeuvrability than the 12’6″ boards. Destined to be a popular board for touring and cruising.

The bag: For 2014, Red Paddle Co introduced wheels on the bag. For 2015, they’ve gone a step further refining the wheeled bag to be even more sturdy, durable and comfortable. Once again, the back pack straps can be hidden in the “Sherpa Carry System” making wheeled travel more pleasurable and keeping the straps out of the airport conveyor belts.

The pump: The 2015 11′ Sport ships with the Red Paddle Co Ezee HP pump which makes inflation to 25PSI much easier. Included with the pump is a pressure gauge and hose. You also get a standard repair kit in the package and a bonus cell phone case which includes the inflation/deflation and care manual.

The inflation process is very straight forward and pumping with the HP Ezee pump is very easy. Be sure you have the valve in the inflation position so all that pumping doesn’t go to waste when you’re ready to remove the pump hose and put on the valve cap. Read our guide about valve position and board inflation, and watch us inflate a board here.

UPDATED Jan 19, 2015: The board now ships from Green Water Sports with the revolutionary Titan Pump. See which Red Paddle Co boards ship with the Titan pump here.

2015 Red Paddle Co Red Air SUP inflatable box1

2015 Red Paddle Co wheeled backpack SUP bag

The board: 11′ long, 30″ wide and 4.72″ thick. This is a 100% new design for 2015. A combination of all round ability from the Ride models and incorporating the speedy outlines of the 12’6″ boards. A US box style fin for good tracking, a squared off tail for excellent control, stability and manoeuvrability. Built using Red Paddle Co’s Tec Air construction process, it features high density drop stitch technology, double layering “board within a board” technique and quadruple layered rails. The weakest part of an inflatable paddle board is the rail (sides) where the top and bottom layers are joined, due to the lack of internal support from the high density drop stitch. Most inflatable stand up boards are constructed with just one rail layer on the rails, whereas Red Paddle Co use 4. Find out more about Red Paddle Co’s Tec Air construction.

The 11′ Sport comes with RSS battens which are designed to counter the effects of the paddler’s standing position and weight, the point around which inflatables can flex. RSS battens improve stiffness by up to 50%. That said, it is hard to notice any flex at all when paddling a Red Paddle Co board.

Let’s take a look at the 2015 11′ Sport, move the slider to see both sides.
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Let’s take a little walk around the board and see how the real thing looks.

On the water: The 11′ Sport is a top quality all round which carries great speed, tracks well and has good glide. Ideal for someone who wants to do more touring and still ride the occasional wave, but doesn’t want the larger and thicker 12’6″ boards despite their excellent glide and carrying capacity, but can be more cumbersome to manoeuvre and turn on waves. It’s also ideal for smaller paddlers who would normally have normally settled for a smaller more all round Ride model or a larger 12’6″ model which might be too thick and too hard to handle. The 30″ width is narrower than the Rides and the Explorer, which provides great glide and combined with the squared off tail, still maintains excellent stability as the width is carried so far back in the board giving the rider a sturdy and stable platform to paddle.

Under the front bungee cord, you could strap down a cooler and fishing rod and enjoy paddling into hard to reach places.

Now for some detailed images of the 2015 11′ Red Air Sport, click to enlarge.

Red Paddle Co Sport 11ft touring inflatable SUP

2015 Red Paddle Co 11 0 Sport Info graphic

The 2015 11′ Sport is an amazing all round cruising board, designed for a rider wanting good speed and glide to explore waterways with ease, yet enough versatility to catch the odd wave. Faster to paddle and much more racy-feeling than the Rides but more versatile and quicker to inflate than the 12’6″ Explorer or Race boards.

See the 11′ Sport Red Paddle Co product page for more details, specs and images.

If you are not sure which board to choose from the Red Paddle Co range, take a look at our helpful guide to choosing your 2015 Red Paddle Co board or compare all the important specs of each board here with our 2015 Red Paddle Co iSUP range announcement.