As the sport of stand-up paddleboarding continues to explode, the number of companies debuting boards here at the show has naturally grown exponentially. But of the dozens we saw and paddled at demo day, the race-ready Puma Laird was by far the most distinctive. To create the 14-foot board, Puma and Surftech recruited two A-listers, legendary waterman Laird Hamilton and Juan Kouyoumdjian, the designer of two champion Volvo Open 70 sailboats. The results are pretty cool: It’s the first SUP to mimic boat hull design which, combined with its ultralight carbon-fiber body, are sure to make it one of the fastest boards on the water. Available January 2012.
The Puma Laird Board was one of our editor’s 10 picks for Gear of the Show at Outdoor Retailer’s summer show, 2011. Click here to see the rest.
