Ever since my oldest daughter lost our giant Hover Crossover because she didn't properly secure it on an outgoing tide ("Yeah but who's fault is it that I don't know that knot, Dad?"), I've been thinking about getting a blow-up board that would serve both as a board for the kids (who are just learning) and a semi-decent travel board. Thinking about a 130L for the stability even though my normal board is a 90L.
Anyone have that same use case? And how well do the blow-up boards do?
Also on the subject of travel, I've had a 90L board all packed up and ready to go, picked it up and just said... nah... because I was just going for a few days and the forecast wasn't that great. Would a blow-up really have been that much easier to travel with that it would seem worth lugging around for an iffy forecast?
Just returned from Europe, both our carbon wing boards damaged in transit. Bought a couple of Gong inflatables. I am stunned by how good they are. For travel that are excellent, easy to travel with, board, 2 wings and foil in one easy to transport bag, fits in the back of a small hatchback! Performance wise, you initially feel a bit of flex/delay from the foil, not much in deck flex as they are pumped to 20 psi, I would say you lose about 10-15% of the performance of a hard board, but after a couple of sessions you are dialled into the changes, buoyancy wise, you will certainly not need to go that big, easily one size down from what you would a solid board, they are so buoyant and stable, I can't recommend them highly enough for travel and those who get sore knees!!! :)
