New Must Have Inflatable Stand Up Paddleboard Accessory

Inflatable Stand Up Paddleboards have come a long way. The latest generation of boards has really closed the gap on their hardboard brethren. With big advantages in durability and storage there was only one thing holding them back from literally blowing up.

Pumping them up. Enter the High Pressure SUP Valve accessory.(pictured at right)

With a simple twist of the wrist you can attach what the biking world affectionately calls a Schrader Valve right on top of your existing Inflatable Stand Up Paddleboard valve. This gives you two new options. First up the traditional bike pump.

When looking at pumps you can tell the rate of speed by the diameter of the pumps tube. A large diameter tube will push a much higher volume, and hence result in a much quicker pumping time. The downside coming at the higher pressures required for finishing off the latest generation of high quality inflatable stand up paddleboards.The large diameter makes it much harder to get those last few pounds of pressure in to the board.

So why not just us a small diameter pump all the time? Well doing that will leave you a very long pump up time. So what to do? Two pumps is for now the best answer when coupled with this new valve accessory. First use your big barrel pump to do the high volume pumping. As you get closer to the end you can now switch over to a traditional bike pump which is optimized for higher pressures. Now anyone can get their board to the perfect pressure.

Option 2 – The Compressor. By using this new valve accessory gas stations everywhere now become inflatable stand up paddleboard filling stations. A few notes of caution regarding the compressor. Check your pressure often with the included pressure gauge check. This will insure you do not overinflate. Secondly compressors can condense water in their tanks so over time, and with multiple fill ups, you may accumulate some water in the board. By adding an inline water filter or by dumping your tanks water content you can eliminate this issue. Individual fill ups here and there do not seem to be an issue so far but be warned on repeated uses that water accumulation may happen.

Thanks to local paddler Dave Jensen we learned about Ryobi's cordless compressor - we are rushing to Home Depot to get one and will report back soon!

Watch this video to see the valve in action

So what about Electric Pumps? Well there are some OK ones out there but unfortunately nothing we can jump up and down about with excitement. Most require you to open the car hood and clip directly to the battery. Not exactly ideal for those wanting to carry their board in to some more remote areas, or for those not comfortable clipping cables to the battery terminals of a car. Others simply don't go high enough in pressure and leave you under inflated. While I am sure the future holds the killer electric pump it will likely be north of $200 and be quite heavy as it will need its own power source. Expect a new blog post as soon as we get hold of one and put it through its paces.

For now, after years of battle testing, this new valve is the best answer to making your inflatable stand up paddleboard the most convenient board in your quiver. Cost – only $24.95 and yes we have them in stock!

For anyone wanting to see more come on by the shop. We have built an inflatable filing station for you to use when launching your paddleboard from the shop. Please do park on the street if you are just coming to paddle. We'll be happy to help you with the filling up process and getting you paddling fast.