I got one of these last time they came up (a few weeks ago). I opted for the “Speeder” as it was lighter (50bs vs 70lbs) and narrower, both of which should make it faster than the “Wizard.”
My background: I paddle 2-3 times a week on local rivers. I’ve owned 2 fiberglass paddleboards (which I’ve sold, they paddle nice but the fragility is an issue for me) and I currently own 2 inflatable boards.
I got the green board and it is actually a pretty nice looking board. The design is cool with the backrest and compartment (I imagine the Wizard compartment is even cooler). It will be a board we use in our family–I can give the board to anyone and they can beat it up without worries. It paddled pretty nicely and it fun to paddle (I’ve paddled it twice now–enough to know that it is not my board of choice).
There are several downsides:
-
It is HEAVY. At first I thought the 50lbs would be no big deal, but this is a heavy board. Its not just heavy on the car and garage, but its heavy in the water. But, getting it to the water is terrible.
-
It is pretty slow. I’m sure it is faster than the Wizard, but it is quite slow compared to my inflatable boards and even slower compared to a nice fiberglass board.
-
The compartment will get wet. I think it is fairly water tight, but water accumulates around the hatch, so when you open it up water goes in. Not a big deal. Oh, and on the speeder, the hatch is small. For keys or camera only.
-
It leaks! I didn’t investigate this too closely, but it had a small amount of water in it after I brought it home my 2nd time out. There are quite a few screws in the board (to attach handles and deck straps). My guess is that one/all of these leak a small bit. This doesn’t concern me too much, but it is annoying. There is a drain plug and you can drain the board.
Overall, I think it will be a good board for us. We’ll use it and probably beat it up pretty good on the river. I’m glad we bought it and it is probably worth what we paid.