Purchased this as I wanted to get into paddle boarding. Didn’t want to spend a lot in case I didn’t get on with it. Was recommend HIKs and this board was the only one they had in stock. I don’t think it is a HIKS branded board, as I have seen them in other places (Very, for one) at higher prices. So was very please that this was at a reasonable price.
As this was a budget board, I wasn’t expecting much. But was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the board. It looks great when inflated and appears well made. I’ve only owned it for a few weeks and only used it once, so can’t comment on durability.
It was easy to pump up, believe the pump is single action. Does get harder to inflate as you get towards the end!! However, I purchased the HIKS electric pump, which takes the stress out of pumping, would recommend, unless you like the upper body work out before a paddle!
The board itself is well made, I like the design and is hard to tell the difference between it and more expensive models. There must be compromises somewhere, but I can’t see them yet. Might be on material thickness or construction techniques.
The skeg is a little tricky to install. Took a little while to figure out, the instructions aren’t great. You have to drop the square plate into the housing, then lever in the skeg, before screwing in the thumb screw. I’d certainly suggest practicing at home before your first outing.
The paddle is an area where you can tell that the board is a budget board. It’s made of plastic and aluminium. It does the job, as I don’t really have anything to compare it to I can’t really comment, but it does feel a bit cheap. I did need to play with the height adjustment lever, as when you clamped it in secure the height it would still slide up, I tightened it, and all was good. It’s probably something I’ll upgrade if I stick with paddleboarding. However, the paddle does the job!
The bag does fell cheap and will break at some point. I don’t plan on hiking with the board, so will just be for storage and moving from the garage to the car. It is larger enough for the board, pump and other extras like my electric pump.
In the water, it is easy to paddle, feels sturdy and tracks in a straight line well. I’ve only used it once on flat, non tidal water. But did have a passenger on the front for some of the time, in the form of my 13 year old son. The board was still quite responsive with the extra weight. I’m 5ft8ish and 13.5 stone. I didn’t feel like I was going to fall in.
Packing away was easy, let the air out whilst packing away, fold up and put in the bag. When I got home I inflated again and washed everything down and allowed to dry before putting away in the bag. All quite easy and stress free.
The customer services from HIKS has been great, they respond very quickly to emails. Am that happy I’ve ordered another board for my daughter.
Would recommend this board to anybody looking for a starter board, which is something I have done several times already!
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