It arrived today. First impressions of the box was that it was heavier than I thought. I believe it weighs around 16kg and the box was much bigger than a sleeping bag, but small enough to easily fit in a small boot.



It came with a well constructed pump, a large bag, a repair kit with glue, warranty, instructions and a strap



The pump looks good, comes with a pressure guage and is dual action - pumps on both up and down strokes. ULI recommends that the pressure is set to 12 -15 psi for flat water crusing and 15 psi + for more rocker wave surfing. The board pumped much easier than I thought - I had it fully pumped in under 5 minutes.



It comes with a C4 camo deckpad, thruster fin setup and a paddle carry handle setup. Once pumped up it feels very rigid and looks tough. All the seals look very strong and the deckpad and fins look like they are there to stay.



The board is 11’ long 29” wide and approx 4” thick, and has uniform thickness through the length of the board. It looks like it's constructed from the same plastic/canvas material that those inflatable rescue boats use.



First impressions are very good, I think it's going to be an excellent learning board and something that will be used by hire companies in the coming years. It's not the prettiest craft on the water but it's the toughest.

Can't wait to try it out.

Going down to the coast Saturday, back Sunday. I have Monday off and the weather looks good then.

So i gather these are for lakes and rivers, as you couldnt seriously consider it for surfing every day.

Brooko, they are for surfing and flat water. I wanted something tough for fishing, something I can land on rocks, a second board that the family and friends can use, and something that I can travel with.

This is the clip that sold me on it.



DJ, I'm singing the Uli buli song to myself so I guess that's her name - I'm killing myself for the name of that surf/ska song. Anyone know it.

All up including air freight from Hawaii it was under $1,500. It arrived the day after I bought it, however, it took about 4 days fricken around with customs etc before it got to my home. C4 were excellent to deal with.

I thought they were an absolute joke board..

How could something with fat soft rails and short bendy plastic fins possibly work..and imagine hearing a psssst sound while paddling..

But..I've now seen so many of Steamrollers vids..and heard heaps of hard core sup guys rave about them..I've changed my mind...I'd buy one for sure..

DJ

Very nice oliver, can't wait to hear how it goes........not a bad price either.

Oliver, not sure about which song you're asking about; either the 'uli buli' song or the song in the vid... Anyway, the song in the vid is called "symphony of destruction" by Megadeth - if anyone's interested.

So is the intention, that you pump it up and let it down for every session? or do you pump it up and leave it up???

Oliver - what were the dimensions of the box it came in - even though it will never pack down quite that small again, i'd like to measure it up for my campervan

pete

ps - keep the photos coming

grumplestiltskin said...

So is the intention, that you pump it up and let it down for every session? or do you pump it up and leave it up???

I think you should let it down after each use...but I'm sure it would not hurt to leave it up for a few days at a time....Fab??

DJ

Took the ULI board out over the w/e. Got down to Inverloch and couldn't unpack and pump it up quick enough, loaded all my fishing gear onto it and paddled across the inlet to a nearby sand island for a bit of well earned R&R. People on the beach stopped to watch what the hell I was doing and asked me all sorts of questions. Deflating it also attracts a bit of an attraction because of the loud sound it makes.

This morning I met up with JohnathanC down at Walkerville Sth (the other side of Wilsons Promontory on Waratah Bay) and we went for a paddle around Bird Rock towards Bear Gully - The landscape is so rugged and unspoilt, I love this part of Victoria. JohnathanC was great company and it would be good to arrange for a few of us meet up for a paddle and enjoy this magnificent area.

The board feels really nice on the feet as they slightly sink into the board. The pumping, although quick, does take a fair bit out of you, and makes you feel buggered before you begin paddling, which is a bit of a downside. The last few pumps are also quite difficult. I think if I was taking it again for the weekend or away with me I would just leave it pumped up. I also noticed that the edge of the deckpad is lifting at the back of the board, where the roll is the tightest, however when fully inflated this seems to correct itself.

The conditions weren't perfect, no wind but it was a bit choppy so it was difficult to tell how the board performs compared to my Naish in addition I was a bit buggered after pumping it up. However I found the board to be stable, and less floaty than the Naish - probably because of the wieght, and as you would expect it seems more sluggish. I don't know how steamroller does it. The board is completely flat so the nose hits hits the water as you paddle - I think if the nose was lifted slightly from the rest of the board it may perform better or maybe I have to experiment with standing further back. Everything else apart from the pssst sound when you paddle is pretty much the same - it kind of makes more of a hollow plonking sound as you go over the bumps, which matches the sound made by my Werner paddle - DJ.

Overall, I'm quite impressed, I think it will be very well suited as a second board, to give to friends family to start out on without the fear of damage to them or the board, for travelling with and for a bit of fun in the surf on holidays.

i had a sevylor canoe for many years and the valves in that allowed me to connect up a ciggy outlet powered pump to do most of the inflation. i'd then tighten it up with the hand pump.

could that be done with the uli?

pete

Hello oliver,

Can you tell us how it weight exactly ?


Thanks in advance .

Will