In case you are a paddleboarder who doesn’t shrink back from in a single day SUPs or month-long expeditions, hear up. The Pau Hana Endurance XL could be the good SUP for long-haul adventures.
I searched excessive and low for a board that might deal with a maiden voyage down the Baja Peninsula. I went via the same old suspects: Isle, Bote, Infiniti, Tahoe SUP, Crimson, BIC, and SIC Maui. All confirmed potential, with board lengths starting from 11 ft to almost 16 ft, however all had flaws. The amount gave the impression to be there, however the extracurriculars weren’t: the leash plug, the seize handles, the tie downs, the spare paddle clip. A couple of manufacturers provided a few of the design elements I used to be searching for, whereas others didn’t.
In brief: For the size and depth of my latest expedition, I wanted tie-downs on the entrance of the board, and seize handles on the nostril of the board in addition to aft. I used to be going to be in waves, wind, and climate the place my gear wanted to be tied down with none fear. And most significantly, I wanted the amount to hold almost 150 kilos of substances and consuming water, not together with my 200-pound self. That’s an enormous ask of any inflatable SUP.
I struggled, looking excessive and low to discover a board that had all of it, then got here throughout Pau Hana’s Endurance XL and was stopped in my tracks.
Pau Hana Endurance XL SUP Assessment
First Impressions
The 12-foot-long, 6-inch thick platform is strikingly much like a tank however with the stealthiness of a fighter jet. The teal and ebony shade sample with wooden inlay and low rocker displacement hull design paints the image of a heat-seeking missile intent on a goal on your expedition needs.
With an insane quantity of 260L and a most capability of 415 kilos, I meant to seek out out if this board really is as much as the duty of a serious, close to 1,000-mile expedition. It additionally has Ricochet Know-how constructed into the core of the board, designed to face up to even probably the most brutal of rocky shores and coastlines.
Lastly, Pau Hana’s SeaMount system, built-in all alongside the board in addition to the rails, is a threaded attachment system that enables customers to rig up every little thing from fishing rod holders and paddle racks to a touring equipment with anchors to strap gear. With 30 threaded attachment factors, this board far exceeds every other in the marketplace for versatility and expedition necessity. (Whereas not the identical design, the attachment factors on the ISLE Change come shut in second.)
On the Water
The last word check for the journey was to easily get began. I used to be nervous initially as a result of it was the primary day of the journey and since, given my time from buying to beginning, I hadn’t even had the time to check the board with all my gear earlier than the journey.
So with my ethos of “the most effective coaching for any expedition is simply to start out,” I loaded up my board with two dry baggage, 5 gallons of water, fishing rods, a tripod, and cameras, and hit the water. Whole weight, together with myself, was estimated at round 375 kilos or so. But, the Pau Hana Endurance XL glided into smoothness like a small sailboat chopping water however with the capability of a tanker vessel.
With the ocean being silky easy for the primary days of my journey, I used to be excited after I noticed the forecast to select up in swell and wind, to really see what this board might do in tough situations whereas being strapped down with a whole bunch of kilos of substances. And as soon as once more, to my shock, the board not solely delivered with its quantity and displacement hull however gave stability and luxury in tough seas.
Seashore touchdown the board was additionally a breeze. The Ricochet know-how made it stress-free, which means I might drag my board up and alongside the shore with out a fear on the planet.
Pau Hana Endurance XL Downfalls
Merely put, there’s nothing flawed with this board. You might perhaps argue the value is excessive at $1,749, however given what this board has put up with, what it gives, and what it may well carry, it makes each penny value it. Plus, lots of the different corporations I researched gave the impression to be a whole bunch or 1000’s greater than this Pau Hana SUP — and provide much less.
If I’m being nit-picky, I might have liked this board to be two ft longer, however that’s simply private curiosity for my latest expedition. Actually, there’s nothing I can say negatively about this stealth SUP tanker.
Last Ideas
For underneath $2,000, this board will outlast the expeditions that you simply partake in. Move it right down to the subsequent era to beat the crap out of and push the boundaries of what may be accomplished on a SUP.
This board flirts dangerously near a live-a-board crusing vessel for its quantity and storage, with, in fact, the added bonus of the decrease studying curve a SUP gives. And, in fact, at a feather-light weight compared.
For an expedition of a thousand miles down a swell-ridden shoreline or a easy overnighter on the native lake, the Endurance XL can haul a large amount of substances and can shine.
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