Self-Inflating and Electric Jet-Powered SipaBoards Bring Fresh Notion of Summer Fun

As they say, necessity is the mother of all invention, and the story behind SipaBoards, a manufacturer of electric standup paddleboards, is a result of necessity. A few years ago, founder and CEO of SipaBoards, Sebastjan Sitar was out paddleboarding with his family when a set of strong currents almost carried them out to sea.

Understanding the danger paddleboards face, Sitar set out to design a product that would eliminate this occurrence. Thus, the idea of the SipaDrive was born, a system meant to assist paddleboards without affecting the health benefits of the activity. What is SipaDrive? Just to get a quick idea, it’s an electric jet propulsion motor mounted directly into a SipaBoard.

Allow me to back it up a bit and talk about what a SipaBoard is exactly. Well, I feel it’s safe to say that you’ve caught on to the fact that SipaBoards are paddleboards. However, they are easy-to-use and set up self-inflating boards. And yes, they can perform just as well as a solid board.

That’s right, SipaBoards are self-inflating wonders that require less than eight minutes to inflate. While first-generation SipaBoards do exist, fresh second-generation boards are being launched on Kickstarter as of November 4th, 2021. Time to see what your 2022 summer may bring.

Now, to inflate your board, nothing more than the SipaDrive is used; no need to bring any other gear along, except the paddle, which also features a built-in remote to control what the driver does. Once everything is ready, it’s time to mount the SipaDrive back into the board, attach a control fin, and off you go.

As I mentioned, this jet propulsion is just strong enough to give you a slight push but still requires that you use your body and paddle to direct the board and keep moving. This helps to retain the health benefits of the exercise in progress. Sure, the video below does show a person just laying down on their board and enjoying the ride, but direction still needs to be influenced at some point.

With the Kickstarter launch that’s coming up, it also seems like a new e-drive is available as this one inflates the board in less than five minutes. Overall, a cruising speed of 2 knots (2.3 mph) is all you’ll need to help correct your adventure in case things get rough.

However, at full blast, the motor can reach 7 kph (4.35 mph), which should make the entire experience all the more fun. In case you missed the information from earlier, the SipaDrive is electric, making it 100% emission-free and functions on principles of jet propulsion. As for how long you can ride with a full charge, up to six hours of battery life is available.

Even though Sipa already includes an array of boards in their lineup, each one is meant to offer a different experience and can also be selected based on rider skill levels. The upcoming campaign will feature three new boards, each one with its own attributes.

So, how much is a SipaBoard going to cost you? Well, depending on your ride style, experience level, and budget, you can find prices starting at €1,690 ($1,960 at current exchange rates; Kickstarter Early Bird Special) for the least expensive Neo Drive board, which will be launched in November, all the way up to €2,650 ($3,074 at current exchange rates) for the Fisherman Drive board that Sipa has been running with for a while now.

If you’re into paddleboarding, then you may very well be aware of the dangers. If that’s the case, this is a small price to pay for a safer and more fun board; something to consider for your upcoming summer.