One-Design craft permit at least one variable to be consistent in the context of racing and over the course of racing history, no other factor has been more successful in assisting the growth and popularity of racing between all-comers. Suffice to say this is true in the context of sailing and many paddle sports and even of race cars.

Indeed it could be argued in some cases, One-Design racing has been the saviour of some sports and indeed the catalyst for growth and in the context of SUP, with the exception of the Naish One-Design, this is where the concept has started and finished. What you might not know, is that Mistral has a very strong heritage associated with One-Design racing through Windsurfing in respect of the Mistral Competition boards introduced in the early 1980s with over 260,000 units sold and following this, the Mistral International One Design or IMOD board which went on to the board of choice over
three consecutive Olympics from 1996 through to 2004.

What you’re certainly unaware of, will be of our SUP IMOD inflatable 12’6 race, which we’ve developed and nurtured in conjunction with our Japanese importers, who in turn have worked closely with Japanese Universities for the past two years, running and organising an Inter-Universities SUP Challenge Competitions. With up to and over 60+ competitors, Japanese students have fully embraced the IMOD concept and indeed just this past September 2018, 4 students travelled to Holland to compete in the SUP 11 Cities event, sponsored and supported by Mistral.

Along with One-Design racing, comes rules and race course standardisations and administration in the form of record keeping, administering of entry fee money and of course logistics. Importantly, this level of racing is designed to be sociable and attainable by all-comers, with less focus on the winning, but more on the taking part. IMOD racing is successful to the degree to which it can be administered and our advice to you is simple. If you would like to see this form of One-Design racing develop in your area of the world, feel free to contact us to discuss how we can assist you. Meanwhile we will keep you updated.

While it’s easy to get carried away with all the virtues of inflatable sup board ownership, it’s as well to stop and consider their vulnerability in a harsh environment and how this can make you too, vulnerable to any catastrophic failure of the board you stand on.

If you’re reading this and thinking of buying an inflatable SUP, the best advice we can give, not only will you generally get what you pay for, but the cheaper you buy, the more vulnerable you are likely to be as a result of the use of inferior materials and poor build quality.

Every brand that has been involved since the beginning of the iSUP industry, has stories of boards failing back when the technology was new and evolving. More often than not, seam failure represented the biggest problem area, as a result of the method by which the seams were bonded to the PVC. They were subject to degradation due to issues of humidity and being stored away when damp in particular.

Since these early days, the technology has moved on, but it’s true to say, the cheap corner store inflatables lack the integrity of Mistral boards, which are not only better performing, but most importantly, inherently safer. Mistral takes this issue very seriously and therefore we offer no compromise on safety through quality, nor quality on price.

If you’re worried about spending more than you can afford, usually it has more to do what you ‘choose’ to afford, rather than what you actually can. But ask yourself, do you want the reassurance of having quality under your feet when out on the water, or the insecurity of cheapness and if that’s not enough, consider the resale value of a quality Mistral product, over that of a no-name inferior product.

First developed by Good Year Tires in the USA, with the backing of the US Military, the idea for inflatable drop stitch material was to consider the creation of inflatable bridges and even an inflatable plane. That was back in the 1950s and the technology has advanced in leaps and bounds since this time, whereby such material is used in all manner of ways, though inflatable stand up paddle boards, have served to accelerate and challenge the makers of this fabric.

Historically, Mistral were the first SUP company to use super lightweight, woven PVC drop stitch fabric, manufactured in Germany – and this was long before the mystical introduction of MSL (Monocoque Structural Laminate) developed by a factory in China and not indeed by a brand who would like to lay claim to it.

Mistral’s adoption of Germany’s revolutionary internal construction technology, consisted of multi PVC layers with a three-dimensional woven structure; in simple terms, the top and bottom layers were connected by multiple threads that are cross-woven rather than straight, creating 50% more durable warp and weft tensile strength than existing drop stitch technology. This resulted in a much lighter, stiffer and durable board. These we used on our Equipe range. These super light boards were made in Europe, using the German material, with components imported from Asia. Regrettably and despite winning awards for construction in the USA, the process was costly, making the boards a premium product which ticked all the boxes of being the lightest and stiffest on the market, ideal for travel.

In 2016, with all the fuss made of MSL, which certainly had advantages over conventional HDDS (High Density Drop Stitch) which relied upon separate multi-layers of PVC, Mistral responded and adopted essentially the same material, accepting we needed a new name and so FLT (Fusion Layer Technology) was born. Ironically, this name is now used in Asia to define this material as the universal name for this drop stitch material, which remains in essence the same as MSL.

FLT in its basic, original form, is fabricated using knitted technology, whereas our original material out of Germany, was fabricated using woven technology, making it way ahead of its time. The upside of a woven fabric, is that its tensile strength is substantially more than that of knitted material of the same thickness. This means it’s possible to manufacture a lighter board of equal dimensions and achieve a significant weight saving together with a more rigid board. For 2019 Mistral, are pleased to announce we’re introducing once again our award winning woven fabric technology combined with the advantages of FLT (Fusion Layer Technology) which will once again, make us leaders in the use of this technology.

To give but one example of the weight saving, if we take one of largest and most advanced dual chamber boards, the Trekkers, which uses conventional HDDS material (old tech multiple layer PVC sheets) our 12’6 weighed in at 16.9kg; for 2019 expect 11.3kg and for the 14’ at 18.1kg, expect a weight reduction to 12.6kg and across the existing range of our boards using FLT, expect an average weight reduction in the region of 20%, with an increase in board rigidity. Best of all it will not affect your back pocket, as the costings remain super competitive, if not even cheaper for some models.

We’re working hard to make a difference, to rise above cheap knock-offs and offer you a quality product with excellent performance, durability and resale value.

Head of the Dart Race England – (8 mile river race, Britain’s largest SUP race) Congratulations to Ginnie Odetayo for her 2nd place finish in the female 14′ division (Vortex) just behind the winner in a field of some 120 competitors and to James Van Drunen who also finished second racing his new 14’SD1 Vortex in a field of over 200 competitors, just a few seconds behind first place over the 8 mile course. James led for most of the race, but his tactics worked against him in the closing kilometre in a royal battle between he and former team mate Ryan James. The friendly rivalry will continue on the 28th when they and other competitors will meet for London’s Battle of the Thames, where James will be present to defend his title. On a footnote, James was also awarded a Junior Award for the 1st youngest competitor. Great job!

Meanwhile in South Africa – the Vanquish 14′ arrives on its shores along with other new models unique to the SA market. South Africa is a uniquely placed bastion of the world in relation to its waters and winds. While it has its protected areas, it’s a wild and crazy geographical part of the planet in relative isolation, fringed by wild oceans, winds, sea life, currents and winds and a breeding ground of some of the most accomplished waterman and women on the planet . . .

OK, so you want to buy an inflatable stand up paddle board and you’re now completely confused having begun your search and been overloaded with choice. You could go for the cheapest on the market and by this measure, you will be investing in it’s only USP (industry speak for Unique Selling Point) – the price.

If you travel this pathway, know that you will get exactly what you pay for; poor materials, poor warranty (if any), lack of rigidity and therefore performance, poor valve systems, ineffectual undersized bags, inferior hand pump and little or no resale value. All in all, they serve a niche market for the relatively disinterested end-user not particular interested in investing in quality but more of a disposable consumable, where brand quality means little. Importantly, don’t be fooled also into thinking your SUP inflatable should look surf-board like in shape, unless you aim to sup-surf only, in which case the laminated board is the best option, always. On the other hand, we’ve since discovered our Tribe boards are also fun in shallow plunging waves as we found out in Tahiti in the right hands.