To say that I was skeptical about surfing an inflatable board is a massive understatement. But hey, we were heading to Peru and bringing a full-size SUP was otherwise out of the question. Couldn’t hurt to try, right?
A couple days before the trip we met up with the crew from Imagine Surf to get what I assumed would be a glorified air mattress. When they handed me a bright orange carry-on roller, complete with telescoping handle, I took it and stood awkwardly waiting for more. A moment of confusion passed until I broke the silence. “Where is the rest?” I asked.
“That’s it!” They replied, pointing to the carry on. “The pump is inside.”
I bring this up because these things are remarkably small when packed away. You can literally slide your 12’6″ under the seat in front of you in coach. No fees, no drama. Despite this, I remained skeptical about how well they would ride. When we finally did pump them up at Chicama, I couldn’t help but chuckle at how strange they looked. At 4 inches thick, the rails had more freeboard then the fishing boats offshore. The thickness, I would learn, provides critical stiffness and stability that makes the board feel like a board instead of a slack line.
Dropping in on one of Chicama’s peelers, I found myself immediately locked in. Not too quick, not too slow, a great little cruiser. Sure it didn’t turn on a dime, but I didn’t need it to. When the rest of the crew saw how many waves I was catching, they ran to grab the other to have an impromptu bumper board expression session. Check out some of the highlights!
