Inflatable Paddleboards

Updated for the 2022 season, the Honu inflatable paddleboard range has several refinements and one unique technology update. The all-new Fairlight as well as the Byron has newly developed bungee anchors that have allowed for a larger cargo area. The wider footprint means more gear can be secured. The paddleboard design team was busy throughout the year developing the Honu 185 fin box that fits any universal fin. The feature that makes our fin box special is that it is only 275mm long, which is 50mm shorter than the leading inflatable paddleboard fin-box brand. This means that Honu paddleboards not only fit standard universal fins, they still roll up just as easily as smaller proprietary systems.

This places the new Honu boards into a league of their own!

Now in its second year since release, the Honu Evolution Series of Inflatable stand-up paddleboards have been engineered from the ground up to deliver high-quality performance with elegant design. Each paddleboard in the range has a unique shape, size, construction method, and materials that all serve a specific purpose. That purpose is to deliver the absolute best experience out on the water. Whether you are heading out on a multi-day touring adventure, hitting up your local surf break, or kicking off your day with a yoga session, Honu iSUP's have you covered.

Every Honu inflatable paddleboard uses our X-woven and Fused drop-stitch material that is made especially for us. The result is an iSUP that is around 2Kg's (4.4lbs) lighter than MSL Double-layer alternatives while at the same time being more rigid. The higher performance comes from the woven thread that reinforces the plastic. While standard double layer boards have a knitted pattern, X-woven material looks like a carbon weave. It is more resistant to flex and stretch and has less space for plastic making it much lighter—Win Win.

Why Customers Love Honu Inflatable Boards 

Honu paddlers appreciate how light our boards are, especially once you bundle in all the other gear such as paddles and pumps into the bag. In fact, a fully loaded Honu board can be up to 5 Kg or 12 lbs lighter than other leading brands. This greatly affects your experience when lugging your kit down to the water. And once out on the water, Honu boards look and feel very much like fibreglass boards. People are amazing at how rigid and responsive they are out on the water.

Every Honu inflatable paddleboard comes with accessories that have gone through the same rigorous design process with no detail left to chance. You can expect the highest grade materials and workmanship in every component. For the 2022 range of boards, we have chosen to update the pump to be the Bravo SUPer pump. This is the lightest and most powerful handpump available, which is why it is now included with the Byron, Fairlight, and Bondi paddleboards.

Why Does Honu Only Make Inflatable Paddleboards? 

This is a great question that requires a measured answer. Unlike many SUP brands that pop up here, there, and everywhere, Honu has been making paddleboards for 20 years. And until 2020, fiberglass boards were our primary business. Along with surfboards and malibu surfboards. The decision was made after careful consideration and weighing up of all the pros and cons. But in the end, we decided to focus all our energy and resources on making the best possible inflatable paddleboards. And we meant the best. We wanted to take the Honu brand from mediocre and OK straight to the top. We believed, and still do, that inflatable technology has the most opportunity in terms of reach and accessibility which is why we wanted to be a leader in that market. We believe that a high-quality iSUP can give folks an amazing experience out on the water and open up all kinds of unique opportunities that traditional glass boards can't and so that is why we decided to go all in. 

Why We Don't Include a Paddle in your SUP Package 

Honu is one of just a small number of brands that don't include a default paddle in the package. But why not? This was another strategic decision we thought about long and hard. There certainly is an expectation at the low to mid-level quality that a paddle should be included and we accept that. But there are two main reasons we chose not to. 

Firstly, we don't want to include a paddle that our customers may or may not want. Choices are we could include a high-end paddle, raising the price for more budget-conscious folks. Or the second option is to include a basic entry-level paddle, as most brands do.

So no matter how you look at it, and by our calculations, you would only make around 30% of the customers happy. I.e. the paddle would be perfect for 3 in 10 folks. And that isn't something we're okay with. 

And that there is the reason you can choose your preferred paddle when you purchase an inflatable SUP from us. 

Keep your favorite paddle you already have and save some money. 

Get a great quality mid-level carbon/nylon paddle

Or go for a high-end, advanced materials carbon model. 

The choice is yours.