RRD 12’ AIRCUISER V4 TEST REVIEW
RRD 12’ AIRCUISER V4 TEST REVIEW
Verdict
All inflatables are not the same. RRD have managed to perfect a great construction on their premium boards to create a hugely stiff and solid feeling iSUP. This 12’ Aircruiser V4 continues down its already refined path and is a touch wider in the nose and tail and has a more maneuverable feel. Overall, a high quality solid feeling iSUP which is a sleek stable tourer and will be far nicer to live with than a round nose first-time board in the future.
Overview
The Aircruiser construction is a a mixture of lightweight single-skin and durable double layers reinforced by a “sandwich Dyneema belt” that encircles the whole board nose to tail and back again like a wide stringer. It’s supplied with a wheeled, large back pack and two way switch pump. On deck there’s a new comfortable deckpad with kick pad, neo covered handle and tie down bungee as well as towing eye on front. Underneath you’ll find a single us box plastic center fin, while a small amount of nose and tails rocker finishes off the brightly coloured package.
Brand Claim:
The Aircruiser is a shape for anyone who wants to paddle fast and efficiently on flat or slightly choppy waters. Designed with a special wide and round outline and a 6” thickness profile the Aircruiser boards are very stable and easy to paddle under your feet. The perfect board for recreational paddling all over the water world, it’s available in two different sizes. Built with a new “Sandwich Dyneema Belt” that wraps the whole contour of the board on the deck and bottom as a stringer, the board becomes about 30% stiffer than any conventional inflatable board.
Performance
When buying an inflatable SUP there is really no issue storing a 12’ or 14’ board as they all still fit in the same sized bag as a 10’6. So, stepping to a touring size really has no disadvantage) apart from a little less initial stability with the pointy nose shape) and longer iSUPs are always very popular and offer more performance over the first time 10’6 type boards. This 70% double skin tough but light board from RRD feels stable and easy to paddle, it’s wide shouldered lower nose cuts through small chop easily and standing a touch further back on the board you feel high and dry whilst moving. RRD’s sub laminated Dyneema belt really give the board a rock solid feel on the water, they’ve been producing this proven technology for a few years and the boards always come out super stiff on our deflection test and this board only deflected 1.5cm when tested (about as stiff as you can get); the board also accommodates a higher 18psi inflation too. This RRD is in a tough class but comes out super stiff, has stylish graphics that stand out from the crowd and makes a perfect classy flatter water touring board. We loved the overall package, bright looks and a solid performer on the water generation Stubby that’s well worth saving up for.
OTHER BOARDS IN THIS TEST:
Starboard Allstar 14’ x 24.5” Carbon Sandwich