The past few months have been packed for us at Honu. We’ve been working on a bunch of new things—from new boards to exciting upgrades to our existing boards.
Besides working hard on the design and construction of our new board, the Fairlight, we’ve also been busy making upgrades to our all-rounder Byron SUP. A lot of hard work and perseverance required, but it was all worth it in the end.
The Byron ’22 is still the same multi-purpose, versatile board that you know, but made even better with four exciting upgrades. Check them out...
NEW COLOR
Our original Byron SUP had two colors: Perfect Day and Bright Coral. We’ve kept the Perfect Day color, but said goodbye to the Bright Coral...
and made way for a brand new color: Dusk!
Each of our board’s colors are inspired by the beautiful surroundings of actual SUP spots around Australia.
For Dusk, the inspiration was the vibrant pastel colors of the buildings, sky, and ocean that light up at dusk time on our home beach Bondi.
We’ve grabbed colors from that picturesque setting and put them together in our Byron ‘22 board. Soft yet vibrant at the same time, here’s what it looks like...
UPGRADED FIN BOX
Like the Fairlight, our upgraded Byron ’22 has the same newly designed fin box: Honu Compact 185 Fin Box
We designed this fin box ourselves. And we’re extremely proud of how it turned out. A lot of hard work went into creating the mold to make the best possible fin box for inflatable boards.
So what’s so special about the Honu Compact 185 Fin Box?
Just like the standard US fin box on inflatable boards, our fin box can fit both a standard 9” fin and a touring fin. But unlike US fin boxes, ours does not take up a large area of the board. It’s pretty much a win-win!
In the mood for a standard 9” fin? No problem. Want to switch to a touring fin the next day? Our Compact 185 Fin Box has got you covered. You can fit in whichever fin is ideal for your specific SUP adventure.
Plus you’ll have no trouble packing away your board. Since our newly designed fin box only takes up a minimal area of the board, folding or rolling your SUP becomes easy breezy.
The design philosophy of the Honu Compact 185 Fin Box was simple. These were our three guiding principles:
1. Must fit both an FCS II touring fin + other 9” fins. So that paddlers can choose their preferred fin.
2. Must have the smallest possible footprint on the board. So that packing up the board is made easier.
3. Must be made of the highest grade polycarbonate material. So that it can take a beating and even outlast the board.
Stats of the Honu Compact 185 Fin Box:
• Track length: 185 mm
• Total length: 275 mm (55 mm shorter than the market-leading fin box brand)
• Durability: We couldn’t break it—even when destruction testing in the factory included presses and weighted drop testers. We’re confident with the strength and durability of this fin box.
NEW BUNGEE STRAPS
We’ve been wanting to release the new bungee anchors and placement since last year, but we didn’t make it on time. Reality is, product development always takes longer than we think. It’s a painstaking process of design, prototyping, test, rinse, and repeat. So some things just don't make it on time.
But this season, we’ve made up for the delay by making sure to get these new bungee anchors onto our 2022 boards. And we are absolutely stoked with the outcome.
Both our Byron ’22 and Fairlight boards have bungee anchors that are custom-made from durable nylon webbing.
So what’s the benefit of this new feature over standard D-rings? It’s these two:
1. They can be placed closer to the rail. This widens the usable cargo area on the board.
2. They look awesome.
Simple, straightforward upgrades that make a difference. We can’t wait for you to try out this feature of the upgraded Byron ’22. We think this is one of those “it’s worth the wait” moments. :)
NEW PUMP
For 2022, we have opted to go with the Bravo SUPer pump. This pump is the lightest and most powerful hand pump on the market, which is why we know it had to be part of the Honu package. Yes it has a Honu logo on it, but we aren’t hiding who makes it and what it is. It’s a Bravo SUPer pump, and we know our paddlers will appreciate how powerful it is.
NOW THE BIG QUESTION.
When is it coming out? Our upgraded Byron ’22 is live now on the website and open for backorders, with dispatch expected on Sept 27th (Australia). For USA, it's coming this 2022. Watch out for it!
What to Expect from Our Upgraded BYRON ’22?
The past few months have been packed for us at Honu. We’ve been working on a bunch of new things—from new boards to exciting upgrades to our existing boards.
Besides working hard on the design and construction of our new board, the Fairlight, we’ve also been busy making upgrades to our all-rounder Byron SUP. A lot of hard work and perseverance required, but it was all worth it in the end.
The Byron ’22 is still the same multi-purpose, versatile board that you know, but made even better with four exciting upgrades. Check them out...
NEW COLOR
Our original Byron SUP had two colors: Perfect Day and Bright Coral. We’ve kept the Perfect Day color, but said goodbye to the Bright Coral...
and made way for a brand new color: Dusk!
Each of our board’s colors are inspired by the beautiful surroundings of actual SUP spots around Australia.
For Dusk, the inspiration was the vibrant pastel colors of the buildings, sky, and ocean that light up at dusk time on our home beach Bondi.
We’ve grabbed colors from that picturesque setting and put them together in our Byron ‘22 board. Soft yet vibrant at the same time, here’s what it looks like...
UPGRADED FIN BOX
Like the Fairlight, our upgraded Byron ’22 has the same newly designed fin box: Honu Compact 185 Fin Box
We designed this fin box ourselves. And we’re extremely proud of how it turned out. A lot of hard work went into creating the mold to make the best possible fin box for inflatable boards.
So what’s so special about the Honu Compact 185 Fin Box?
Just like the standard US fin box on inflatable boards, our fin box can fit both a standard 9” fin and a touring fin. But unlike US fin boxes, ours does not take up a large area of the board. It’s pretty much a win-win!
In the mood for a standard 9” fin? No problem. Want to switch to a touring fin the next day? Our Compact 185 Fin Box has got you covered. You can fit in whichever fin is ideal for your specific SUP adventure.
Plus you’ll have no trouble packing away your board. Since our newly designed fin box only takes up a minimal area of the board, folding or rolling your SUP becomes easy breezy.
The design philosophy of the Honu Compact 185 Fin Box was simple. These were our three guiding principles:
1. Must fit both an FCS II touring fin + other 9” fins. So that paddlers can choose their preferred fin.
2. Must have the smallest possible footprint on the board. So that packing up the board is made easier.
3. Must be made of the highest grade polycarbonate material. So that it can take a beating and even outlast the board.
Stats of the Honu Compact 185 Fin Box:
• Track length: 185 mm
• Total length: 275 mm (55 mm shorter than the market-leading fin box brand)
• Durability: We couldn’t break it—even when destruction testing in the factory included presses and weighted drop testers. We’re confident with the strength and durability of this fin box.
NEW BUNGEE STRAPS
We’ve been wanting to release the new bungee anchors and placement since last year, but we didn’t make it on time. Reality is, product development always takes longer than we think. It’s a painstaking process of design, prototyping, test, rinse, and repeat. So some things just don't make it on time.
But this season, we’ve made up for the delay by making sure to get these new bungee anchors onto our 2022 boards. And we are absolutely stoked with the outcome.
Both our Byron ’22 and Fairlight boards have bungee anchors that are custom-made from durable nylon webbing.
So what’s the benefit of this new feature over standard D-rings? It’s these two:
1. They can be placed closer to the rail. This widens the usable cargo area on the board.
2. They look awesome.
Simple, straightforward upgrades that make a difference. We can’t wait for you to try out this feature of the upgraded Byron ’22. We think this is one of those “it’s worth the wait” moments. :)
NEW PUMP
For 2022, we have opted to go with the Bravo SUPer pump. This pump is the lightest and most powerful hand pump on the market, which is why we know it had to be part of the Honu package. Yes it has a Honu logo on it, but we aren’t hiding who makes it and what it is. It’s a Bravo SUPer pump, and we know our paddlers will appreciate how powerful it is.
NOW THE BIG QUESTION.
When is it coming out? Our upgraded Byron ’22 is live now on the website and open for backorders, with dispatch expected on Sept 27th (Australia). For USA, it's coming this 2022. Watch out for it!