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iRocker All-Around 10” Reviews

iRocker All-Around 10” Reviews

Summary

By and large, the most common type of paddleboard on the market is what’s known as an all-around bored. This typically means that it can be used for a variety of situations and is not specific to anyone particular type of paddleboarding.

Overall

4.9

4.9/5
In general, iRocker is a master of all-around boards. Even their boards that have more specialized use are really useful in most if not all water conditions and types of activities. Of course, the 2022 iRocker 10’All Around is specifically made for just about any type of activity.

Essentially, this is the spitting image of the other iRockerAll Around but for a smaller paddleboarder. Even if you look at the marketing on their website, you can see that iRocker designed this with women and older children in mind.

Being that this is a shorter version of another established board and is a little bit shorter than your standard all-around board, is it worth the purchase or are you better off looking in a different direction. Well, let’s pull this guy out of the backpack, blow it up and throw it on the water to find out!

iRocker All-Around 10” 2021

Performance

Right off the bat, we should probably mention that to give this particular model the best chance, we’re going to assume that the person using it is going to be on the shorter side. Our larger testers were able to use a board of this length, but it was not optimal.

The dimensions of this board make it a little bit wider than you typically see in an all-around board. Of course, it’s not horribly different but for a board of this size, we would expect it to be thinner than the 32 inches it comes with, as 32 inches is more common with the board 6 inches or a foot longer than this one. So, what does that mean once you’re in the water?

On the plus category, you have a board that’s extra stable Anne is great at making sharper turns. As a general rule, the rounder the board the more stable it is. But the flip side of that is now you have an extra drag in the water that will make your paddling experience slower than in a thinner board. For most people, the difference isn’t going to be life-changing, but it will be noticeable.

If you find yourself with a 10 foot All Around and are taller than its intended audience, the side benefit would be that you have a board that would do better surfing than a board that’s better suited for your size. In fact, if you were looking for a surfing SUP, you could do a lot worse than this model right here!

When it comes to paddleboarding, most people don’t typically think of surfing but that doesn’t mean that you can’t do it. In fact, for those who use paddleboards and open water, find themselves needing to get at least some surf when bigger waves come in. We’ve taken paddleboards out surfing and between 9 foot 6 inches and 10 foot seemed to be the sweet spot and being an extra bit wider will help to keep your surfing more stable.

Features

Regardless of the size, iRocker always seems to find ways to stuff as many features as possible into their boards. This is starting to slow down, however, because it’s getting to the point where there’s only so much you can put on a paddleboard. Let’s start with the common features that we would expect from an inflatable paddleboard of this type.

To begin with, both the front and back have 6-point bungee storage areas where you can put loose bags and equipment, plus D-rings where you can clip on gear like dry bags or coolers.

The kind of people that use paddleboards on a regular basis typically enjoys having more storage space because they can stay out on the water longer and take their trip even farther. Most paddleboards out there have some form of storage using bungee cords, but iRocker takes it to the next level.

On the topic of D-rings, there are 20 on this iSUP. These rings act as attachment points for both the optional kayak seat as well as for any sort of docking.

A nice touch that we enjoy is how they put a single D-ring underneath the board’s nose since these can be used for towing. When iRocker came out with all of these D-rings throughout the deck a few years ago, we didn’t understand the appeal at first.

But the more we take out these boards, the more we find that it’s great having the freedom to attach ropes just about anywhere along the deck. After all, you can always choose water conditions, dock positioning, or vegetation, and having the ability to attach a carabiner or rope just about anywhere works out great!

The grab handles are also an important part of this board and are one of our favorite features all around. A standard center grab handle is what we would expect from most paddleboards these days but having a second and now even a third handle is certainly a welcome addition. These extra grab handles help you to maneuver your board in and out of the water easily and to drag it along the shore if necessary without damaging the fins.

Since last year,iRocker started to include action mounts on most of their boards. This is great as a person looking to make an investment in one of these boards because it guarantees that newer features in the future that you may have never even thought of can be used on your paddleboard that you buy now.

For example, these action mounts can act as mounting points for cameras, a GPS, phones, and now even additional gear such as fishing brackets to hold your gear. As time goes on, you can feel confident knowing that you can always purchase additional equipment that comes on the market and just attach it to these standard-sized mountings.

Board Design

One of the biggest differences between the 11-foot version of this board and the smaller version is the availability of colors. The 10’All Around Only gives you three options compared to a 6 with its larger brother. The main reason for this is because they apparently produce much fewer of this size model than the 11 foot, and therefore, it doesn’t make sense for them to produce additional colors.

One of the things that makes this a true all-purpose paddleboard is the rocker, which is the amount of elevation the nose has. In general, the higher the rocker the greater the ability to handle waves, while the lower the rocker means a greater ability to cut water in smooth conditions.

The rocker on the 10 foot All Around is perfectly balanced so that you can feel confident in most types of water without having to plan too far ahead.

The textured pad is extremely comfortable both to stand on for long periods of time as well as to sit down on or even do SUP fitness routines. The texture is specifically designed to keep you onboard even when things get slippery and to move water off the board as quickly as possible.

Being a paddleboard, you’re obviously going to get wet and if the pad is not designed with that in mind, it will be very difficult to have traction.

Finally, one of the single best features with iRocker boards in general (in our opinion) is that they have three fins that are all removable. This three-fin setup is becoming more and more common as it gives you additional speed and maneuverability while still being stable but can be a drag when it comes to storage while inflated or rolled up.

Regardless of which brand or model of panelboard you choose, if it’s inflatable, it’s not going to be fun to inflate and deflate. Having these detachable fin setups makes an unenviable task somewhat more manageable. At this point, we may seem a little cynical about that but remember how many boards that we’ve inflated, deflated, packed, and unpacked over the years!

Construction

In the past, quality in iSUPs was defined in how many layers of PVC a board had, and iRocker was always on the higher end with four layers. The downside to this is added weight. Over the past few years, more and more companies have been manufacturing boards with a tougher inside, which lets them use fewer layers of PVC and theoretically a lighter iSUP.

While that may be true in making a stronger board, the problem is that this doesn’t help with outside damage like punctures. And the last thing you need on a multi-day trip is a damaged board.

iRocker’s new construction this year combines the best of both worlds by using a stronger drop stitch core while still having three layers of military-grade PVC on the outside to protect the board. This creates a strong board that can withstand the elements while still finding a way to keep the weight down. This isn’t the lightest 10’ iSUP on the market but probably the strongest, pound for pound.

Included Accessories

When purchasing the 2022 iRocker 10’All Around, this is what you can expect out of the box besides the board itself:

  • 3-piece travel paddle carbon matte shaft with nylon blade
  • Dual chamber, triple action hand pump
  • 10’ leash with key stash spot
  • Premium travel roller bag
  • Removable nylon sup fins (1 center fin and 2 side fins)
  • Repair kit (Patches and valve wrench — Does not include glue)

 

iRocker also includes a wide range of optional accessories, including their kayak seat and fishing attachments. If you wanted to also get their electric air pump, you wouldn’t get any problems from us. Trust us when we say we know exactly how difficult these inflatable paddleboards can be to get up to pressure. If you don’t want to spend the time doing that with the included pump or (like us) have to inflate multiple paddleboards at a time, the optional electric air pump can do a world of good.

 

Our Take

To beat a dead horse just a little bit more, this board is not for everyone and most of our reviewers would probably not use it personally. But that being said, that has more to do with the size and the comfort of larger riders compared to smaller riders.

Ironically, our smallest tester (at a height of 5 foot 4 inches and 120 pounds) actually prefers larger boards than most of our larger testers!

Regardless, we still think this would be a great fit for a smaller rider who is either just starting out or is looking for a solid all-around board fit for someone of their size.

One of the best uses we can see for this board would be for kids because of the high weight capacity compared to its size. Being able to hold 370 pounds on a 10-foot inflatable board is incredible, so they could easily bring along a friend or two plus the dog!

There are far fewer paddleboards of this size in the market compared to larger versions, so we’re always happy to see when a well-trusted brand like iRocker goes and designs one. It’s possible that a lot of you reading this already have at least one iRocker paddle board for yourself and are looking for something for the kids or for a smaller companion. If that’s the case, then we highly recommend iRocker’s 2022 10 foot  All Around inflatable paddleboard!

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