Tez Plavenieks is no stranger to NCW having spoken to us on a number of occasions about various watersports topics. With NCW having just restocked our inflatable stand up paddle board range from O’Shea – specifically the 10’2 and 10’6 QSX types – we thought we’d get some opinion from the man of testing. (Tez has tested 1800 bits of SUP kit over the years so knows a thing or two about these products).
‘I’m well acquainted with O’Shea inflatable stand up paddle boards having tested most of the brand’s range over the years. Every board we get from O’Shea is top notch. Farrel puts a lot of time and effort into his designs which you can tell as soon as you unfurl the boards.
The QSX range is a quad stringer iSUP meaning it has two parrelle deck and hull stiffeners that increase rigidity. This means you don’t need to be bang on with inflating. If you miss a few PSI (air pressure) then these boards will still work fine and not deflect (bend) in the middle too much. That equates to better tracking, glide and to a degree stability.
O’Shea’s package as a whole – featuring board, quality manual pump, paddle, fin, leash and bag is a good one. It’s certainly not a cheap iSUP – and I use the word ‘cheap’ specifically – instead, it’s more a top drawer type without the premium price tag.
Both the 10’2 and 10’6 are perfect for beginners, the 10’2 being arguably better for lighter riders with the 10’6 a better bet if you’re a bigger boned individual.
Whilst not specific ‘discipline’ boards they’ll both cover distance efficiently if you fancy some touring action and will even cope with small surf if you fancy some wave glides.
They’re super light and therefore easy to transport and the bright colourways of O’Shea iSUPs ensure you’re seen on the water which is a safety element.
All in I can’t fault O’Shea inflatable stand up paddle boards for what they are and who they’re marketed at. If you want to get afloat for some SUP fun then you’d do a lot worse than snapping one of these puppies up.’