Inflatable SUP Air Pressure ... It's All In The Core...

The recommended inflation pressures of O’Shea Inflatable SUP’s to achieve optimum stiffness are 13 to 15 psi and may at first glance appear to be low in comparison to the inflation pressures of some other brands. However, this is a testament to the quality of our board  construction and the advantages offered by utilising the best drop stitch technology, which sits at the core of all of our boards.

All Inflatable SUP’s use various types and qualities of drop stitch which consists of thousands of interconnected threads running between the top and bottom layers of the board (see image below). As you inflate the board, the sides of the board expand and are held in place by the threads of the drop stitch.

Now, here is the important bit. Lower quality drop stitch often results in a board which is less rigid and needs more air pressure to get the board to some sort of useable stiffness. The higher air pressures then place increased demands on the internal structures of the SUP, resulting in a higher percentage of seam failures, especially when combined with expansion due to direct sunlight on a hot summer's day.

Our drop stitch core is made using the highest quality threads, arranged in a denser configuration in comparison to many other technologies. This core, with stronger, denser  and more resilient threads, producing a higher
 thread tension,  enables the board to maintain its shape and structural integrity and reach optimum stiffness, at air pressure’s of 13 to 15psi.

Not only do our boards exhibit excellent rigidity and performance at 13psi to 15 psi, there is an also an additional huge bonus... a reduced effort of inflation… so you don’t have to pump as much!!!