Red Paddle Co 12’6” Voyager iSUP Review | 2024

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Red Paddle Co 12’6” Voyager iSUP Review: Overview

The Red Paddle Co 12’6” Voyager is an expedition-style paddle board that focuses on balancing paddling efficiency with cargo capacity and stability. Red achieves this with a blend of their MSL Construction and industry-first 3-D shaping techniques.

— Red Paddle Co 12’6” Voyager iSUP Review Summary and Ratings —

Red Paddle Co 12’6” Voyager iSUP Review – Construction and Durability

The 12’6” Voyager uses Red Paddle Co’s MSL construction, RSS Battens, and a unique process to 3-D shape the nose of the board for increased efficiency.

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Inside the 12’6 Voyager is a drop stitch core that uses a woven fabric for the base layers on the top and bottom, and connects the two with thousands of drop-stitched fibers to keep the board flat and rigid when inflated.

Red’s MSL (Monocoque Structural Laminate) is a prefabricated laminated material that uses a layer of adhesive on the woven fabric base layer and bonds a layer of reinforced PVC to that using heat and pressure. This bonds the two materials together to create a single piece of material that is more rigid than a single-layer PVC board, but lighter weight (and with fewer cosmetic defects) than a standard double-layer material.

The sides of the board are sealed together by an inner PVC rail band that uses a heat-activated glue and pressure for a strong, and secure bond. While it’s not the same as a true heat-welding technique, Red’s paddle boards are known for their extreme durability and longevity even with this glued rail. Another layer of reinforced PVC is then glued over the inner rail band for additional protection.

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The 12’6” Voyager also utilizes Red’s Rocker Stiffening System (RSS) Battens to increase the board’s rigidity. These plastic rails are inserted into special pockets on the side of the board prior to full inflation and help stiffen the mid section of the board.

Lastly Red is one of the first companies to introduce 3-D inflatable board shaping on the nose of the 12’6 Voyager. This special technique cuts and re-stitches the inner drop stitch core to create a “V-hull” shape on the nose of the board. You can see where the adjustment was made by the large PVC patching strip that goes down the center of the nose of the board, and how much it bends both the deck and hull in this area to create the “V.” We’ll get more into the impacts of the V-hull in the Speed section below.

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In our static bend test we inflated the 12’6 Compact to 20 PSI and, with the RSS battens inserted, placed 170 pounds of weight on the standing area of the board to measure how far it bends. The voyager did well with a total bend of 1.378”. That is noticeably stiffer than our current average of 1.62”, and is on par with other Expedition/Adventure-touring iSUPs other than the outstandingly rigid Isle Explorer Pro.

Red claims the RSS battens add 40-50% stiffness, however in our bend testing we’ve found the actual increase in rigidity to be closer to 10%. That’s definitely not nothing, but it’s also nowhere near 50%. I would still recommend using the RSS Battens with the 12’6 Voyager, though, as rigidity typically ties directly into overall performance – especially for speed and efficiency.

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On the water I couldn’t feel any bending or flexing while standing and paddling normally. After reviewing photos and video, there does appear to be some, but not to any detrimental degree. Even when turning up the power for our sprint testing I didn’t notice any abnormally large or impactful flex in the 12’6 Voyager.

Bouncing on the board does generate a moderate amount of flex, but it is well controlled and feels smooth when settling back down. There’s no springy feeling like the board is trying to throw you off. I did feel a little bit of flex and rebound while walking on the board, but not enough that I felt like it was impacting stability.

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Overall the Red Paddle Co 12’6” Voyager is built very well and has great rigidity on the water. When loaded up for a multi-day trip, the evenly distributed weight on the board will actually help flatten it and reduce any flex or rebound you might experience.

Specifications

Red Paddle Co 12’6” Voyager iSUP Review – Features, Accessories and Versatility

The Red 12’6” Voyager is an expedition touring paddle board. It’s built with a feature set that makes it easy to carry a large amount and variety of different equipment and to paddle quickly and efficiently.

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The Red 12’6” Voyager comes with a great kit of accessories, but does not include a paddle. Inside the box you’ll also find:

• ATB Transformer roller backpack
• Titan II double-chamber hand pump
• Coiled ankle leash
• Two 8” Touring fins
• RSS battens
• Waterproof phone case
• Repair kit

The entire kit weighs about 39 pounds. That’s a little heavy for a kit that doesn’t include a paddle, but everything is built rugged down to the material used in the ATB Transformer bag.

Red Paddle Co 12’6” Voyager iSUP Review – Stability

The 12’6” Voyager has excellent stability thanks to its wide outline and rigid construction.

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As an expedition touring SUP, the 12’6” Voyager is built not just to paddle quickly, but with a large payload and under tough conditions. That means it has to be stable as well. With a 32” width and wide outline, the 12’6” Voyager feels rock solid on the water.

I didn’t feel any rolling or twitching while standing and paddling normally or while sprinting in our speed test. I can easily hold the 12’6” Voyager on its edge for long periods of time, and rocking the board side to side was smooth and controlled as the rails dipped beneath the water and resurfaced.

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I didn’t notice any issues paddling over choppy wind waves and boat wake, and walking around on the board felt extremely comfortable.

Standing at the tail of the board was relatively easy, though the rounded tail does tilt easier than a square tail, and spinning the board around for a pivot turn was smooth and easy.

Overall this is an extremely stable paddle board even though it’s designed for longer distances and more efficient paddling.

Red Paddle Co 12’6” Voyager iSUP Review – Speed

When you want to go long distances, it’s best to do it quickly – or at least efficiently. The 12’6” Voyager does a great job at both.

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The 12’6 Voyager did excellently in our speed testing. Given its wider size and rounded shape I wasn’t sure how well it would do initially, but when the results were in (and even while gathering those results) I was quite pleased.

While not as fast on the sprint as some other touring iSUPs, the 12’6 Voyager still did a great job with an average sustained sprint speed of 5.3 MPH and a peak speed of 5.8 MPH. That’s not quite as high as we’ve seen in other dedicated touring boards, but is higher than most 32” wide boards.

At a casual pace of 25 strokes per minute (a pace you could keep going all day), the 12’6” Voyager does very well with an average speed of 3.9 MPH. That is fairly typical for dedicated touring iSUPs that are a couple of inches narrower. When paddling at these speeds, you can take a single paddle stroke and glide for about 22.5 feet before you really notice the board slowing down. That gives it a gliding ratio of about 1.8 board-lengths per stroke. Again that is on the high side for most 32” wide boards and on the low side for most dedicated touring SUPs.

So what does this mean? It means that the Red Paddle Co 12’6 Voyager delivers on its design to be both very stable and quick/efficient on the water. Basically, the ideal setup for an expedition paddle board.

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The 12’6” Voyager features a very unique nose shape. When just looking at the outline of the board it looks quite rounded with a good amount of rocker lifting the nose off the water. However when you view it from the front you see the V-Hull shape that has been cleverly stitched into the board. This produces a bulbous section in the middle of the nose hull, and Red caps it off with a small plastic “fin” to help break the surface tension. Red claims this helps improve efficiency and speed, while the V-hull helps with tracking and cutting through choppy conditions.

In the picture above you can see the V-hull in action. The water meets the board and cleanly separates and breaks to either side of the board. In the picture below you can see the nose of the Isle Explorer Pro 12. It has a flat hull shape with a moderate amount of rocker. It also separates the water to each side, but you can see a bit of turbulent water being pushed forward in the middle of the board.

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We can clearly see a difference in how these two board designs interact with the water. But does it really make the 12’6” Voyager more efficient and faster? Well, both of these boards are extremely similar in size and shape, so this is actually a great chance to compare the different designs. Below are some testing data from the 12’6 Voyager (12’6 x 32”), Isle Explorer Pro 12’ (12’ x 31.5”), and the Sea Gods Carta Marina CX (12’ x 32”) – all are expedition-style touring iSUPs.

		Red 12’6” Voyager	Isle Explorer Pro 12’	Sea Gods Carta Marina CX
	Hull Shape	V-Hull	Flat	Flat
	Top Speed	5.8 MPH	5.9 MPH	5.7 MPH
	Cruising Speed	3.9 MPH	3.9 MPH	3.9 MPH
	Glide Ratio	1.8 Board-Lengths	1.8 Board-Lengths	1.9 Board-Lengths
		Check Price	Check Price Read Review	Check Price Read Review

In our testing it doesn’t look like the V-Hull really gives any notable advantage in speed or efficiency. It’s very possible that the V-Hull might work better in certain conditions, but it’s not a very testable hypothesis. These small changes in shape are almost impossible to actually test in the field as there are so many other environmental and paddler factors happening at once.

I also have a feeling that if the V-Hull were truly impactful for efficiency and speed, we’d see Red Paddle Co implementing it on their Elite Series racing iSUPs, but they are not.

That being said, it’s also not hurting anything! The 12’6” Voyager has great speed and efficiency for an expedition touring paddle board and is certainly fun to paddle at any speed.

Red Paddle Co 12’6” Voyager iSUP Review – Maneuverability and Tracking

The 12’6” Voyager is built for long-distance paddling and as such has absolutely leaned into its straight line tracking performance over its maneuverability.

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We put every board we test through a maneuverability stress test to highlight the differences between board designs. There are tons of ways to turn a paddle board with some being more efficient than others. The basic forward sweep stroke is what most people will use to turn whether they know it or not. This arcing stroke goes from the nose of the board to the tail and is not very efficient for large turns. So we use it to turn a full 360° and count how many strokes it takes.

The 12’6” Voyager needs an average of 14.5 forward sweep strokes to turn in a full circle from a standstill. That’s a very large turning radius, and it was difficult to make the full turn as the twin fins worked quite hard to keep the board moving as straight as possible. However, when working against the fins with a reverse sweep stroke, the Voyager spun much quicker with just 4.5 strokes on average.

While the maneuverability and agility of this board is quite low with basic strokes, it does still respond well to steering input and can turn up to 90° with relative ease. Stepping back to the tail for a pivot turn was comfortable, stable, and smooth, spinning the board around in about two strokes.

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While the 12’6” Voyager struggles to turn quickly, those twin fins make it almost too easy to paddle straight. In our tracking stress test we take 10 paddle strokes on a single side of the board and measure the difference between our original target and new course at the end of the 10th stroke. The 12’6” Voyager deviated an average of just 6° in 10 strokes. That’s excellent performance even for narrower dedicated touring paddle boards.

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The 12’6” Voyager has twin Universal Standard (US) fin boxes and comes with two 8” rigid touring-style fins. This twin fin system does an excellent job of keeping the board moving straight. However I do wonder why Red Paddle Co went with a twin fin system rather than a single fin system like nearly every other touring SUP? Obviously the tracking performance is great, but it’s not unique to this board. Many single-fin designs perform just as well with a single 9” fin. Further, the two fins are toed-in toward the midline of the board. This fin angle plus the double fin boxes and extra frontal surface area generate additional drag when paddling on flat water. Fin toe is an element that is specifically for performance while surfing – something this board is not really intended for. Nor is the 12’6” Voyager a compact board that is folded in half lengthwise before rolling away, so it doesn’t need to have this split design.

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The 12’6” Voyager does have excellent tracking performance with its current fin system, however I would be curious to know why this system was chosen rather than a simpler single-fin system.

Red Paddle Co 12’6” Voyager iSUP Review – Warranty and Customer Support

Red Paddle Co. offers a 5 year warranty on all of their iSUPs, however you must register your board within 3 months of purchase in order for the warranty to take effect. Because Red Paddle Co is primarily a retail brand, return periods will vary based on your chosen retailer. Green Water Sports provides a 30 day return period for unused equipment. If you purchase directly from Red you’ll also have a 30 day return period for unused equipment. If you have any questions about the 12’6” Voyager or any other Red Paddle Co product you can reach Red via their website chat, email, webform, or phone. You can also reach out to Green Water Sports via their website chat, webform, email or phone.

Red Paddle Co 12’6” Voyager iSUP Review – Overall Impressions/Review Summary

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The Red Paddle Co 12’6” Voyager is a fantastic option for expedition style paddling. It’s also a great choice for anyone who wants a faster, better-tracking paddle board but doesn’t want to lose the comfortable stability of an all-around SUP. It has enough capacity to paddle with a passenger or pet, or load it up for a week-long coastal tour. It’s fast, efficient, built to last, and an absolute joy to paddle. Are there some things that I’d change about this paddle board if I had a magic wand? Sure, but none of them are enough to stop me from recommending it as a great choice for distance paddling.

Red Paddle Co 12’6” Voyager iSUP Review – FAQ