Decathlon ITIWIT inflatable SUP board review

For more information, reviews from other people or to buy an ITIWIT inflatable SUP board, please head over to Decathlon’s website here.

ITIWIT inflatable SUP board’s bag

The ITIWIT inflatable SUP boards come in a strong and resistant bag with plenty of room to easily pack your board back in it after use. Although big in the inside to fit the board with ease, the bag itself is relatively small and sits nicely in most car boots. It measures 90 x 40 x 22 cm. The amount of extra room in the bag allows to store accessories such as the fin, the leash, a manual pump (purchase separately) and even an adjustable two-part paddle (comes separately) for example. At around 10kg (depending on model and size), the bag is really light which makes it really practical and easy to transport.

The bag comes with a handle to carry it one handed. It also has 2 straps at the back so you can wear it as a back pack. The straps are comfy enough considering the overall weight of the product. The weight of the paddle board I tried (the ITIWIT 100 inflatable 9’8 stand up paddle) is 9kg, so it is reasonably light. Perfect for a short walk to the river, a lake shore or the beach.

Practical design

The bag also has a front pocket with the instructions inside of it and a repair kit. The front pocket of the bag shows in big the pressure required for the board. It’s a very simple but really useful feature! is It’s simple and practical, tells you what you need to know right in front of you.

The bag comes with 1 big fin to go underneath the SUP board to help with direction. There is a leash in the carry bag, please remember to wear it in pretty much all situations. More to follow on the fin and leash further down.

It does not however come with a pump or paddle. Because inflatable boards need to be inflated to high pressures (15psi for this board) I decided to get the electric pump from Decathlon that can be plugged to your car 12v. I also got this adjustable paddle from Decathlon that was suggested to get with it. And I highly recommend to get a buoyancy vest too.

Inflating the Decathlon ITIWIT inflatable SUP board

After inflating a few inflatable SUP boards in the past, taking what seemed like forever, I decided to go for the electric pump as mentioned above. Although the manual pump works just fine (it’s also very good for warm-up), I thought the electric pump would be quite handy to use. It does its job whilst I put my wetsuit, the boots, and the buoyancy vest on.

The pump is really good, simply plug it in the 12V socket of your car (engine running – as mentioned in the manual) select the pressure your require (in our case 15 psi) and plug it to the valve on the board. The valve must be in the raised position. Securely attach the pump to the valve press the “on” button and just wait for the board to fully inflate. The pump will stop itself when it reaches the desired pressure. Check this article for some of the best electric pumps for your iSup.

The SUP board

The ITIWIT paddle board tested here is the ITIWIT 100 inflatable 9’8 SUP board. As its name indicate it is 9’8 long. The board weighs 9kgs, is 30″ wide and 6″ thick and is suitable for paddlers between 60 and 80 kg. It is an all rounder SUP board that could also be used for touring.

Material used

This SUP board is made of strong PVC (Polyvinyl chloride – 70%) and PES (Polyester – 30%). There was quite a new plastic smell when I first opened the bag, not bad at all, just noticeable (not dissimilar to that of a new car – not the actual smell, just the fact you notice it). The deck has a grooved foam top for comfort and added grip and is made of PE (Polyethylene – 75.00%) and EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate – 25.00%). The board feels robust and sturdy, and the deck of the board feels comfortable under foot too.

What it comes with

The board comes out of the bag with a large fin and a leash as mentioned above. You simply slide the fin under the board and place the plastic safety pin to keep it in place. Attach the leash at the back of the deck and the other end to your “back” foot once you’re in the water. In the middle of the deck (like on most inflatable SUP boards) there is a handle to help you carry the board around. Being bang on in the middle of the board helps with the balance when carrying it.

Usage

The board is made for one person but you could in theory have a small kid with you on the board as long as the total weight is below the recommended 80kgs for this board.  However I would recommend getting the blue 10’7 ITIWIT inflatable SUP board which is more suitable for 2 users as described on the Decathlon website here.

All in all, this orange 9’8 ITIWIT inflatable SUP board is an affordable piece of equipment. It is very practical, well made, easy to carry, light, easy to inflate and of good quality. Perfect for recreational use. It’s packed with almost all you need to get started. It’s a bit of a shame having to buy the pump and paddle need to be bought separately. Then again, these items are relatively affordable and you can choose from various options to suit you. Electric or manual for the pump.  Adjustable, detachable, adjustable carbon or detachable carbon paddles depending on your needs and budget.

SUPing with the ITIWIT inflatable SUP board

Paddle boarding in the river

That’s the part where the fin and leash get mentioned again. You should use them in most situation if not all situation. In my case, when I tested the board on the river, the water level was quite low so decided NOT to use the fin as it would have been dangerous hitting the river bed and fall in shallow water on rocks. Similarly, I didn’t use the leash so it would get tangled in branches or other debris in the river. On lakes or in the sea, you should always use both. Basically use your common sense to decide if using the fin and/or the leash is safer than not using them.

The river experience was quite interesting considering the fin wasn’t in place. I was expecting to struggle with frequent changes of direction but it wasn’t bad at all. I could feel I wasn’t going as straight as I would have been with the fin on but I wasn’t going left/right left/right either. Testing the board on the river was pleasant, easy. The board felt well balanced and easy to control even without the fin. It felt remarkably effortless especially working with the current.

Paddle boarding in the sea

In the sea however, this is another story. It was my first time SUPing in the sea and when I turned up on the beach, the local surf shop guy said it was the perfect conditions to surf! It wasn’t Hawaii monstrous waves but it was definitely NOT flat water. There was a lot of “kneeling on the board being pushed back towards the shore by the swells” involved. Once on the flatter water past the waves, it was all back to normal.

SUPing in the sea is a lot harder physically as you have to use your legs a lot more to keep the balance because the water isn’t calm. You also are more prone to move with the wind and the currents. Nothing to do with the board itself. It’s just the choppier the water, the harder you’ll have to work to stay balanced. The board is suitable for the job although I presume the 10’7 blue ITIWIT SUP board would probably offer more balance considering its size. Towards the end of the session, on the way back to shore I even ventured in the waves trying to surf (and fell miserably). But surf sup’ing is another set of skills altogether though. A inflatable surf SUP board would probably be more appropriate. I will hopefully get hold of one in the future to test. Watch this space.

Deflating the ITIWIT inflatable SUP board

Deflating this SUP board couldn’t be easier, simply undo the valve cover (turn it anti clockwise) and press the valve to its “down” position. You can help the board deflating by pushing the air out from the furthest point to the opened valves by folding the board over from the back. That’s it! It’s that easy.

Cleaning the ITIWIT inflatable SUP board

It’s a doodle, it takes 5 minutes max with a hose for a thorough clean. Simply rinse the board with clean water on each side. Don’t use any chemical, soap or detergent to clean your board, just clean water.

I washed mine with my pressure washer the first time which worked OK (minus dirt splash back), but it works just as well if not better with normal garden hose pressure (no splash back). Basically, stick to clean water, a garden hose, pressure washer or buckets of water will do just fine and neither will take very long.

Drying the ITIWIT inflatable SUP board

You’ll need a bit of space to lay the deflated board flat on the floor to dry. On a sunny hot day, it doesn’t take very long to dry. Lay the board flat and keep an eye out. When one side is dry just flip it over for the other side to dry too. Drying time will obviously depend on weather conditions but on a reasonably warm dry day it doesn’t take long.

Repacking the ITIWIT inflatable SUP board

Once your SUP board is clean and dry, lay the board flat on its bottom part, flip the board from the back in bits of about 50cm. When you reach the middle of the board, rehiterate the operation but this time from the front. Both groups of folded sections should now join roughly in the middle. Fold these 2 groups on themselves and you should be good to go. All you have left to do is to place the bottom of the bag over the rolled board, then flip the whole thing over and finish zipping it up.

The video below from Decathlon shows how to inflate, setup, dismantle and repack the ITIWIT inflatable SUP board.

Repair and replacement parts for the ITIWIT inflatable SUP boards

The bag comes with a repair patch and there replacement parts available on Decathlon’s website as listed below.

• Replacement leash
• Repair kit
• Fin replacement
• Valve replacement
• Valve key for valve replacement
• Replacement carry bag
• Replacement parts and other accessories

Overall review of  the Decathlon’s best selling 9’8 orange ITIWIT inflatable SUP board

Not surprised it’s Decathlon’s best selling inflatable SUP board. For under £300, it is a very good quality board for beginners and intermediates. Perfect to use on flat water and calm seas. The carry bag doesn’t take too much room in a car boot. It is easy to carry it about with the relatively light carry bag.

It’s definitely worth its third place in our top 10 best inflatable SUP boards below the market leaders Red Paddle Co. Being around a third cheaper than the Red Paddle boards, it could be the board of choice for many beginners.

The ITIWIT inflatable SUP board comes with a 2 year guarantee and lots of spare parts are available online if you ever need any.

You can buy the ITIWIT inflatable SUP board from the Decathlon online store here or read reviews of the Decathlon ITWIT touring inflatable sup board.

You may also be interested in this blog post where a few friends and myself tried inflatable kayak and SUP in Tynemouth.