Tower Xplorer 14′ Inflatable SUP Review

Tower-Xplorer-14ft-Inflatable-SUP-Review

Tower Xplorer Stand Up Inflatable Paddle Board Review

Woah! Tower Xplorer 14’ is a BIG board, and it’s a big deal! With an upper weight limit of 700lbs, you can get your whole family on here— or you can build up some serious speed on this super-buoyant luxury vessel. The 8-inch thickness and 32-inch width keep you high above the water and totally stable for a powerful ride. And the serious 14’ length of this board means it’s designed for speed and distance.

You might also like: ISLE Airtech 12’6 Touring Inflatable SUP

With the Xplorer 14’, Tower gives us a super high-quality, high-performance board with the convenience of an inflatable. Once again, an inflatable stands up paddleboard offers a strong challenge to traditional rigid boards.

Why might you want such a large board? Longer boards (sometimes known as “Touring Boards”) are more buoyant and better able to cut through the waves. This makes them ideal for going long distances and building up speed. For less serious riders, a larger board can also mean super-stability on the water, a delightful setting for yoga (yes, people do it!), and the option of bringing all (yes ALL) of your friends on board with you! And of course, the advantage with the Xplorer is that you can just deflate it and roll it up when you’re done, so you don’t need to find 14 feet of open space in your garage.

Beginning riders may balk at the $1000 price tag — though this board is an inflatable, it offers serious high quality, and the extra-large Touring-style design offers a ride that’s usually unattainable anywhere near this price. This board is for riders who are willing to spend a little more cash for a super-fast board that’s a solid cut above the entry-level stand-up paddleboards.

If you like the idea of a Touring board but don’t want to spend quite this much, consider the Isle Airtech 12’6”, which is about $150 cheaper.

Tower Xplorer 14′ iSUP Features:

The tower includes all the basics in their inflatable board packages — a hand pump, 3-piece paddle, carrying strap, and the board itself. These boards are always dependable, and the special extra-large size of the Xplorer 14’ makes for a super fun ride.

Diamond Groove deck pad
High-pressure pump included
3-piece adjustable paddle included
Touring-style design for fast riding
4-inch nose rocker
Standard longboard fin box

Tower Xplorer Specifications:

Size: 14′ long x 32″ width x 8″ thick

Weight: 36 pounds

Weight limit: 700 pounds

Material: Tower’s super durable military-grade PVC

Inflating: 10-11 PSI (nice and easy)

ISLE Airtech Inflatable SUP User Experience:

Set up: At just 36 lbs, this board is easy to carry, especially for a fourteen-foot board! Set up is standard for an inflatable — roll it out, pump it up. At just 10-11 PSI to fully inflate, you won’t exhaust your arms with this board (many require about 15 PSI).

The Ride: Again, the extra-long design of this board might deceive the inexperienced — this board is very fast and very easy to handle because it can cut through choppy water more easily than a shorter board. This is a high-quality ride like you won’t normally get with an inflatable — sure, the gap has really narrowed between inflatables and hard boards, but this racing-style extra-long design is really special for an inflatable.

Pros:

High-quality traction pad
Great tracking in the water
Excellent maneuverability — sure, it’s a mammoth board, but that also means it has great buoyancy.
Can hold you and 4 or 5 friends and a cooler full of beer.
No one’s board will be as big as yours.

Cons:

The tower doesn’t like to provide carrying bags with their boards. You will, however, get a carrying strap for when it’s rolled up. Alright!
You may want to get an ankle leash. With the momentum on this board, it could be long gone pretty quickly if you fall off!
Some users have complained that the gauge on the pump is not of the highest quality. Most included pumps will get the job done but aren’t great — consider getting an automatic electric pump as well.
The paddle doesn’t float.

Paddle Board Overall Rating:

Based on all the information we’ve gathered on this board, here’s our overall breakdown for the Tower Adventurer Inflatable Paddle Board (SUP):

Price: 100% – It’s rare to find a 14’ stand up paddleboard for under $1500.
Material: 100% – As usual, Tower really does use the best of the best. The military-grade PVC will not tear or dent.
Design: 90% – The board itself is fantastic, but it would be nice to have an included carrying bag and a paddle that floats firmly.
Overall: 96% – Tower Xplorer 14’ is a mighty beast of a board at a deliciously low price.

Globo Surf Overview:

The Tower Xplorer 14’ brings big-time race-style power and speed to the inflatable stand up paddle market. We’re delighted to see that it’s possible to create a big board with real muscle and still have that great ability to deflate it and roll it up when you’re done riding.

The Xplorer exists in an in-between space, but Tower seems to have found a niche with this board: this is among the best of the best isup boards, elevating the convenience of inflatable boards with the elegance of a Touring-style design. If you’re a serious racer, of course, you will likely need a more expensive rigid board (and you should already know that!). But if you’re a beginner to the intermediate paddler, looking for something special, this is likely the toughest, fastest inflatable stand up paddleboard you can get.

Again, if you’re sold on the Touring idea but just can’t put down $1000, the Isle Airtech 12’6” may be another great option for you, so check that one out too!

If you feel about ready to go for this one, head over to the Tower Xplorer 14’ page on Amazon to check out the customer reviews there and get your free shipping.

Single Products Paddle Board Reviews:

Sources

Paddle Board Record