HEYBOARD Inflatable Stand UP Paddle Board

Let me just say that having had several paddle boards of this type (inflatable) this turned out to be the easiest to pump up of the lot. The makers of this board have added a very good pump in with the rest of the kit. Now to give a good review of a paddle board I will have to remove all the contents of the box, inspect every item that is laid out, blow up the paddle board, deflate the board, then place them all in the backpack that comes with the board. This board is quite a wide board and hence the longer length of the box once the board is rolled up. The board differs from other boards I have had package wise in that the two fixed fins underneath the board have large rubber protectors that slip on and off. I’ll be keeping these protectors as they will come in very handy indeed. The rolled up board is kept together with a wide clip belt which is adjustable and also very handy. This board comes in black and white with a thick grey what looks and feels like a rubber friction plate with lots of grooves. This friction plate covering covers the central areas of the board, a good percentage of the board in fact. One thing that does stand out is the wonderful wide thick black rubber protective layer that you see on larger sea vessels and it runs the entire circumference of the board so that any bashing into rocks side on will be absorbed by this wide strip. There are several anchor points for attaching maybe a light portable seat towards the rear of the board, and several anchor points situated towards the front of the board with an interweaved bungee cord for stuffing a bag or clothing underneath. You will find two fixed fins underneath and integral to the board with a slot for a larger central fin to be attached. Of course the makers have provided the large central fin which is slid into the slot and then locked into place with an attached (by string) small rectangular plastic baton. At the front of the board is another anchor point, this could be for a tow rope, and there is also the valve and cap. Now a comment about the anchor points. I have seen better and stronger stainless steel rings but these will do quite nicely, but all the anchor points are reinforced with circular rubber patches. Now as for the valve I was surprised at how small the valve is compared to other paddling board valves I have come across. But what a surprise this valve is because it’s the easiest and smoothest valve I have come across to attach the pump tube, to actually pump with, and the cap is the easiest I have come across to close. Finally it is the easiest valve to push in and deflate the board. It’s a small cap obviously because the hole is smaller, but it seals tight with no effort at all. OK that’s the board for now. The board is accompanied by the central fin, a fantastic manual pump, a large instruction booklet that isn’t totally necessary but is nice to have, a transparent mobile dry bag with a cord, an oar that comes in three pieces, a flexible cable with ankle cuff, and a plastic orange container containing a repair kit which consists of a valve remover, and two small pieces of what the board is made of, one piece in black and one in white. I note that there is no glue provided, none of the boards come with glue as this glue could dry up in storage. Better to get the customer to buy fresh glue when it is needed, otherwise a repair job would end up being totally useless with months or even years old glue. Finally you get a large sturdy zipped bag with wide straps that forms a backpack. It’s a good pack but does it easily contain all the parts of this paddle board kit? We’ll find out later. Now to the pump, what a great pump with a very long stroke. The air sucks in when pulling on the up stroke and pumps into the board on the long down stroke. I do find that the plastic feet on all these pumps are too close together but fine if you just use one plastic foot to stand on and have your other foot further back so that this position allows the pump to be used more effectively. Then when you get tired in that position using one foot, alternate your position so that you are using the other foot with renewed strength. The pump has a small colourful gauge which registers way over the maximum pressure that you actually need. In this particular case the board can be pumped up to between 0.7 BAR and 1.0 BAR; this is handily shown on the board in large black writing. Right lets get to the actual pumping. For me I found it to be a light workout, previous boards have been a real slog. Even at the higher pressures on this board it was not a slog to keep pumping. It took approximately 320 down strokes to obtain the minimum pressure of 0.7 BAR. The first 200 down strokes were easily done as the pressure gauge read as negligible throughout until air had filled most of the board. Once the board started to take shape the pressure obviously increased and at around 0.5 BAR or 230 down strokes it started to get slightly more laboured pumping but nothing to write home about. I certainly didn’t break out into a sweat like when pumping previous boards. I can honestly say that this was a doddle. So a great pump. The oar is a cinch to put together, and you can adjust the length to suit your height using the middle part of the oar with the clever mechanism to tighten the handle part to it. Also there are markings on the handle part so that you can go straight to your optimum measurement length once you have worked that out, or if you already know it. So the board is pumped up, and at 0.7 BAR with 0.3 BAR to go if you so wish, it is already a solid board. Now that all the pieces have been put together, and photographs taken, I will now fold this board up after removing the central fin, and see if all the parts can be put in the backpack. I push the valve down so effortlessly compared to other valves, and turn it so it stays in the down position and whoosh the air comes out. Leave it for a few minutes and about ninety percent of the air comes out without any further encouragement. I found this out accidentally having had to leave the board for a few minutes. I normally start pressing down on the board straightaway. When it did come time to rolling the board up I just started to roll from the back to front and the remaining air just came out with very little effort. It’s a very good board and although in just black and white and not as colourful as some boards I have seen, it’s a smart looking board with great detail to functional parts. I’m sure that the white areas will get quite dirty in time but like all things, they need to be used and enjoyed. It’s a strong solid sturdy looking board when fully blown up. What an easy blowing up experience! Five stars for a great board. I can’t wait to get on the water.