The Best Portable Paddleboard for Travel - The Flyweight
The Flyweight is one of the best portable paddleboards out there — hands down. I’m not just saying that because I’m biased. Flyweight won Outside Magazine’s Gear of The Year Award in the “Best Stand-Up Paddleboards” category in 2021, the year it was released.
This is just a snippet of what gear writer Joe Carberry had to say about the Flyweight in Outside’s Gear of The Year roundup:
“The brand hit paydirt with the Flyweight, which can truly do it all. The star is a new technology that reduces excess PVC along the drop stitching, which creates a lighter, more streamlined craft. Grandmas can easily get this svelte 30-inch board in the lake, while the younger set can use it for easy river running, racing, flatwater paddling, and more.”
That drop stitch technology Joe mentioned? That’s our AirLite drop stitch. It’s unique to the Flyweight and plays a key role in making the board so supremely portable. I’ll elaborate on that innovation in a minute. The Flyweight weighs in at less than 20 lbs and is so packable and pliable that it can fit in a duffel bag alongside your personal items and gear for a week on the beach and still come in well under 50 lbs — the perfect portable paddleboard for a hassle-free one-bag trip.
Sacrifice Performance for Portability? Never.
What makes the Flyweight so unique? Its light weight is achieved without compromising performance. The Flyweight is a great choice for anyone who appreciates a lighter board (who doesn’t?) that is durable, feels good to paddle, and is easy to take with you. That might mean a flight to somewhere warm, storing it in a van or on a car camping trip, taking an Uber, or hiking into a lake that gets you away from the crowds.
AirLite Drop Stitch: Drop stitch technology that makes Flyweight the best portable paddleboard for travel
The secret sauce is the AirLite drop stitch. Traditional drop stitch requires more PVC during lamination, which results in a 30% higher weight. Traditional drop stitch also results in a board that is harder to roll up and store.
AirLite provides all the stiffness and durability you want when the paddleboard is inflated, but is much more pliable and compact when rolling because it eliminates waste PVC. Lighter and easier to pack means there’s no reason not to have your vehicle for adventure on the water with you wherever you go.
Badfish Exoskeleton Technology: Light as a Feather, Tough as Nails
The Exoskeleton is a breakthrough Badfish developed back in 2017. The idea was to make a stiffer, better performing inflatable paddleboard without adding unnecessary weight.
We achieved this by strategically reinforcing the board with top and bottom double stringers along the length to help improve longitudinal stiffness. Then we add a double rail band for air retention, and finally our third, PBR, railband. PBR stands for Parabolic Reinforced Rail. This extra wide rail band through the middle three-quarters of the board was inspired by surfboards that place stringers in the rail. In the case of an inflatable paddleboard, this rail band enhances stiffness without adding unnecessary weight.
All that chalks up to equal an inflatable paddleboard that feels like you’re riding a hardboard. It’s stable under your feet, easy to navigate, and confidence inspiring even to those brand new to stand up paddleboarding.
From the Arkansas River to Surfing Waves on Maui This Portable Paddleboard Does It All
All of us here at Badfish are paddlers who use this gear, so allow me to talk about why I love the Flyweight for just a moment. I have paddled this board down our backyard river run, hiked it into alpine lakes and caught cutthroat trout off it, explored mangrove trails in Florida, and surfed little waves in Maui on the Flyweight.
I chose this board, first, because I love that this lightweight portable paddleboard can always come along with me. Of course, those features wouldn’t matter if the board didn’t paddle well. However, the shape is a proven winner for all types of paddling and the removable click fins allow it to be customized to paddle effectively in different environments.
The Flyweight is a truly unique inflatable paddleboard that was purpose-built for portability and performance — by paddlers for paddlers. Check out the Flyweight here and learn more or find it in person at your local Badfish Retailer.