Red Paddle Co's New Surf SUP Joins The Compact Range

SAN DIEGO, CA—In the year that the brand celebrates its 15-year anniversary, the 8’10” Compact board showcases Red’s continued drive to deliver the best innovation and SUP experience on the market. Built using their exclusive patented MSL PACT technology, this new board is now the smallest board in the range, making it the most portable SUP surf package in the world - an ambition that has been on the mind of founder John Hibbard for several years:

“When I look back to the early days of building the brand, I had a lot of people telling me you can't do it, you shouldn’t do it or just don’t do it. I guess I'm stubborn, but hearing these words just makes me want to do it even more. People told me you couldn’t make a decent inflatable paddle board that surfs and I was adamant that you could, you just had to approach it in the right direction. There are elements to a surfing paddle board that you’ll never be able to put into an inflatable board, but you can go quite a long way towards that. 

And we’ve done that in all areas of our products, so it is not just about boards for us, it is the bags, the pumps, it is everything else that we do, and the Compact range epitomises that thinking really well.

It has taken a long time, but we have got to a point where the 8’10” Compact draws on all our experience and every innovation from over the years. We’ve created a board that surfs well and makes travel SUP/Surfing more accessible than ever before. I’m not about to take it Hawaii and take it on 20ft Jaws or anything like that but I can ride a wave on it and make a turn on it, it’s a fun board and a good feeling to see it launch this year.”

Photo via Red Paddle Co.

The board features traction zones which provide extra grip for supporting movement across the deck and the replaceable handles can be taken off when surfing to keep the deck unobstructed allowing for extra movement. This nippy little board is already capturing the attention and praise of the SUP industry experts. The well-respected paddle boarding website SUP Boarder included the board in their SUPboarder PRO head-to-head test at end of 2022, awarding the board Winner - Best Surf iSUP for riders below 80Kg. Co-founder Will Rogers tested the board, saying:

“Red’s 8’10” Compact board is a really fun, light, fast easy board to surf and for most surf conditions this is a very interesting board. It is so light; it is so easy to manoeuvre on a wave, and it feels fast and holds itself on the wave thanks to the fins being right on the edges of the rail, giving drive and grip when going down a wave.”

Photo via Red Paddle Co.

As with all boards in the Compact range, the 8’10” Compact package includes a travel-ready Compact board bag, Red's signature Titan II pump and the five-piece adjustable carbon paddle and leash.

The board is now available to buy online direclty from Red Paddle Co and from select retailers.

Key Product Info

• Length: 269cm (8’10”). Agile and easy to manoeuvre, the 8’10” compact is perfect for catching waves and faster turning in surf.
• Width: 737 cm (29”). Wider front-end profile of the 8’10” Compact board gives riders confidence and stability in a wide range of conditions.
• Thickness: 10cm (4”). 22% thinner than the average iSUP, a 4” board gives paddlers a lower centre of gravity. This dramatically improves stability and control as well as being quick and easy to inflate.

Photos via Red Paddle Co.

About PACT Technology

MSL PACT™ technology is a material with a new weaving process which creates an extra-high-tensile thread matrix at the core of the board that is combined with a super-strong but malleable outer layer. This means the Compact board is as stiff and durable when inflated but can be folded down into a bag half the size of standard inflatable boards.

Check out this video to learn more about Red Paddle Co's compact surf SUP!

Photo via Red Paddle Co.

About Red Paddle Co

Established in 2008, Red Paddle Co is the world’s number one inflatable paddle board brand. Designed in the UK, their award-winning products are sold in over 60 countries worldwide. Red Paddle Co’s guiding principle is performance without compromise to deliver the safest, most reliable inflatable SUPs in the world.

Content courtesy Red Paddle Co. For more SUP news, click HERE.