I’ll all the time be grateful to ISLE paddleboards for exhibiting me a easy fact. Atlanta could be probably the most underrated metropolis within the nation.
Over the past 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 condo 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 number of the greatest days of my life currently.
I attempted out the ISLE Change 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 building for longer adventures. And that’s precisely what I bought 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 moveable board jogged my memory that the very best gear permits us to inhabit outside areas extra deeply. It’s not simply in regards to the factor itself however the place it takes us.
In brief: The ISLE Change Professional is the newest within the model’s lineup of versatile SUP/kayak hybrids. Upgrades from the earlier Change mannequin make this board much more secure 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 nearly any scenario I put it in.
In the event you’re available in the market for a SUP, try GearJunkie’s information to the Finest Standup Paddleboards to check some choices.
ISLE Change 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 straightforward to hold -
Maneuvers properly 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 Change Professional Overview
The attract of ISLE’s Change Professional is straightforward: It’s bought 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 Change Professional is able to. It may 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 Change Professional’s svelte dealing with. Extra importantly, the additional capability doesn’t make the board itself heavier.
The Change Professional weighs simply 23 kilos. Meaning 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 Change Professional is made with Airtech Professional Infinity Fiber. This materials supposedly makes the boards 3 times extra inflexible than every other inflatable available on the market.
ISLE has referred to its Professional collection of boards as “inflatable hardboards.” GearJunkie examined the ISLE Change earlier than this tech was built-in. However when ISLE launched the Change 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 line 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 Change 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 Change Professional actually feels sturdier on the water than my ISLE Explorer 2. I’ve pummeled each SUPs towards 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 injury. The Change Professional, by comparability, nonetheless appears able to rumble.
I’m unsure 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. A lot of them, nonetheless, slowed right down to inquire with raised eyebrows about my Change Professional tackling whitewater whereas laden with gear.
So, does this board have all of the rigidity of a hardboard? Not fairly — nevertheless it’s fairly darn shut. And provided that it rolls up right into a backpack, I believe many paddlers will settle for the compromise and not using a second thought.
A Sturdy Navigator
The Change Professional’s benefits over comparable choices rapidly turned 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 the whole Change Professional. A collection of loops on both facet make it straightforward to clip on extra gear, tie on to different boards, and fix the kayak seat (identical because the Change).
For me, this factor gives the very best of all worlds. It’s a SUP board for immersion within the surroundings. 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 a lot of the gear on my Change Professional. As we zipped previous kayaks, canoes, interior tubes, and fishing boats, I by no means as soon as needed anybody else’s rig.
A bunch of 4 canoers actually introduced a chainsaw to take care of the various fallen timber blocking the river. As we paddled by, they instructed us we wouldn’t be capable of proceed with out them clearing the best way for us. A dam of timber additional downriver would trigger issues.
They had 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 connected) over the blockage and persevering with on our merry approach.
The canoe group didn’t arrive at camp till late that night time. We bought to ours with a few hours of sunshine to spare after touring 20 miles — twice the gap 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 baggage, and additional garments in roll-up dry baggage. The majority of our meals, our tenting range, water air purifier, and different gear went into an Ortlieb 45L Atrack. This waterproof backpack is among the greatest I’ve ever used, with a tricky rubber zipper that opens from the rear like a duffel bag.
All of our gear suits snugly underneath the Change 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 convey 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 danger of capsizing. Diego and I every skilled this as soon as. It was often when a fallen tree created additional suction within the present.
In my case, I bought caught underneath 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 danger 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 occasions I’ve used it to assist others.
I like exploring the Chattahoochee, which runs by way of Atlanta and gives infinite fishing, swimming, and water sports activities alternatives. Nevertheless, the present is usually very robust, inflicting many leisure tubers to overlook the specified river exit. That often means a chronic ordeal of ready for river guides or police to return to rescue them. I’ve already helped these unfortunate tubers half a dozen occasions.
In a single case, a bunch of 5 tubers had been beached on a rock in the midst of a robust present and yelled for assist. I tossed them a rope and hauled all 5 of them to the following 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 identical exit when an aged fisherman misplaced his footing and out of the blue discovered himself swept away by the present. Within the house of in all probability 10 seconds, I instructed 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 instructed his spouse afterward.
The Change Professional even proved itself in the course of the raddest check of all: paddling by way of the darkness. My tenting journey with Diego hit an sudden snag one night time proper earlier than bedtime. As Diego and I settled into our comfortable 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 pieces again onto our two boards, strapped on headlamps, and paddled 3 extra miles of the river at midnight. The water under disappeared into the black, whereas a whole bunch of stars peeked by way of the strip of seen sky weaving among the many cover round us.
We reached the following exit level, the place Diego may name his household (all the pieces labored out effective). I mirrored later that maybe I ought to have felt extra nervous in regards to the endeavor — nevertheless it was enjoyable as hell. I by no means doubted the board would get me the place I wanted to go.
ISLE’s Change Professional: Some Small Drawbacks
The Change Professional prices $1,100, which is sufficient to get you two solid-body kayaks or one good canoe. However provided that this board feels just like the Swiss Military Knife of paddle sports activities, I’d say it’s greater than definitely worth the cash. (And I will not be the one one. As of July 2, it’s bought out on the ISLE web site.)
The logistics of packing a paddle board aren’t all the time straightforward, both. Inflating this beast with the hand pump is probably the most exhausting a part of the day. (ISLE does provide a $145 Customized Electrical Pump.) And rolling it again up can generally get a bit of irritating.
The kayak seat additionally strikes out of place a bit of too simply, so I’ve begun troubleshooting methods to connect it extra securely. However these are quibbles when weighed towards 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 equipment I desire over the upgraded Change Professional equipment. For starters, I just like the backpack for the Explorer 2.
Although barely smaller, it’s additionally simpler to hold and, subsequently, higher for adventures requiring a little bit of portaging. The Change Professional backpack is bigger and suits extra gear, with a extra inflexible design and wheels on the underside (not the lightest or greatest for portages).
That’s excellent when you’re making an attempt to keep away from carrying the board at any level. However it’s additionally fairly uncomfortable as a backpack. In consequence, I now use the Explorer pack with my Change Professional.
ISLE Change Professional: Ultimate Verdict
In the event you’re nonetheless on the fence, simply think about this 3-day weekend: You connect the kayak chair and spend Saturday barreling by way 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 Change 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.
