SUP: Mellow yellow – Fatstick 10.6ft x 32” inflatable SUP review

Most of you know the deal with Fatstick by now – the affordable stand up paddle boarding brand based in Bournemouth on the south coast. Not catering for the bling bling end of the SUP market, Fatstick offers decent quality products without breaking the bank. OK, they can cater for performance minded paddlers as well (see FS’s Fish, SUPSkate and race range), but their 10.6ft blow up is designed primarily to get all round paddlers on the brine in as quick and efficient a manner as possible.

A double layered inflatable, the 10.6ft is robust and will shrug off knocks and scrapes without hassle. It’s not the lightest of iSUPs and therefore isn’t suitable for long excursions to your chosen put in. Its supplied bag is OK and does the job asked well enough, while the fin and paddle allows SUPers to get straight on the water. We’d like to see a better skeg, however, as this will increase appeal no end.

At 32” wide, the Fatstick is super stable and therefore applicable to nervous paddlers just taking their first strokes in the sport. You can inflate it to at least 20PSI, increasing rigidity which also in turn adds stability and user friendliness. Gliding across the water, it’s a good SUP for chilled out sessions in the sun – families would get a great deal of use from the 10.6ft.

And while waves aren’t its forte, our test team did chuck it at some small to moderate swell and found it performed admirably. If you’re thinking of stepping up in the surf arena then you can do so with Fatstick’s iSUP 10.6ft no problem.

Back on flat water and it’s easy to pilot around most stretches of H2O – we can even see it being used for mellow white water river sweeping. The more time we spent on the 10.6ft, the more it became like a pair of comfortable slippers – familiar and recognisable in performance with no sudden surprises. It’s certainly a well-mannered board.

Conclusion

Fatstick have a clear understanding of what their customers are looking for. The 10.6ft inflatable, while by no means a super high performance sled, is perfectly applicable for the type of paddling most people do most of the time. If you’re a family looking for a beach toy to entertain the kids while offering mum and dad a fitness platform, then look no further. And while other boards in the Fatstick range are more applicable for serious touring or surfing, the 10.6ft is still fun to get involved with these areas.

Price: £449

Info: www.supdirect.co.uk/fatstick-shop/4584165157/fatstick-mellow-yellow-isup/10131218