What Are The Benefits Of Red Paddle RSS Battens?

Here at Red Paddle Co, we pride ourselves on leading the way with the latest SUP innovations. One of our most important technologies is our patented Rocker Stiffening System, or RSS. Unique to Red Paddle Co, our RSS battens enhance the performance, safety and durability of our boards. How do they manage this? Let’s start by answering the basics.

What Are Red Paddle Co RSS Battens?

Red Paddle Co RSS battens are a proprietary system for increasing the stiffness of inflatable paddle boards. They are made from high strength polycarbonate (that’s also recyclable) which makes them extremely durable. Quite literally, you could bend them any which way, without the risk of them breaking so if you forget to remove them when rolling up your board there is no risk of them breaking and damaging your board. 

They essentially work by spreading the load of the rider across a much greater surface area so you can take more weight on board with little impact on performance. It’s like eskimos wearing snow shoes to spread their load when walking on snow, the battens disperse the load and reduce the impact of the rider. 

The battens are inserted into specially built pockets in the rails of the board. This simple addition increases the stiffness of our boards by up to 40%. For example, using Red Paddle Co RSS battens with our 100mm/3.93" boards (excluding 9’4") brings them up to the same stiffness as our 120mm/4.72" boards, without compromising their manoeuvrability. 

Why Is Board Stiffness Important?

So we’ve talked a lot about how Red Paddle Co RSS battens increase the stiffness of our boards, but you may be wondering why this is so important. Well, quite simply put, it’s all about performance. The less deflection there is in your board the more efficient and faster it will be allowing you to paddle further, for longer. 

Also as it increases stiffness this also means for lighter riders you require less pressure in the board to achieve a good level of rigidity reducing pumping time and increasing time on the water. 

It’s the RSS battens that help to make Red paddle boards unrivalled in manoeuvrability and speed.

How To Fit Red Paddle RSS Battens

Now that we’ve covered what RSS battens are and why they’re so important, let’s take a look at how they’re fitted. Luckily, this won’t take long to explain as the battens couldn’t be easier to fit to your Red Paddle board! The pockets which the battens slot into are built specifically to the highest quality. Each pocket is built separately before being laminated to the board to ensure the very best fit and performance. So how is the batten fitted into the pocket?

1. Pump you board so it just has some shape to it (around 1 psi)
2. Put the board on its side
3. Line the edge of the batten up to the batten pocket
4. Place your hand approx 6 inches from the end of the batten pocket
5. Push the batten into the pocket using short pushes (you can use vaseline or silicone spray as a lubricant)
6. Secure with the velcro tab
7. Finish pumping up your board to the desired pressure.