Review: Bounce SUP 10’6″ Hollow Multi-Purpose
Summary: Bounce SUP is trying to keep the weight of their boards down by making them hollow. This new construction drops the weight of their 10’6″ board from 31 pounds to 27 pounds. The hollow board is not without its drawbacks. Continue reading for the detailed review…
In depth review:
I’ve always enjoyed having a long, all around board. Originally I had the Surftech B1 Bomber, which I switched out last season to the Bounce SUP 10’6″ Multi-Purpose. This year I upgraded the same Bounce board to the hollow construction.
I’m always on the lookout for standup paddle boards with durable constructions. While inflatables are one option for durable boards, the performance of hardboards is hard to ignore. The biggest problem with durable hard boards is most of them weigh a ton.
Doing a little river surfing on the BounceSUP
Bounce SUP is trying to keep the weight of their boards down with their new hollow construction. This new construction drops the weight from 31 pounds to 27 pounds. This might not sound like a lot, but it’s definitely notable especially when lifting the board onto the rack of my car.
Once off my car and in the water however, the hollow 10’6″ feels very similar to the solid version. I’m sure if I paddled both side-by-side in the same session I would notice a difference, but the 4 pound weight saving isn’t enough to make the board feel completely different. It’s so similar to the solid version that I could just copy/paste my original review here, but I’ll let you go to the original review if you want to read about how it surfs, paddles down river to glides through flat water.
Paddling the Bounce on the Upper San Juan
While the hollow version is lighter, it is not without its drawbacks. The deck of the board towards the nose is soft and spongy. In order to save weight the front third of the board has less internal support. 95% of the time, you stand and paddle from the middle of the board or the back half. However there are two instances where you want to jump forward on the nose: when surfing and need to get through flat sections or want to nose ride, and when running shallow white water and need to keep the fin from getting hung up on rocks. Standing on the nose is still possible, but it just feels sloppy.
Flex near the nose of the board
If you are considering buying this board, read my review of the solid version. If it sounds like a board that would work for you and are trying to decide between the solid and hollow version, I would recommend the following: if you want a board for mostly flat water paddling and want a durable board that can be loaned to friends a family without worry of damage, get the hollow version. If you want a durable board for the river and maybe a little bit of mellow surfing, get the solid version.