SUP: Standing tall – McConks 10.8ft x 32” x 250L iSUP review
McConks SUP are another brand new stand up paddle board company in the UK who specialise in inflatables. The company sent us their prototype 10.8ft to put through its paces and we were intrigued to see how it fared.
It’s an unusual shape with such a tapered tail and we weren’t sure how this would affect stability. In the end it wasn’t an issue and the reduced width in the aft section helped with manoeuvrability – especially pivot turns. Beginners and early intermediates may struggle slightly as you need some paddle technique already in the bag to avoid dunkings. With a bit of practice, however, these will become fewer.
Inflating was easy enough – the pump is pretty efficient. The prototype we had stated 10 PSI was ample but, having checked with McConks, we pumped up to 15 PSI. It’s fine to push a bit more in as the board’s manufactured from doubled lined Dropstich and will take it – this adds further rigidity. In fact, McConks say the board is guaranteed to 25 PSI. Seams, gluing, stitching and deck pad (fittings etc) were all fine.
Fin boxes are solid – we doff our caps to real ones being used. The fins themselves weren’t as high spec as some but this has been addressed by McConks and the production model will be supplied with better quality foils.
There’s a lot of thickness in the board (volume). This is great for elevated views and a feeling of floating (literally) on flat water; particularly rivers, sheltered lakes and canals. We mentioned stability concerns at the start but there’s nothing to worry about when standing in the sweet spot – the 10.8ft is super stable in this position. It’s only when stepping back do things turn lively – a good thing for those looking for added performance.
We didn’t get chance to try the McConks in waves, although from experience we’re sure you’d have some fun on smaller swells. And if you fancy dabbling with a spot of mellow river paddling, the McConks would serve SUPers well. Glide was good (better than anticipated). As was tracking. Very few corrective strokes are needed to keep straight and true – the sintered base helps ‘stick’ it to the water.
Conclusion
All in, McConks’ 10ft is an affordable stand up paddle board that offers better quality than the majority of cheap iSUPs available. A rigid (when inflated to 15+ PSI) and versatile platform that a wide range of paddlers will appreciate. Stability up front is good and it’s a fun sled to throw in some nippy pivot turns from the tail – if skills allow. Families will get a lot out of the 10.8ft.
(Check out the web review of McConks’ three piece carbon paddle here – https://standuppaddlemag.co.uk/2016/04/15/travelling-companion-mcconks-adjustable-three-piece-carbon-paddle-review/)
Price:
£580 (as part of a package including a fibreglass paddle, leash and wheeled backpack)
Info:
I tried one of these a couple of weeks ago. I agree with the stability issues. It was a bit choppy and I spent a lot of time in the water as the tail seemed to have a mind of it’s own. Standing forward did help but there was still a lot of sideways movement – certainly a lot more than I get on my Red 10 6 Ride. I did find the fin set-up quite confusing and the board was a lot heavier than other boards I’ve tried.
This said, it is cheap and I think it’s good value for a bit of beach fun with the kids. It wasn’t really a day for surfing but it did feel like it would pick-up small stuff very easily. Just don’t take it out in choppy water!
Abbi – Some interesting observations there and thanks for leaving a review. You’re the first review we’ve had that has raised issues about stability in chop. But every rider is different, and that’s why we recommend trying as many boards as possible before buying. The 10’8 has quite a lot more volume than your RP10’6, and is 1.25″ deeper. It’s likely that the additional buoyancy and windage was what caused your swims, rather than the shape. And that would be the same with a 10’8 Ride. Our 2016 10’6 board has less volume and height than the RP 10’6, and it would have been interesting to see if you found that more stable. I suspect you would have!
Re the weight, our new 2017 boards are significantly lightly than our 2016 lineup. We’ve done this by moving to a polymer fusion process, that not only reduces the weight, but makes the board stiffer at lower pressures. Our new 10’8 weighs in at less than 10kg.
You’re not the only person to comment on the fins. Comments we’ve received are pretty much split down the middle with half of people loving the flexibility in fin arrangement and tinkerability, but the other half being confused. Our 2017 lineup has switched to a more standard 2+1 arrangement, with FCS click flexi fins as side bites and a flexi central US Box fin.
Hope you get the chance to try our 2017 linuep at some point!