Hi guys. Im not normaly lurking in this neck of the woods since i started kite boarding this year but Im looking at getting a SUP! Looks like a lot of fun and good exercise.

Which brings me to my question. Are inflatable SUP's worth while looking into too? And before you say anything, yes I did a search on here but found nothing.

I saw the Naish Mana Air SUP while doing a little research and thought that this would be a perfect idea as im not keen on putting roof racks on the Pajero and the missus has a mazda 3 which would be nigh on impossible to transport a SUP on.

So, anyone had much experience with the inflatable ones? Or can recomend some good brands to check out?

Thanks guy

Cheers mate, some good stuff to consider there.
My idea was that if I had an inflatable that was of descent quality ie. not cheap n nasty I could travel with it, along with the Kite gear. Also while im away for work the missus could have a go until she got her own. I cant imagine a 10' SUP on the roof of a mazda 3 lol

Had an inflatable Red Air and OK for for a river or lake.Soft fins,pretty durable.Found that for everyday use the pumping up was way too much effort.16 psi was a real effort with the pump supplied.l know some folks get them way above that with a compressor which might stiffen it up more for the surf
Had a Pajero at the time and ended up on a 10ft Mana which did fit inside .
lt cleared the windscreen by an inch .Made good use of my windscreen insurance though

A Mazda 3 will handle a 10' SUP no problems. DJ regularly transports his 17' SUP on his Suzuki Swift which is much smaller than a Mazda 3.

I have a C4 waterman inflatable and it is great - in it's place - I took it up the river today as the surf was no good, and I paddled around for 2 hours on it with the dog swimming around too. I use it to paddle down the tidal river, across the estuary, roll it up, and back pack it home along the beach. I also use it on grade 1 and 2 whitewater (I work as a raft guide, and stand up paddle guide on rivers in Colorado when I'm not here in OZ). So it is easy to take on the plane, it is great to throw in the car, and the pumping up is my warm up exercise. BUT, in the surf I prefer my Naish Hokua 9'5" and my Coreban 9'6" Performer. My friends who haven't paddled love the inflatable when they come visit at the beach, and they manage to surf on it, and don't worry about being clobbered by it. I learnt to surf, and stand up paddle on it at the same time, as I say I love it, but it definitely doesn't perform like a hard board. For sure they have their place, and I'm glad I got one........

Well, I have to say, despite people's crticisms of the Island inflatable, I really like mine!. I'm 102kgs and this board handles me no worries at 9psi. I also have a Surftech inflatable which I'm disappointed with. At 14psi, I'm still standing in water. When I turn up at the beach, I've found I'm in the water much quicker than people who turn up with hard boards (I have an electric pump). And best of all, my much maligned inflatable won't scratch, chip, ding, split in half or hurt me like a hard board would. Some guy on one of these sites reckons his mate was killed by a hard SUP in the surf. I hope that's not true. Everyone seems to be quick to criticise the inflatables, but I love my 'cheap' Island inflatable and prefer it to any other board I have tried.