Starboard Sprint Airline - Review

[@nagyrobert3231]

Great review!

[@lordofcoventry]

Thank you for this very useful video with plenty observations very much 👏. I ride a 24 inch sandwich allstar mainly on flatwater, what is an appropriate airline sprint width for my 100kg bodyweight, for racing, LD, technical, sprint💪, and occasionally touring, please (27 or 29)? Thank you for your opinion in advance🙋‍♀️

[@TheSUPCompany]

Thanks for watching. The 14 x 27" is the way to go. You will find the 29 excellent for touring but just lacking when it comes to blasting round a race course when compared to the 27". For further help drop us a line at [e-mail]

[@lordofcoventry]

Thank you for the swift reply🎉❤😊

[@ericbakke3060]

I’m not sure if I want to be limited to calm water only, should I go with the All-Star in this case or can the 27 or 29” Sprint handle some chop?

[@TheSUPCompany]

Thanks for watching Eric. This really depends on your own ability although it is a given the 29" would be the more stable of the two. It is broad all round use then the 29" would be the way to go.

[@grunesyogahaus3749]

Thanks very much for your Videos! What ist the difference between the Airline Sprint 27 and the Allstar Airline 26? More unstable? Faster?

[@TheSUPCompany]

Thanks for watching. In terms of stability between the two model width's there is actually little difference. As for glide, the Sprint does glide more so than the Allstar due to it has less wetted surface area in the forward sections. The Sprint also tracks maginally better than the Allstar as well in flat conditions. We hope this helps.

[@erikvanderneut2341]

I wonder how much speed and stability I would sacrifice with the 14x27 airline, if I were to switch from my Strike BXF 14x25 for storage and transportation reasons.

[@TheSUPCompany]

Thanks for watching Erik. We'd say not much at all. The Fanatic Strike's while a dugout, are not a particularly deep dugout. Strike's do have some secondary staiblity due to the deep single concave but we would say that all things considered you would not be giving up much stability at all when comparing a 14 x 27 Airline Sprint. Hope this helps.

[@erikvanderneut2341]

@@TheSUPCompany thanks guys, useful info.

[@TheSUPCompany]

@@erikvanderneut2341 very welcome :)

[@SpaceCowboy2071]

I'm interested to know how this compares to other leading 14' inflatable race boards on the market, such as the Red Paddle Co Elite 14'x27" and SIC RS Air 14'x26" in terms of speed and stability. Seemed the Elites did very well at the recent Head of the Dart event against the new Sprints on display. Thoughts?

[@TheSUPCompany]

Hi Richard, thanks for taking the time to watch our review. We are fans of both the Elite and Airline's. This is due to them running a secondary stiffening system which on boards of this length makes a noticable difference in terms of performance. The Elite's are good and carry lots of width and volume further forwards making them stand out in the chop (a little better than a Starboard Airline Allstar). In the flat however, the Sprint Airline is as close as anyone is going to get to hard board performance; it really is that good. As more and more people have tried the Sprint Airline in our test centre this is the feedback we are getting time after time. As for the RS Glide Air these go about their stiffening in a different way with stringers although central stringers. They are stiff and perform well but don't achieve the same levels of rigidity as the Elite or Airline. We have Elite's and Airline's in our test centre and they are also available this Saturday at our open house demo day.

[@johnreinheimer508]

I am 87.5 kg, should I go with the 25.5" or 27" Sprint width? I have heard that Starboard is very conservative in board weight tolerances.

[@phantomskate84]

if you can balance on a narrow hard board i would not worry too much on the rider weight recommendation. i weigh about 78 kg and im using the 14x24 starboard airline sprint which the recommended max rider weight is 70kg .fyi when doing step back turns it feels even more stable then my allstar airline 24.5 because of the wider tail. id say 25.5 is a safe bet for you

[@koejoe]

Wow !! Great review! So would you say that the 27 sprint is faster than the 26 all star ? And the 29 would be faster then the 28? I currently own an Aqua Marina Race Elite 25”, very pin tale and step back turns for me are next to impossible in open ocean chop. I am getting more confident in large side chop(straight paddling )and the nose has abit of width before it points so downwinding is pretty fun. I miss the square tale of my cheaper Zray 14x28 R2. I was torn for years about the 28 vs 26 all star airline then my order was canceled during covid. Maybe the 27 sprint airline could be the own only one and tour ? Curious to how it would downwind ? Thanks 🙏

[@TheSUPCompany]

Thanks for watching. The Sprint is certainly faster than the previous Allstar Airline. As per our review we found the tail to be really stable and easy to use when turning. As for downwinding, the Sprint Airline is very limited in this respect. If DW is going to form part of your paddling, then Starboard have previously had a 14ft Allstar Airline Downwind model (and they will again later this year) which works well allround and excels in downwind conditions. Hope this helps.

[@donovannfite5317]

Still waiting not delivering until possibly mid May 🤦🏽‍♂️. Missing my race this year not to happy about that but o well. Hopefully will gain some speed with this board. Riding the 26” Airline. Moving down to the 24” Sprint Airline. 🙏🏼

[@TheSUPCompany]

@@donovannfite5317 thanks for watching. In the UK deliveries have been on track and we have sold out in a number of sizes until mid/late May. You will see a noticable improvement in speed on the Sprint plus stepping down in width. All the best with your new board.

[@leeoo2002]

Is there 21’’ or less Sprint Airline?

[@koejoe]

@@leeoo2002 No, maybe only in kids length

[@neilharris7668]

I have tested the Allstar 14 x 28 version and was going to get one, which version of the Sprint do you think would be closest stability wise 29" or 27" ( I am 85Kg)?

[@PawelUram]

26" Allstar is stable enough for 85kg, so I'd recommend 27" Sprint for you, unless you want to be very stable and comfortable (touring style), then go for 29".

[@TheSUPCompany]

Hi Neil, The Sprint Airline still holds a nice amount of stability in the standing area and tail. Depending on your paddling conditions the 27" Sprint would work well for you. Let us know if you have any further questions.

[@phantomskate84]

how are the speeds compared to the allstar version, im comfortable on the 14x24.5 allstar do you think i would be ok on the 14x24 sprint ?

[@PawelUram]

I tried 24" (I'm around 82-83kg) and it's really wobbly, but also way faster than All-Star. You can really feel the acceleration and how easy it cuts through the water. I'd say it might be a bit risky during the race when you get some side waves.

[@phantomskate84]

@@PawelUram awesome !! I can’t wait to try one especially since I feel my All-Star is already fast 🚀

[@TheSUPCompany]

Hi, the Sprint Airline is far more efficient than the All star due to the reduced overall board profile. This does come with a cost of reduced stability but the 25.5" Sprint will still be quicker than the 24.5 All star.

[@phantomskate84]

@@TheSUPCompany Thanks, I just got the14x24 i'm loving it !!!

[@Slavo851]

​@@phantomskate84what is your weight ?

[@cedricgrandseigne]

Is this really better than an Itiwit race board?

[@cabralj3]

Interested in this also

[@TheSUPCompany]

Hey Cedric, thanks for watching. The Itiwit 14 x 27 with its innovative nose shape (albeit we've seen this before on other brands) raceboard relies on a single carbon stringer down the centre of the board. Stringers help stiffen boards but they are a token effort at best on boards this long. Worth noting that others have done stringers better; such a Naish with the Maliko raceboard and Red Paddle Co with their Compact series. The Mailko and Compact's use two stringers and they are placed directly under the paddlers feet, meaning you end with a very rigid albeit heavier board. The Itiwit board also only takes 17 PSI; pressure plays a key part in board rigidity and when you get to 14ft long even more so. Money no object, the Starboard Airline is hands down the best inflatable raceboard on the market. If your budget is capped to 799GBP, then the Itiwit raceboard is hard to ignore, but it does not compare to the Starboard Airline or say the Red Paddle Co Elite; both of which use secondary stiffening system to ensure board rigidity. Hope this helps.