What’s the Fastest Standup Paddleboard? A speed comparison test between the 2016 Starboard All Star, the 2015 SIC X-14 Pro-LITE, the Riviera Race Carbon, and a ringer.

By Rod Clayton

Totally UNscientific Testing is back, this time with some high power race SUP boards that may be at the top of your race board wish list. Read on to see how some of the top race boards compared in head-to-head testing!

Disclaimer: In my opinion, there probably is no “fastest” stand up paddleboard. We do believe there is probably a fastest board for you, but what that board may be could vary depending on wind, current, chop, fatigue, your form and technique, your skill, your paddle, and what you had for breakfast. It’s important for you to take the results that follow for what they are — the results of a fun day of riding some great boards.

Meet the Boards

This is my favorite day of totally unscientific testing yet, mainly because we had a great lineup of all-star boards. Literally, one of the boards is an All Star. Check out the boards that we put through their paces today.

You may be tempted to cry foul because we put a 5-year-old 12’6″ board on the same course as those 14′ heavyweights (figuratively speaking), but you might be surprised by the results. Actually, no, you won’t be surprised. It was the slow kid in these tests. But we thought it would be fun, and we needed a fourth board.

The Protocol

Testing took place on a flat-water course approximately 500 meters in length. Both paddlers started together and paddled “at race pace” across the entire course.

Heart rate monitors were not used, as the course was too short to gain any benefit from heart rate data. Two paddlers participated, and each paddler “raced” each board once. Paddlers used the same paddle throughout testing. Rest periods were 5:00 or so to allow full recovery.

Winds were light, with a slight tailwind. Boat traffic was light, but there were some wakes to deal with during a couple of tests. Both paddlers were moderately experienced.

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The Results

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Observations

Keep in mind that these “tests” were performed with only two riders, with each doing only one run per board. Effort level was based on perceived rate of exertion, so the sample sizes and controls used here are too small to draw any real conclusions. Having said that, I can say that the results pretty closely matched our subjective evaluations of each board.

The 2016 Starboard All Star is one sweet ride. I’ll even go so far as saying it’s probably the best board I’ve ever ridden. The combination of speed and stability makes this board a joy to paddle. It is, in fact, so stable that I took a tape measure to it because I didn’t believe a 25″ board could be this stable. It is indeed 25.0 inches wide. More on that later when I write up a review on this board, but the short summary is that this board moves right along on flat water and handles rough water with the ease of a much wider board. The only thing wrong with this board, in my opinion, is that it’s not mine.

The surprise of the day was the 2015 Riviera Race Carbon. We both like this board, but it’s pretty much no-frills, and Riviera was unloading these boards at about half the price of a 2016 All Star. So, subconsciously, we didn’t really expect this board to do as well as it did. It’s more stable than the SIC X-14 PRO Lite, but not as stable as the rock-solid All Star. If we were measuring these boards in speed per dollar, it is the winner of the day, hands down.

The SIC x-14 PRO Lite was the 3rd fastest board of the day, which was a little surprising because it is by far the lightest board of the lot, and at 24″ is the most narrow board.  It’s fast and it has great glide, it’s a LOT of fun to paddle, and it’s truly LITE and responsive. But it’s hard to believe this board only an inch narrower than the All Star — we both found that the X-14 gets unsettled pretty easily in chop and boat wakes. We also both felt we were doing extra work on this board, and possibly didn’t transfer maximum power to the paddle because of the stability (or lack of stability) of this board when the water got rough. To be fair, SIC does say this is a board for expert paddlers, and expert paddlers would handle chop better than we did, I’m sure. But for experienced Joe Paddler types, this board requires a little extra work. Stability = speed.

Last–and least– was the Surftech Lahui Kai 12′6″ Jamie Mitchell. This is no surprise, since it is a five or six-year-old bomb-proof design that is 1.5 feet shorter than the other boards. It was significantly slower than the 14-foot race SUPs, but it’s a lot of fun to paddle, and is a blast in boat wakes. It wouldn’t be my first choice in a race, but I wouldn’t feel bad about taking it to the starting line if I had to.

Conclusion

 

In the end, you need to do your own tests in your own conditions to determine what your fastest race board will be. We found the All Star to be the fastest board today — I’m looking forward to doing the review of the All Star because it’s a board with a lot of personality. The Riviera Race Carbon is a great deal, especially at the price the 2015 boards are selling for these days. The X-14, fast and light, is definitely a board for highly experienced riders — if you paddle flat water, this board is a dream. And finally, the Lahui Kai Jamie Mitchell — well, it’s kinda like your favorite crazy cousin. You just want to have it around because it’s fun.