Starboard 10’8” iGO Deluxe Paddle Board Review – Overview
The Starboard 10’8” iGO Deluxe is a high quality, excellently performing, cruiser style iSUP for paddlers of all sizes. The tapered shape and wide size provide beginner-friendly stability while still being a playful board for advanced paddlers. Though it is light on built-in features, the 10’8 iGO Deluxe is built not only to last, but to grow with you.
— Starboard 10’8” iGO Deluxe Paddle Board Review Summary and Ratings —
Starboard 10’8” iGO Deluxe Paddle Board
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Construction & Durability
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Features and Versatility
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Stability
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Speed
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Maneuverability
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Tracking
Overall Score
The 10’8” iGO Deluxe has excellent construction and performance.
Pros
- Excellent construction quality is extremely rigid and durable
- Welded rails allow for higher internal pressure without the worry of glue degradation
- Classic all-around shape is both easily maneuverable and tracks very well
- Includes shoulder strap and paddle holder for easy carry
- Starboard’s environmental commitment includes bags, fins and other accessories made from recycled materials and 10x carbon offset for the production of the paddle board
Cons
- The 10’8 iGO Deluxe does not come with a paddle, however Starboard has a wide range of paddles available at different budget and performance levels
- There are not many built-in features on the board, so mounting accessories to the board can be difficult.
Starboard 10’8” iGO Deluxe Paddle Board Review – Construction and Durability
Starboard offers three basic construction types for its inflatable paddle boards. The 10’8 iGO Deluxe uses Starboard’s Deluxe Single Chamber construction for a high quality, lightweight, and mid-price build. However, the 10’8 iGO is available in Starboard’s Zen and Deluxe Double Chamber construction as well.
The Deluxe Single Chamber (DSC) construction starts with a woven drop stitch core. As the name suggests, woven cores use woven fabric materials for the base layers of the core. By weaving the yarns instead of knitting them, like in a standard knitted core, the fabric is lighter weight because it uses less material, and the straighter warp and weft yarns make the fabric more rigid as well. These top and bottom fabric layers are joined together with thousands of drop stitched yarns to keep the iGo flat and rigid while inflated.
The outer PVC shell of the board is made with a single Fusion lamination process that uses heat and pressure to physically bond the PVC to the fabric layers of the drop stitch core. This eliminates glue between the core and the shell making the board lighter and more rigid by physically bonding the layers together.
The top and bottom of the board are then connected with a heat-welded interior seam. Like the fusion process, heat welding again eliminates glue and creates a mechanical bond essentially turning the entire board into one continuous piece of reinforced PVC material.
The inner rail layer is then covered with a high density PVC outer rail and finally a seam reinforcement strip (also made with reinforced PVC) on the top edge of the outer rail band.
By using a woven core, fusion laminate materials, and welded rails the Starboard 10’8 iGO Deluxe weighs just 20 pounds, but has a maximum recommended inflation pressure of 18 PSI.
Between the stiffer materials and high internal pressure, the 10’8 iGO Deluxe has some seriously impressive rigidity. In our bend test, the iGO Deluxe bent just 1.18” with 170 pounds of weight placed on the standing area. That is almost a half-inch stiffer than our current running average of 1.6”.
On the water, the iGO Deluxe performs equally as well. I can’t feel any bending or flexing while standing on the iGO or while paddling, even when paddling with more effort at higher speeds.
I could feel a little bit of vibration while walking on the board, but very little. Bouncing did produce a mild-to-moderate amount of flex with a slight springiness in the rebound as it settled back down.
Overall I’d say the Starboard 10’8 iGO Deluxe has excellent rigidity on the water. I never felt that any amount of flex or vibration in the board impacted any type of paddling I did on the board.
Specifications
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 10’ 8” |
| Width | 33“ |
| Thickness | 6“ |
| Weight | |
| Max Capacity | 265 pounds |
| Board Weight | 20 pounds |
| Kit Weight (SUP & accessories) | 30 pounds |
| Buying Info | |
| List Price | $1099 |
| Warranty | 2 years |
| Returns period | 30 days |
Starboard 10’8” iGO Deluxe Paddle Board Review – Features, Accessories and Versatility
The Starboard 10’8 iGO Deluxe is a classic cruiser-style iSUP with a minimalist feature set designed to focus on paddling over other activities. While it does not have any fancy accessory mounting points, the 10’8 iGO is still well-stocked for a day of fun on the water.
Like the minimalist feature set, the 10’8 iGO Deluxe Single Chamber comes with a basic, but high-quality, set of accessories. Along with the paddleboard itself, you also get:
- Starboard Re-Cover roller backpack made with recycled plastic bottles
- Single-chamber hand pump
- Stretchable flat leash
- 8” Net-Positive surf/all-around style fin made from recycled fishing nets
- Padded shoulder strap
- Basic repair kit
This core set of accessories are ready to get you on the water, however you will need to add a paddle along with your PFD/Lifejacket. Starboard offers a huge variety of paddles with different shapes, sizes, and price points.
Starboard 10’8” iGO Deluxe Paddle Board Review – Paddle
The 10’8 iGO Deluxe does not automatically come with a paddle in the kit. We tested and reviewed the iGO Deluxe with Starboard’s three piece Lima Tufskin paddle.
The Lima Tufskin paddle is a high quality, durable, and affordable paddle option to go with your Starboard 10’8 iGO Deluxe. This paddle uses the same blade shape as Starboard’s venerated Lima racing paddle. Rather than being made from expensive and delicate prepreg carbon fiber, the Lima Tuffskin blade is made with impact-resistant ABS plastic.
This does make the Tufskin significantly heavier than the prepreg carbon paddle, but also around ¼ of the cost! The blade has a rectangular shape with a moderately deep concave and double-dihedral shaping on the power face. This type of shape does several things very well. First the cupped shape is easy for beginner paddlers to see how the blade should be oriented while paddling. The cupped shape and “pocket” formed by the dihedral ridges also help lock the paddle in the water to reduce fluttering, wandering, and slipping to increase paddling efficiency. Lastly, the rectangular blade is medium sized and fits most paddlers well while allowing you to paddle at a casual cruising pace or a faster fitness pace.
The paddle shaft is made with carbon fiber to help reduce weight and give the Lima a stiffer and more powerful feel in the water compared to fiberglass. The blade and shaft sections join together with a bias-cut ferrule and push-button spring clip for a very solid fit. It took me a minute to get the two back apart!
The handle section is also made with carbon fiber and has a printed length scale for easy adjustments. However it does not have any automatic indexing mechanism, so you’ll need to make sure the handle is aligned with the paddle blade after you change the length. The palm grip is made with a heavy duty plastic and has a slight ‘U’ shape on top. Whenever I start paddling with this grip I feel the corners of the handle pressing into my hand (rather than falling away as in most handle grips), however after just a few minutes I no longer notice it.
The overall feeling in the water with the Lima Tufskin is great. It’s well balanced in your hands and it catches in the water wonderfully. It’s a great option that matches well with the all-around paddling design of the Starboard 10’8 iGO Deluxe.
Starboard 10’8” iGO Deluxe Paddle Board Review – Stability
The Starboard 10’8 iGO Deluxe has excellent stability thanks to its generous shape and rigid construction.
Starboard’s Deluxe construction helps make the 10’8 iGO wonderfully stable. I didn’t notice any flex, rolling, or twitching while standing and paddling normally on the iGO DSC. That same rigidity and stability were present while paddling fast, walking on the board, and even when standing on the tail to lift the nose for a pivot turn. While there was some flex in the board when jumping on it, I never noticed it during regular paddling activities.
Even holding the board on its edge and rocking it side to side was easy and smooth feeling. The wide nose and medium-width tail help keep the board feeling consistent as it moves on the water and as you move around on the deck.
The deck pad is made with a diamond texture EVA foam that provides a lot of traction and is comfortable on bare skin. At the rear of the board, the deck pad has a few grooves cut into it and a raised kick pad. This helps you know exactly where you are standing on the board without needing to look at your feet and helps prevent you from accidentally slipping off the back of the deck while using the tail.
Overall I am really pleased with the 10’8 iGO Deluxe’s stability and feel that it would work very well for beginners up to 220 pounds and more experienced paddlers up to the maximum recommended rider weight of 265 pounds.
Starboard 10’8” iGO Deluxe Paddle Board Review – Speed
The Starboard 10’8 iGO Deluxe has a very typical speed profile for a cruiser-style iSUP and adds to that with a smooth and efficient glide.
In our sprinting tests, the Starboard 10’8 iGO DSC performed well and fully up to our expectations given its size and shape. Cruiser style iSUPs like the iGO aren’t typically known for their speed, but the well-planned shape and quality construction help the iGO move along easily.
At a sprinting pace, I could keep the 10’8 iGO moving along at a brisk 5.0 MPH on average, and I was able to reach a maximum speed of 5.4 MPH. While not as fast as boards like the Starboard Generation or All Star (a dedicated racing board), this is still a good result for this sub-eleven foot cruiser. The Deluxe Single Chamber construction also prevented the iGO from any notable flex that would detract from its speed and glide.
At a more comfortable cruising pace of around 25 strokes per minute, the 10’8 iGO Deluxe kept an impressive 3.6 MPH average speed. This is a great result for a 33” wide cruiser-style paddle board.
Enhancing its cruising speed is the iGO’s great gliding efficiency. The whole time paddling the board I felt that it moved very smoothly across the water without feeling like it was pushing through or abruptly accelerating or decelerating. Our efficiency testing showed the 10’8 iGO DSC traveled an average of between 19-20 feet per stroke before slowing down, giving it a gliding ratio of 1.8 board-lengths per stroke. While it’s not as efficient as a (much narrower) touring iSUP, the iGO is definitely one of the more efficient cruiser-style iSUPs we’ve tested. Even proving more efficient than many narrower all-around boards as well.
Starboard 10’8” iGO Deluxe Paddle Board Review – Maneuverability and Tracking
The Starboard 10’8 iGO Deluxe strikes a really good balance between maneuverability and tracking performance for a high quality paddling experience in just about any situation.
In our maneuverability test we pit boards against each other in a stress test to see how they stack up. We paddle in a complete circle from a standstill using only forward-sweep strokes – a relatively inefficient turning stroke that helps highlight the various strengths and weaknesses between boards.
The 10’8 iGO DSC did well in our maneuverability test, and needed an average of just 6.25 strokes to make a complete circle. This is pretty much right on average for our testing, but is a little bit slower than many similar size/shape cruiser-style paddle boards.
Of course using more efficient turning strokes sends the 10’8 iGO in circles much faster. Reverse sweep strokes complete the same turn in just four paddle strokes on average, and stepping back to the tail for a pivot turn can get you turned fully around in under two strokes.
The 33” width and generously curving profile of the 10’8 iGO make it easy to get to the back of the tail for these pivot turns, and the increased traction on the deck pad and medium-size tail help keep the board feeling very stable when lifting the nose and turning rapidly.
While the tail of the board does draw in significantly from the maximum width, it does so very smoothly. As you walk to the tail of the board the stability does decrease, but in a very predictable and consistent way without any sudden drops. This makes it a great board for learning and practicing pivot turns, particularly if you do want to be able to perform them on narrower boards in the future.
There is one Universal Standard (US) fin box on the tail of the 10’8 iGO Deluxe, but that’s all it needs. A well-designed board shape only needs a single fin box for flatwater paddling and even for use as a longboard style surfboard. Included with the iGO is an 8” surf-style or all-around style fin.
When I first saw the fin I was skeptical at its performance potential for tracking based on its size and shape, but I was ultimately proven wrong!
In our tracking stress test we take 10 paddle strokes on a single side of the board and measure the difference between our original course and new course. The 10’8 iGO Deluxe did extremely well and deviated an average of just 13°. That’s impressive even for all-around boards with 2+1 fin setups and larger fins, so to experience that on the 10’8 iGO made me really glad I didn’t put any money on my pre-paddling assessment!
Overall I am extremely happy with both the maneuverability and tracking performance of the Starboard 10’8 iGO Deluxe. It offers easy turning and easy tracking making it ideal for beginner and advanced paddlers alike.
Starboard 10’8” iGO Deluxe Paddle Board Review – Warranty and Customer Support
Starboard offers a two-year manufacturer’s warranty on their inflatable SUPs. Because Starboard does not currently sell direct to the consumer, paddlers must work with retailers (locally or online) to purchase their Starboard products and work with those retailers for any warranty issues. Any return policies are at the discretion of the individual retailer (or pertinent regulations for your area). Starboard is available for customer support via email, however most customer support questions should be directed to your chosen retailer.
Starboard 10’8” iGO Deluxe Paddle Board Review – Overall Impressions/Review Summary
The Starboard 10’8 iGO Deluxe Single Chamber is the quintessential cruiser SUP. It’s stable, smooth, quick to turn, and easy to track straight. The rigid construction and welded rails are durable and long-lasting, and the high quality performance can easily grow with you as a paddler. The iGO is a little light when it comes to built-in accessories, but more than makes up for this in how nice it feels to paddle. Combined with a great paddle like the Lima Tufskin or Enduro Carbon, and this is an all-around / cruiser SUP that will stay with you no matter where your paddling adventures take you.
Starboard 10’8” iGO Deluxe Paddle Board Review – FAQ
Can I bring a passenger or pet with me on the Starboard 10’8” iGO Deluxe?
You can bring a passenger or pet depending on their size. Beginner paddlers should be mindful of the recommended 265 pound weight limit and available space. Paddling with kids and pets is the best option, while paddling with an adult partner might be a little harder. For that we would recommend the 12’x33” iGO Deluxe.
Is the Starboard 10’8” iGO Deluxe good for fishing?
The 10’8 iGO Deluxe has great stability, which is very helpful for SUP fishing, however the small cargo area and lack of accessory attachment points make it less ideal for fishing.
Is the Starboard 10’8” iGO Deluxe a good value?
The 10’8 iGO Deluxe is a high quality cruiser-style paddle board. At its full retail price, the iGO Deluxe is quite expensive given that it does not include a paddle, however it is frequently on sale for up to 30% off, making it a fantastic value.
Should I get the Deluxe Single Chamber, Deluxe Double Chamber, or Zen construction?
Most paddlers will get the greatest benefit from Starboard’s Deluxe Single Chamber construction. It’s very rigid, without being overly heavy, and is a great value. Deluxe Double Chamber is more expensive, and the extra air chamber is really only needed if required by local regulation, it does not provide a noticeable performance improvement. The Zen construction is lighter weight and less expensive, but does not offer the same performance level of the DSC construction. We only recommend the Zen construction for paddlers under 150 pounds, but we still prefer the rigidity of the Deluxe Single Chamber.