If you are at all serious about your SUP racing you know that training when you are on vacation with the family or traveling for work can be a headache.  Lugging around your SUP while on vacation is either impossible, impractical, or a monumental pain in the ass. Moreover, renting janky boards from a local SUP shop at your destination can be an expensive endeavor that requires you to waste your vacation time driving back and forth between the rental shop. Finally, renting waterlogged boards at exorbitant hourly rates at a resort is enough to make you not want to paddle.

The good news is that there is a relatively inexpensive way to fix your vacation and travel woes.  All you need is an inflatable SUP.

Before you cringe ant the thought of paddling an inflatable keep in mind the fact that paddling is always better than not paddling.  While you are on vacation or traveling for work it does not matter how fast you go. All you are after is a way to get out on the water and stick with your training program. Right?

That said,  the inflatable technology has come a long way from a few years ago. Dave Kalama even proposes that inflatables are the future of SUP racing. Our bet is that if you have not checked out inflatables for a while, you are going to be impressed by the technology and performance.

One of the main benefits of an inflatable SUP is the portability. What you may not realize is just how portable these boards are. Inflatables pack down to the size of a large backpack. It is small enough to throw it in the car if you are on a road trip and even small enough to put it in a duffel and take it with you if you are flying. The cost of the extra bag with be easily recouped in a day or two if you are planning on renting a board where you are going.

Quick Review of the Xterra 12-6 Inflatable

We had the opportunity to test out the Xterra 12-6 SUP at the recent Ironman World Championships in Kona, HI. To make a long story short, we were pleasantly surprised with the board. It was solid, stable, and performed remarkably well. One of our editors commented that with a little effort he could even keep pace with the paddlers on standard 12-6 race boards.  The bottom line so far is that we can recommend the X-terra board without hesitation.

We cannot, however, unequivocally recommend the Xterra paddle. It is a heavy, plastic affair that you can kinda sorta make work but it will leave you wanting. According to a representative from Xterra, it was not designed for the SUP racer so this should not be surprising.

In our discussions with other paddlers, the paddle is often an afterrhought with inflatable board packages. If you are serious about traveling with your inflatable, we recommend swapping out the paddle it comes with and investing in either a 2 piece carbon travel  paddle from Quickblade or the 3 piece carbon/fiberglass paddle from Boardworks which is a less expensive alternative to the Quickblade option.

Conclusion:

We highly recommend that every serious SUP racer invests in an inflatable board so they can keep training and stick to their training program while they are on the road or on vacation. Your family will appreciate the fact that you do not spend your vacation driving back and forth from the board shop. They will also appreciate the fact that you can get your head screwed on straight because you are not worried you are missing out on your training.

We are not, however, experts on inflatable SUP boards as we have not done extensive testing on boards other than the Xterra inflatable. Our editor,  Chuck Glynn recommends the Laird Standup inflatables . Our friend EJ recommends the Yolo inflatables A Uli Board from the original inflatable company is always a good choice. Other manufacturers such as Naish and Imagine all make inflatable boards. This is not an extensive list. Do your research.

Full Disclosure: Matt Wright and Roch Frey were provided Xterra inflatables to use during the Ironman Championships for no charge. Use of the boards was independent of this article. Xterra did not review this article before publication. Chuck Glynn is a Laird Standup team rider.