Easy to carry,  Easy to use, Fun to paddle, – A great SUP package!

At Sup The Bay, we like to race and surf SUPs, in other words we often ride pretty radical boards made of carbon or fiber glass. So testing and paddling an Inflatable SUP is far from the usual for us. Advance Elements sent us the Hula 11 for review about 8 weeks ago. Since then we have tested the Hula in various conditions, lake, small rivers and the San Francisco Bay. The Hula 11 is offered in a very complete package,  it includes: Pump with Pressure Gauge, Hi-Quality Duffel Bag, Repair Kit, Valve Adaptor, 3 Removable Tracking Fins. The price of the Hula 11 is between $700 and $799 depending on the configuration(extra seat, sail,  paddle).

Hula 11 package, bag, pump, board, fins, duffel bag

One of the great thing about the Hula 11 Inflatable SUP is that it can fit in the trunk or on the backseat of vehicle, or even on the rack of a bicycle, or motorcycle. It is easy and fast to inflate, it takes only about 3-5′ and to insert the fins. This is barely more time than unstrapping a board from the roof of a car.

The Hula 11 is stable and surprisingly fast,  it is a fun board to paddle. The Hula 11 can be used as on flat water. When paddling at Castle Lake,  I did multiple laps around the lake and I didn’t notice much difference with a fiberglass SUP. Obviously no need to worry about hitting rocks, branches or docks thanks to heavy-duty PVC. The Hula 11 Inflatable SUP is made of High-Pressure Drop-Stitched material and a double layer of heavy duty PVC Tarpaulin for ultra stiff performance and superior durability. The deck of the board features a large foam traction pad and 7 d-rings for gear tie down, optional kayak seat attachment, and leash attachment.

We specifically liked the D-rings that make it easy to tie-down a bag, fire wood or a strap. The Utility of the board is excellent. The traction pad is very good and while we didn’t try the board surfing, we tried it on the river and it felt very good to have a sure footing. In addition the D-rings are great for attaching a cam-strap and that is very practical when paddling down a creek or for a little one to have something to hold on to.

6 D-rings on the bow

D-ring close-up

Traction foam

The Hula 11 is a must own if want to paddle in a variety of situations, river, lake, mer, some surfing. It is easy to haul around and also no need to worry about durability like a fiber glass board. The Hula 11 is great for families, since the board can be handled by children without worrying about them damaging it. Also on lake or pool the Hula 11 can be used as swimming platform… Also if you are planning to only paddle 10-15 times a year, then the Hula 11 is a board for you.

little feet under straps

bottom and fins

Features

High-Pressure Drop-Stiched material allows for ultra stiff performance.
- Double-Action hand pump with Gauge included.
- Raised board tip increases performance.
- Large traction foam area for improved grip and comfort.
- Double layer outer skin for superior durability.
- Light-weight, Compact, and Durable.
- Hi-Quality Duffel Bag.
- Stainless steel D-rings – 7 total.

Specifications

Model AE1010
Color White/Orange
Length 11’
Width 30”
Weight 23 Lbs. (10 Kg)
Person/S 1
Max.
Weight 250 Lbs. (113 Kg)
Folded Size 19” X 9” X 34”

Naish Stand Up Paddle Boards

When talking about water sports and board sports, there’s a name that resonnate like no others:  Robie Naish. The Windsurfing legend, Kiteboarding pioneer,  Mr Naish has been exploring and pushing the limits of water sports in Hawaii for more than 30 years now. Naish has taken his experience building windsurfer and kiteboards to the fast growing sport of Stand Up Paddle. Thanks to great designs, great shapes and solid constructions, the Naish’s boards are some of the best SUP boards you can get today. And it is no surprise that SUP Champions Chuck Paterson and SUP surfing prodigy Kenni Lanai ride and paddle Naish boards.

The really cool thing about the Naish line is that they offer four different styles of Stand Up Paddleboards, in various length and tops:
• The Glide Series, for flatwater touring and racing.
• The Nalu Series,  all-around long board versatility.
• The Hokua Series, performance short board style SUPS.
• The Mana Series, short wide and stable for easy surfing.

Hokua 9.6"

Mana 10.0" AST

Race board Naish

Nalu 11.4" AST

Supthebay.com now offers the entire Naish line of Stand Up Paddleboards. Boards can be tested and seen at our demo center in Sausalito at Sea Trek. You can then purchase the model of your choice directly from us. In addition in the upcoming weeks we will be reviewing various boards from the Naish line and go more in depth in their riding charachterisics.

Our favorites are the:

• Naish Catalina 12.6″ Carbon race board, $1829. Ideal for racing in flat water or the open ocean. A great board for the money.
• Naish 17’0, $2699. Perfect for taking advantage of the summer winds in the Bay Area or along side the Pacific coast. Hawaii tested!
• The Nalu 11.4″ or 11.6″, $1249. These SUP boards are just amazing flat water paddling, beginners and small wave surfing. We have been riding this board at Sea Trek for almost two years and they rock!
• The Mana 10.0″, $999 (soft top version). If you are going to Bolinas or Santa Cruz and want to start practicing Stand Up surfing, that is the board you need. I would take it too Mexico too!
• The Hokua 9.6″, $1599 (bag included). For the more serious and experienced surfer, carve down the wave without having to get a ride every 15′. Go Stand Up!

All these boards are available for demo and purchase directly from us, you can email, or visit our online shop for more info.

I’m sure many of you have seen this bright yellow and orange Surftech Bark Competitor out on the water. We had the opportunity to ride this board for over a month and we saw plenty of them being ridden by extreme racers to novice paddlers. This board fits into many different categories, some better than others but, truly a multipurpose board.
The board was rated on Stability, Speed, maneuverability and features.We tested this board in open ocean, gail force winds and everything in between. We even put beginners on it.

STABILITY

The board performed great in heavy swell and large chop. It had no problem pushing through swell and surfed great down wind. The Competitor was able to handle heavy cross wind and chop decently well, with not to much work keeping balance. For novice paddlers they may need some time to get use to the tipsiness but, found that they had an easier time on this board than many others out there.
This board rated a 3 out of 5 on stability.

SPEED

For a production Tuflite  board we found this board to be surprisingly fast. Given its no carbon fiber rocket but, fast none the less. Great on acceleration and glide, performed admirably cruising. Was able to penetrate with ease through the wind and swell and didn’t loose to much speed.
This board rated a 4 out of 5 on speed.

MANEUVERABILITY

We know that maneuverability has a lot to do with the fin that is on the board but, we are basing this on the stock fin that came with the board from Surftech. The board turned decently well during regular paddling. It tracked well too. When it comes tom buoy turns we really had to get back on the tail to wip it around. It was fairly easy to turn once we figured it out.
This board rated a 3 out of 5 on maneuverability

FEATURES

We’re not going to necessarily rate this category but, simply give you a couple features that we thought were cool.
1. The handle is great on this board. It is so nice to not have the traditional inset handhold but, a nice neoprene covered approx. two foot strap center on the board. It makes it easy to carry the paddle and board in one hand. This was our favorite feature.
2. Diamond deck pad, this pad was great and prevented slip on more than one occasion. Its black so it doesn’t show dirt and grim, especially in the bay with all our mud.
3. Nose design, this nose performed fantastic in the nasty conditions in Northern California. It sliced through waves and stayed high on down wind runs. One of our favorite things about the design.

This board definitely performs best as a race board but, is very well suited for touring, training or just a short paddle on a nice day.

Spec­i­fi­ca­tions:
LENGTH:          12’6″ | 381cm
NOSE:                9.5″| 24.13cm
MID:                   29″ | 73.66cm
TAIL:                  16.5″ | 41.91cm
THICK:               6.5″ | 16.51cm
VOLUME:          233L
FINS:                  Sin­gle 10″ Cen­ter
MATERIALS:    Tuflite
WEIGHT:           34 LBS.
PRICE:               AVERAGE $2200 USD

Hunter moving the expedition

In the next few weeks the SUP THE BAY team will be testing and reviewing all the SUP gear one can imagine. Over the last few months we have been talking to the best boards, and paddles makers in the industry. We will be reviewing beginner boards, touring boards, race boards, surf boards.  Our reviews will evaluate various aspects from stability (flat water, chop, swell), speed, tracking…
Stay posted to find out more about:
• the new Tahoe SUP boards
• the innovative Imagine SUPs
• Boga’s surf boards
• M&M race boards
• Riviera’s race boards
• C4 boards
• Camelbak hydration system

and many more…

Bark 12.6"