Starboard Astro = Versatility + Convenience
A field report from Griffin Ross on the convenience of the Starboard Astro:
As a college student living in the dorms it really makes it tough to store any kind of race board. However, since I got this 12’6 inflatable race SUP, training and preforming in races has been no problem. The entire board along with everything you need to inflate and ride the board all fits into a bag that is easy enough to carry on your back as a backpack or under desk for storage. I personally keep the bag under my bed next to some drawers in a space that I couldn’t even fit in if I tried. Along with the ease of storage all I do to get it to the water is throw it in the trunk of my car and off i go, transporting any kind of board has never been so easy. For inflation everything you need is included so all you have to do is hook up the pump and start pumping. It only takes a couple minutes to inflate the board and you can pump it up as little or as much as you like.
Just recently I used this board in the Malibu Supathalon and had no problems at all keeping up with any of the 12’6 or 14′ hard boards. This board paddles just as fast as as most of the other hard race boards I have used and is lighter than any other 12’6 I have held. The race that i used this board in consisted of a 7 mile run into a 6 mile paddle up wind to the finish. The weather was miserable with high winds and a lot of chop on the water but board held strong through the entire race. Every other competitor in the race (in the top 30 roughly) was using a hard race board. It may seem as if i had a disadvantage compared to the other racers who had hard boards, but I didn’t because I entered the water in 5th place and ended with a solid 4th. Overall my experience with this board has been awesome, its super convenient for me in my dorm while still preforming to all of starboards high standards.
Some pics:
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