Go with the Flow –
Red Paddle Co 9.6ft Flow
http://redpaddleco.com
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Review by Dave Adams (aka Wavecloud)
The Flow 9.6ft arrived in a stunning new bag with comfy
padded shoulder straps and the best bit: airport style
wheels. Also included is the usual repair kit with some
spare bits and bobs, D rings and a valve tool. The
supplied pump did the job but the new improved
Titan version allows the inflation process to be so
much easier.
Further info :
http://redpaddleco.com/blog/bo
ard/96-flow/
Price:
£749
I took the Flow on my local small
standing wave – a perfectly formed
curl that’s ideal for river surfing. The
biggest attraction to WW SUP is
surfing an endless river wave. All WW
SUPs should excel at this and make it
easy and comfortable to boost
paddler’s confidence.
At first glance the Flow looks
different to any other white water
SUP I've tried. The first thing that
strikes you is the width. At 34” wide
it's narrower than similar offerings
out there. Quad fin set up and narrow
rounded down tail completes the
look.
The Flow does have similarity with
other WW SUPs in terms of increased
volume, plenty of grab handles, tie down
points for carrying kit and its fairly short
length of 9.6ft. There’s plenty of thickness (6”),
giving it loads of stability – primary and
secondary – which is great when navigating
white water foam.
Being an iSUP, the Flow is very light compared
to other rigid WW SUPs and it’s a breeze to carry
from van to the put in.
The lack of centre fin makes it best
suited to riders with some experience.
Side bites give the board a lively and
carvey feel – intermediate to advanced river
SUPers will love the responsive feel. The Flow
river surfs very well indeed but may benefit
from a middle skeg to give even more
versatility. An experienced river surfer will love
the Flow and enjoy the effortless carving turns
that can be had on more powerful river waves.
CONCLUSION
The Flow is without doubt the
stiffest, most rigid iSUP I’ve
paddled. It really is almost as
stiff as a solid plastic white
water board. It excels more
than other WW iSUPs I have
tried and basic white water
moves – running rapids,
breaking in and out of eddies
and ferry gliding – can be
performed with ease. The
Flow’s narrow tail allows it to
sink and pivot on a sixpence as
well as a solid WW SUP does
and intermediate to
experienced river surfers will
love its carving ability on
standing waves.
Red’s construction is amazing,
with scuffs simply shrugged off
to leave your board looking
great.
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