Looking for a lightweight "performance-ish" inflatable board for travel. After lugging my hardboard to Brazil, I don't know If I wanna do that again.

I've looked at:

Gong: They've got a 48L, but it weights 5.9 which is about 2 kilos heavier than I think it ought to be.
F-one: The rocker air goes down to 75L iirc, weight 3.9kg. This actually seems like the best bet but I'd prefer something closer to 60 and with added stiffness from a base plate.
Fanatic: Too heavy, too big IIRC.
Starboard: I don't like their system, too heavy.

I've tended to travel with friends to non-traditional wind destinations where there's no guarantee of a nearby rental.

I would say. F-one is the one that pack the smallest and the lightest. The fact that is so light, it would not be an improvement to go from a 4'10 X 22 X 5 for 75L to something smaller...so I don't feel there is a need for a smaller inflatable board for f-one. Something to compute is, what foil brand you have. The f-one has 4 anchor point and you can buy a plate that make you fit other dimension of mast top plate, but it's not a slot, so you can't move the mast back and forth. Since they do not have footstraps it's not too bad, as long as your foil is not too far from the f-one location.

Heh, I guess I just gotta bite the bullet and learn to sinker start that Armstrong FG 34L board I bought for some vague desire to prone surf / dockstart (sub par for that purpose). Been riding an 85L rocket hardboard. It's nice to mow the lawn on a lighter wind day with the floaty board + I'm accustomed to higher volume boards to reduce possibility of recovery situations - I'm a weenie that never kitesurfed with a 3L plank and tangle of lines should the wind die.

Might just need something in between ~ 50-65L.

Of course, my board bag is too big as well for that armstrong board.
This thing: wind.dakine.com/products/wing-travel-wagon?variant=41097772204215 weights 10kg on it's own before packing any gear.

Packability is perhaps less of a concern that peace of mind. For the most part, I'm coming around to - not bringing the board at all - if I go anywhere that can rent gear for me. The worrying about dings, the oversize baggage fees, overweight fees, lugging stuff through the airport shuttle, to the airport, and so on.

Gong has FOUR different lines of inflatable boards with a carbon plate:

The HIPE First "to discover wing foiling and progress easily."
The HIPE Free Fly "for waveriding, carving and strapless freeriding."
The HIPE Perf "to perform in all programs without sacrificing comfort."
The HIPE Pro "for the highest performance in an inflatable format. "

They claim that "The HIPE First is the lightest inflatable board on the market."
That is the lightest for a given volume. Disclaimer: I didn't check it myself.
The Hipe First 5'0" 95L is given for 6.1kg +- 5%
But as it is a beginner line, that is the smallest model in the line.

You can get smaller ones in the other lines to reduce the weight:
Note that the Perf and Pro have strap inserts + extra reinforcements, that explain the relative added weight
HIPE Free Fly 4'6" 60L = 5.1 kg +- 5%
HIPE Perf 4'8" 48L = 5.9kg +- 5%
HIPE Pro 4'6" 60L = 6.1kg +- 5%

The listed weights of the Reptile i-ufo boards are pretty low: reptilesports.com/gb/wingfoil-boards/wingfoil-board-inflatable-i-ufo-pro.html#/33-model_size-4_9_x24_x4_x65l
I haven't tried them but looking at their social media and blog they are really convinced that they perform really well. The 65l especially caught my eye.

I have had 3 Gong inflatable boards, Hipe and Hipe pro, they are excellent for what they are, you lose between 10-15% performance, due to the slight amount of flex between deck and bottom, awesome for your knees!!! Fantastic for travel as you have no concerns about your board getting dinged, I have just ordered my 4th Gong

Rocket air is 3.9kg for 75L. How much other brand weight in that range. Gong/naish seemed to not display weight of their inflatable anymore.

I don't know about Fanatic, but some company bragged about their big carbon plate, but the carbon plate move a lot into the board. Try to measure that instead, how the plate move vs other company.

The Rocket Air at 3.9kg seems great but I tried one and imo it was very flexible and a big compromise.

Aight - well finally been getting the 60L 2023 HIPE Pro out on the water. Pretty stoked by it overall.

Good stuff:

* I like that the footstrap inserts use metal threads instead of nylon inserts like my f'in $2000 armstrong prone/wing board - whose duty cycle I do *not* trust if I remove / rethread repeatedly (e.g. prone foiling with footstraps ... meh). The front footstraps are also V-shaped by default which is nice and means you don't have to overlap two footstraps (again, the case with the $2000 armstrong board) to achieve a common configuration.
* It's got the carbon plate etc. One of the things I was looking for, so it seems stiff enough.
* Came with a bag which I wasn't expecting, and a pump, and the footstraps. It all looks well made and durable even though as far as I'm concerned, it was all a throw-in since I had no idea I was paying for it.
* As someone learning stinkbug starts on a 60L board at 75KG bodyweight, the deck pad has been forgiving on my skin.
* My Armstrong hardware fits - it minimally "impinges" on the rubber beneath but the tracks are deeper than my other inflatable - the Fanatic Sky Air Premium. I.E. I'm not worried about puncturing the board with my hardwear.
* If it bonks you in the temple (my Rocket did this) it won't hurt as much so you can ... dare I see not have _as_ much need for the helmet. The foil is still a risk, but the board loves to do **** like come flying back at you because it's gliding through the air and the board leash it tensioning it.

Bad stuff:

* You can't quite move the armstrong foil all the way to the front because the front of the track has an expanded insert. They've got some sort of quick release system compatible with their foils, but I can't use that with my armstrong gear because of the specialized hardware. This isn't a huge deal because I think it's pretty well balanced and ... honestly I'm standing with my back foot in front of the rear footstrap and I feel like it might even be too lifty. So AFAICT it's got "forward geometry."
* It's like 5 - 6KG IIRC. Not the lightest for such a smaller board, but also I think I could just take this as my personal item on a flight minus the board bag :) NOTE: I haven't tried this, and it's outside the dimensions lol.
* It's an inflatable so it's not as responsive, is stickier to the water, seems more vulnerable to getting swatted by the swell than a hardboard.
* I think it's probably heavier than an equivalent F-One rocket

The included bag is 26*34*8 inches - IIRC. American airlines oversize baggage is > 65 linear inches so this is in oversize luggage territory. I'm going to try anyway but I really wish these inflatable board thoughts really long and hard about minimizing overweight and oversize fees that make traveling a PITA. The bag may be missing the mark here and I'm going to probably try some other board bag the fits under the limits. It's tempting to just wrap it in a sock and call it a checked bag - it's probably durable enough to survive.

I think the bag is a standard size as well for many of the board instead of being compact for the 4'6.
I also think it could reduce weight by not having wheels.
It would do better with a chest strap.

There's a lot of improvement for these travel bags IMO. The fanatic sky premium also has this issue where it's super uncomfortable to actually wear on one's back, but it's because the "force vectors" are all ****ed up because they just put the straps near the outside of the bag instead of mounting them closer to where a human torso actually is - e.g. they're shaped for people that look like spongebob squarepants.

The wheels add unnecessary weight, like the bag alone weighs 10LBs. My experience travelling is now:

* Avoid the big ****ing oversize bags and overweight fees at all costs.
* Get two checked bags. My favorite has been a patagonia roller duffle for the wings, and my clothes (yes, I travel with sandy t-shirts ;).

---

Overall though, stoked on it. They shipped it to me in San Juan Puerto Rico too since it was a bit of a last minute purchase. Super responsive support staff.

---

Gong's colorways are ugly, but they have a decathlon of winging feel - in a good way. Tremendous value - and given what it is - a travel board - I'm happy with the performance.

There is no difference in buyoancy between inflatable and hardboard. Buyoancy is board volume minus its own weight. Simple physics.

What does matter for stability is board shape which is usually different. If we extrapolate it is easier to balance on a 2x2m raft with volume of 80l than a round ball with 80l.

With inflatables volume is often evenly distributed and i find them quite stable.

Yes, shape of the board is key.

My Gong hipe inflatable 85L 5'1 was way more stable than Gong Lemon hardboard 85L 4'10.

Hipe v2 70L 4'11 i find more stable than hipe pro 80l 4'8.

Winger12 said..
Yes, shape of the board is key.

My Gong hipe inflatable 85L 5'1 was way more stable than Gong Lemon hardboard 85L 4'10.

Hipe v2 70L 4'11 i find more stable than hipe pro 80l 4'8.

My 85L Gong Hipe v1 was way more stable than my Hipe Pro at 95L. I am sure they got the volume wrong on that board. I tried my friends 80L Quattro and could barely even get up on the thing.

Windbot said..
My 85L Gong Hipe v1 was way more stable than my Hipe Pro at 95L.

That's by design... The word "Pro" is significant here, the shape of the Hipe Pro aims to maximize performance at the expense of the stability, mainly with the more pulled-in tips.