Pros
- The board is extremely stable, especially considering the fairly low price.
- The unique double-locking design of the paddle makes it super sturdy despite it’s light weight.
- It’s quite fast on the water, more so than most cheap inflatable SUPs of this size.
- The board can actually take more than 15psi, particularly good for heavy riders.
- iRocker offers a two-year warranty for manufacturer defects.
Cons
- The short central fin doesn’t improve tracking as much as we’d like.
- The top layer of the plastic seems mostly cosmetic and isn’t as tough as the underlying PVC,
- The backpack is enormous, making it hard to transport for shorter riders.
The board tapers smoothly at both the front and the back, providing a great platform for a wide variety of uses. In practice, it’s even stable enough for SUP yoga, which is pretty cool if you ask us.
The package is pretty much standard: a backpack, hand pump, paddle, leash, and basically everything that you need to hit the water. None of the stuff particularly stands out, except the paddle, but it’s all serviceable equipment for a beginner.
The paddle is great though. It has a double locking pin design, which seems to keep everything snapped together well while on the water. There’s no noise or creaking like we’ve seen with some of the cheaper paddles out there and it’s pretty lightweight since it’s made entirely of fiberglass.
The fins leave a bit to be desired, however. It’s a triple fin setup, but the central fin is rather short which means it doesn’t improve tracking as much as most would like. On the other hand, it’s not quite at the risk of snapping off if you suddenly end up in shallow rocky water so it’s suitable for an all-rounder style board.
The backpack is also overly large compared to many of the brands we looked at. It’s not a deal breaker, but it makes it a little bit harder for shorter riders to get it down to the water before they inflate it.
Overall, the All-Around package from iRocker is a solid way to hit the water for a beginner. Pros might be a little bit unsatisfied but you’ll get all of the basics right out of the gate for a reasonable price and there’s a lot to be said for the overall stability of the board.