I’ll at all times be grateful to ISLE paddleboards for exhibiting me a easy reality. Atlanta could be essentially the most underrated metropolis within the nation.
During the last 2 months, the model’s inflatable standup paddleboard (SUP)/kayak hybrid has carried me down 100 miles of Georgia rivers. Alongside the best way, I’ve change into enamored of this a part of the nation.
Only a half hour of driving from my condominium in east Atlanta, I can hop on the river and discover myself instantly surrounded by nature’s abundance. Singing birds, effervescent rapids, and the frequent absence of different people — I’ve had a few of the finest days of my life currently.
I attempted out the ISLE Swap Professional particularly to see how far I may go. This burly board rounds out ISLE’s Professional Paddle Board Collection with a excessive weight capability and extra-rigid development for longer adventures. And that’s precisely what I acquired throughout my river tenting journey. It was a protracted day of exploring, capped off by campfire sausages in a spot solely reachable from the river.
ISLE’s highly effective and transportable board jogged my memory that the very best gear permits us to inhabit out of doors areas extra deeply. It’s not simply in regards to the factor itself however the place it takes us.
Briefly: The ISLE Swap Professional is the most recent within the model’s lineup of versatile SUP/kayak hybrids. Upgrades from the earlier Swap mannequin make this board much more steady and agile within the water, with an emphasis on sturdiness and extra weight capability. From a river tenting journey to whitewater rapids to ferrying my mother round a lake — this SUP may deal with virtually any scenario I put it in.
Should you’re available in the market for a SUP, try GearJunkie’s information to the Greatest Standup Paddleboards to check some choices.
ISLE Swap Professional
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Weight
23 lbs. -
Size
11’6″ -
Width
35.5″ -
Weight Capability
475 lbs.
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Tremendous excessive weight capability -
Inflexible and sturdy -
Light-weight and simple to hold -
Maneuvers nicely seated or standing
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Not low-cost -
Packing it up may be irritating -
Wheeled backpack mannequin not as versatile as different ISLE backpacks
ISLE Swap Professional Overview
The attract of ISLE’s Swap Professional is straightforward: It’s acquired muscle.
This child has a powerful 475-pound weight capability — the best of any one-person ISLE board. Even laden with 50 kilos of tenting gear and my 145-pound physique, the mixed weight doesn’t attain even half of what the Swap Professional is able to. It might accommodate each my mother and father, who joyously paddled on it collectively on close by Lake Lanier.
Including weight does have an effect on the board’s maneuverability, however not as a lot as you’d suppose. Correctly balancing weight on both finish preserves a lot of the Swap Professional’s svelte dealing with. Extra importantly, the additional capability doesn’t make the board itself heavier.
The Swap Professional weighs simply 23 kilos. Which means it’s 3 kilos lighter than the ISLE Pioneer Professional (plus or minus equipment) whereas nonetheless supporting extra weight.
To Infinity (Fiber) and Past
Like different Professional Collection boards, the ISLE Swap Professional is made with Airtech Professional Infinity Fiber. This materials supposedly makes the boards thrice extra inflexible than every other inflatable in the marketplace.
ISLE has referred to its Professional collection of boards as “inflatable hardboards.” GearJunkie examined the ISLE Swap earlier than this tech was built-in. However when ISLE launched the Swap Professional, we determined it was value a revisit.
And Airtech Professional Infinity Fiber is the wedding of two patents: Airtech Professional, which comes from the U.S. Navy, and Infinity Fiber, which is unique to ISLE. In keeping with ISLE product designer Jimmy Blakeney, each the U.S. Navy and NASA have begun experimenting with ISLE’s Infinity Fiber in their very own designs.
On the ISLE Swap Professional, the fabric is woven into the board’s curved rail, deck, and hull. It’s seen on the underside, as proven under.
From my very own expertise, I can say that the Swap Professional actually feels sturdier on the water than my ISLE Explorer 2. I’ve pummeled each SUPs in opposition to sharp river rocks, downed logs, and different particles to show the purpose. After only a few weeks of use, the Explorer 2 has already suffered some seen harm. The Swap Professional, by comparability, nonetheless seems to be able to rumble.
I’m undecided if that elevates ISLE’s Professional Collection into a brand new class of “inflatable hardboards,” as Blakeney refers to them. However I can say with confidence that I by no means envied the hardboard kayakers throughout my testing. Lots of them, nonetheless, slowed right down to inquire with raised eyebrows about my Swap Professional tackling whitewater whereas laden with gear.
So, does this board have all of the rigidity of a hardboard? Not fairly — however it’s fairly darn shut. And on condition that it rolls up right into a backpack, I believe many paddlers will settle for the compromise with out a second thought.
A Sturdy Navigator
The Swap Professional’s benefits over comparable choices rapidly grew to become clear after I capped off my testing with a tenting journey down the Etowah River.
In comparison with different ISLE fashions, a thicker, comfier foam pad covers your complete Swap Professional. A collection of loops on both facet make it straightforward to clip on extra gear, tie on to different boards, and fasten the kayak seat (similar because the Swap).
For me, this factor affords the very best of all worlds. It’s a SUP board for immersion within the setting. It has a kayak seat to make it extra maneuverable. And its weight capability rivals that of a canoe.
My buddy Diego used my Explorer 2 whereas I carried many of the gear on my Swap Professional. As we zipped previous kayaks, canoes, internal tubes, and fishing boats, I by no means as soon as needed anybody else’s rig.
A gaggle of 4 canoers actually introduced a chainsaw to take care of the numerous fallen bushes blocking the river. As we paddled by, they advised us we wouldn’t have the ability to proceed with out them clearing the best way for us. A dam of bushes additional downriver would trigger issues.
They have been solely half proper.
An hour later, we discovered ourselves dealing with a 6-foot-high dam of logs, which we crossed in about 3 minutes by hauling our boards (with gear nonetheless hooked up) over the blockage and persevering with on our merry method.
The canoe group didn’t arrive at camp till late that night time. We acquired to ours with a few hours of sunshine to spare after touring 20 miles — twice the space of anybody else I requested. Touring downriver by a light-weight, inflatable paddleboard is actually an environment friendly technique of transportation.
Gear Storage & Tenting
As a frequent backcountry hiker and camper, I’ve to confess it’s good to not fear about weight. Gear feels a lot lighter when it’s not in your again.
However after I determined to go river tenting with a good friend, I didn’t have tenting gear for 2 individuals (I do most issues solo). So I purchased a $90, 6-pound Kelty Tanglewood 2, an $18 Ozark Path sleeping bag from Walmart, and a few low-cost sleeping pads.
I stashed the tent, sleeping luggage, and further garments in roll-up dry luggage. The majority of our meals, our tenting range, water air purifier, and different gear went into an Ortlieb 45L Atrack. This waterproof backpack is likely one of the finest I’ve ever used, with a troublesome rubber zipper that opens from the rear like a duffel bag.
All of our gear suits snugly beneath the Swap Professional’s stretchy webbing. Often, I like sticking to the fundamentals and protecting weight to a minimal. That’s what I did when planning our first night time of tenting. However this board is a sturdy freighter. Subsequent time round, I plan to carry a tenting chair, hammock, and (extra) beer. With such a mighty river mule, why not?
There’s just one caveat to heavy gear storage: the elevated threat of capsizing. Diego and I every skilled this as soon as. It was normally when a fallen tree created additional suction within the present.
In my case, I acquired caught beneath my board, which was flipped beneath a log. Because of the comparatively small quantity of weight, I used to be capable of disentangle the board and flip it again over — rapidly resolving a dangerous scenario. I additionally suppose my board was initially weighted too closely within the rear, making it harder to maneuver.
Even in Georgia’s largely shallow rivers, river tenting includes much more threat than an evening within the Appalachian forest. So, don’t neglect your private flotation units (PFDs), and convey a helmet and throwbag if getting into the whitewater.
Rescue Missions From a SUP
If there’s one piece of proof to advocate this uber-rigid inflatable, it’s the variety of instances I’ve used it to assist others.
I really like exploring the Chattahoochee, which runs by means of Atlanta and affords countless fishing, swimming, and water sports activities alternatives. Nonetheless, the present is usually very robust, inflicting many leisure tubers to overlook the specified river exit. That normally means a chronic ordeal of ready for river guides or police to come back to rescue them. I’ve already helped these unfortunate tubers half a dozen instances.
In a single case, a bunch of 5 tubers have been beached on a rock in the course of a powerful present and yelled for assist. I tossed them a rope and hauled all 5 of them to the subsequent entry level a mile downriver. My board by no means complained.
About an hour later, I used to be simply chilling within the river on the similar exit when an aged fisherman misplaced his footing and all of a sudden discovered himself swept away by the present. Within the area of in all probability 10 seconds, I advised him to throw me his rod, then I hopped off my 11-foot board and pushed it out to him, which he managed to seize simply in time for me to drag him again to shore.
“This man saved my life,” he (considerably) jokingly advised his spouse afterward.
The Swap Professional even proved itself throughout the raddest check of all: paddling by means of the darkness. My tenting journey with Diego hit an surprising snag one night time proper earlier than bedtime. As Diego and I settled into our cozy tent, he realized that his spouse had texted him earlier within the day about an emergency. We didn’t have cell service, and it wasn’t clear if she nonetheless wanted assist.
So, we did what any involved husband and his trusty pal would do: We packed all the things again onto our two boards, strapped on headlamps, and paddled 3 extra miles of the river at nighttime. The water under disappeared into the black, whereas lots of of stars peeked by means of the strip of seen sky weaving among the many cover round us.
We reached the subsequent exit level, the place Diego may name his household (all the things labored out advantageous). I mirrored later that maybe I ought to have felt extra anxious in regards to the endeavor — however it was enjoyable as hell. I by no means doubted the board would get me the place I wanted to go.
ISLE’s Swap Professional: Some Small Drawbacks
The Swap Professional prices $1,100, which is sufficient to get you two solid-body kayaks or one good canoe. However on condition that this board feels just like the Swiss Military Knife of paddle sports activities, I’d say it’s greater than well worth the cash. (And I might not be the one one. As of July 2, it’s offered out on the ISLE web site.)
The logistics of packing a paddle board aren’t at all times straightforward, both. Inflating this beast with the hand pump is essentially the most exhausting a part of the day. (ISLE does supply a $145 Customized Electrical Pump.) And rolling it again up can generally get just a little irritating.
The kayak seat additionally strikes out of place just a little too simply, so I’ve begun troubleshooting methods to connect it extra securely. However these are quibbles when weighed in opposition to the flexibility to hold this backpackable boat to wherever you’d wish to enter the water.
That being mentioned, there’s one merchandise from the ISLE Explorer 2 package I choose over the upgraded Swap Professional equipment. For starters, I just like the backpack for the Explorer 2.
Although barely smaller, it’s additionally simpler to hold and, due to this fact, higher for adventures requiring a little bit of portaging. The Swap Professional backpack is bigger and suits extra gear, with a extra inflexible design and wheels on the underside (not the lightest or finest for portages).
That’s excellent in case you’re attempting to keep away from carrying the board at any level. But it surely’s additionally fairly uncomfortable as a backpack. In consequence, I now use the Explorer pack with my Swap Professional.
ISLE Swap Professional: Last Verdict
Should you’re nonetheless on the fence, simply think about this 3-day weekend: You connect the kayak chair and spend Saturday barreling by means of Class II and Class III whitewater. On Sunday, you’re taking the chair off for a lazy SUP paddle round a peaceful lake. Then, you wrap issues up on Monday by merely floating down a river, eating on scrumptious meals from this floating picnic desk.
That’s precisely what I did over my Memorial Day weekend, discovering immense enjoyment from the Swap Professional’s flexibility as I explored dozens of miles of the Chattahoochee. It allowed me to find the pure magnificence that defines a lot of Georgia. And everybody I’ve placed on this board — good friend, brother, and even octogenarian father — instantly fell in love with it.
