Indiana SUP Family Pack Touring 11’6” Review

In A Nutshell

The Indiana Family Pack is one of the most popular SUP sets in Switzerland. This is available in different versions e.g. as 10’6″ Allround- or Touringboard 11’6″ and 12’0 to have. 

Whoever is looking for a board suitable for the family, gets here a SUP which meets the most diverse requirements. It is suitable for beginners, thanks to good tipping stability. Robustly built, that it holds up loosely as a play device of the children. It offers enough buoyancy that two people or an adult and two children can be on the road without problems. And who likes it a little sporty, can undertake with this board, thanks to the excellent driving characteristics without any problem even longer tours. 

In addition to the impeccable build quality, we like the attention to detail on this board. Be it the paddle, which fits nicely in the hand, the Hyperflow fin, which does not get tangled in the seaweed or the backpack, which can be pulled behind with the paddle as a trolley. You can feel that Indiana is passionate about the SUP business. Check price and buy here

Pros and Cons

Specs of the Indiana Family Pack 2021

The length of 11’6″ corresponds to about 350 cm. With a width of 31″ (78 cm) and the sporty outer line, with the tapered nose, the board can very well be described as a touring board. These features combined with the straight underwater line lead to very good gliding properties, which invite to extended SUP tours.

But despite all these features, you can safely say that the board still has enough all-rounder qualities. Because also thanks to the large fin, the board offers enough tilt stability, so that even beginners feel comfortable on this SUP.

With the thickness of 6″ (15 cm), the total volume is 317 liters. Indiana specifies a rider weight of 60 -110 kg, which we think is about right. This means that you can use the ideal driving characteristics in this range. The maximum load, which other manufacturers usually specify, would be significantly higher for the Indiana boards. From there, the board can also be used by two people without any problems.

This versatile usability makes this SUP indeed very suitable for families. Children as well as adults, beginners as well as advanced, for all this board offers properties with which they will quickly feel comfortable on it.

Construction and quality of the Family Pack SUP 11.6

The Indiana Family Pack boards are made with a “Knitted Pre-Laminated Double Layer Dropstitch” material. Sounds complicated, it is ;-).

But we’ll try to explain it anyway. The Dropstich core is the basis for all inflatable SUPs. It is thousands of polyester threads that hold the top and bottom of the board together. When inflated, the board then gets its shape under pressure. On this tightly woven core, the two PVC layers are then laminated in the Fusion process. Fusion means that these layers are not glued as with most others, but laminated with heat.

This high-quality process then leads in conjunction with the 2 PVC layers (double layer) to a very robust and stiff board. This means that even under higher weight it will not bend in the water like a banana.

The double layer has the disadvantage that it is logically heavier than a single layer material. On the other hand, the Fusion process saves the weight of the glue, which leads to a respectable weight of the board of 10.2 kg. Even if it can’t keep up with the lightest boards on the market (in which Indiana is involved with the Feather line), we would classify the weight of the board in the good average of the available iSUPs.

When it comes to build quality, Indiana’s years of experience and pursuit of high-quality products is evident. Neither glue residue, bubbles nor other defects could we find on our test board. We had a very coherent overall impression. It seems extremely solid and manufactured to a high standard. The design of the board, which is minimalist and does not scream for attention with huge brand logos and lettering, also fits this impression.

Performance of the Indiana Family Pack SUP

The Indian boards stand out for their flat shape. That is, even in the front area of the board has virtually no curvature upwards, so no rocker. In addition, the board bends in the water even under load, thanks to the high-quality construction with double-layer fusion construction not a bit.

For these reasons, the underwater line of the Family Pack 11’6″ board is completely straight. In combination with the sporty pointy-tapered nose, the board cuts through the water very nicely. This ensures that a decent speed can be achieved for a board of this class. In addition to higher speed, this optimized water displacement also means that less energy is wasted when paddling. Thus, this SUP is also ideally suited for longer paddling and discovery tours.

Thanks to the large Hyperflow fin included, the board has a very good straight-line stability. This has the advantage that you have to change sides less while paddling. In addition to this keep in the track, the large fin also supports the board somewhat in the tilt stability. The width of 31″ (79 cm), we felt was enough tilt stability to recommend it to SUP beginners. Of course a 32″ or even 33″ wide SUP lies even more calm and stable in the water. But if the main use for the SUP is not exactly for yoga purposes, we find this Indiana Family Pack Board also ideal for beginners.

Because this combination of good tipping stability and beginner friendliness with the good glide for longer tours, allows beginners to grow with the board.

This versatility is what makes this board a real family SUP. It is like a classic all-round board for kids and beginners easy to handle but will also give a lot of pleasure to already experienced paddlers. Whether alone or in pairs, for leisurely cruising on the lake or longer tours on the river, the Indiana 11’6″ Family Pack SUP has its strengths in all areas.

Boardfeatures and Accessories

Indiana has been active in the stand up paddle industry for a long time. The brand’s many years of experience is fully reflected in the entire product line, which was launched in 2020. But also in 2021, these features, which the Indiana SUP 2.0 features calls still take a pioneering role. SUP 2.0 may sound a bit like robotics, that the boards drive by themselves to the next lake and inflate themselves there. unfortunately, the development is not quite there yet (possibly then at 3.0 ;-)). SUP 2.0 are rather small fine details, which show that Indiana listens to the feedback of their users. We had a lot of fun testing this board. Because you can literally feel the passion of Indiana for the SUP sport. That they are primarily concerned with offering good products rather than constantly maximizing profit margins.

The Family Pack 11’6″ SUP has a split fin box. This means that the attachment in which the fin is mounted consists of 2 individual parts. The advantage of this is that the SUP hull is easier to roll up and there is no risk of damage to the fin box.

The Family Pack comes with an 8.5″ polyamide fin. Already when you hold this in your hands, you feel that this plays in a completely different league than the plastic pieces of many competitors. The real innovation and one of these so-called SUP 2.0 features, lies in the shape of the fin. The shape is specially designed so that the fin is less tangled in the seaweed, without thereby neglecting the directional stability.

In the Fin Box, all fins with the US system can be used. In this system, the fin is usually anchored in the box by inserting a small plate and screws. The disadvantage of this system is that these small parts tend to get lost. Here, too, Indiana has come up with a system in which the small plate is permanently attached to the fin. The fins are still compatible with all US fin boxes, but without constantly losing these small parts. The assembly works tool-free in a few seconds, because the fin must only be pushed into the box and pressed down. Subsequently, the fin is fixed via a small wheel.

The board deck is provided with a high-quality EVA pad in crocodile pattern. When standing on it for a long time, the pad never feels uncomfortable, and even when wet, you always keep a good grip. Additional stability and a base almost like on a hardboard SUP gets the deck pad by additionally processed fiberglass in it.

As with the majority of SUPs, a luggage net is attached to various D-rings in the front area of the board. In addition, a towing eye and action cam mount with a ¼-thread is attached to the board tip. A camera can be easily attached to this with the matching thread adapter.

In the rear of the Indiana board is an additional carrying handle mounted. Again, a fine Indiana detail that was recognized based on customer feedback. Because many paddlers like to use the SUP to simply sunbathe outside on the lake from time to time, away from the hustle and bustle. That’s why Indiana has integrated a Velcro closure on this additional carrying handle, to which the paddle can be fixed. So you never run the risk of losing your paddle while lying relaxed on the water.

The included paddle is a high quality fiberglass paddle. Thanks to the shaft made of 100% fiberglass, it comes to a weight of just 850 g. On longer tours and thousands of paddle pulls, you’ll be glad for every gram saved. The paddle can be adjusted continuously from 175 cm to 215 cm. Another positive feature is the anti-twist function. This guarantees that the handle is always correctly aligned with the paddle blade. The blade is made of plastic and covered with a rubber edge, so that it is protected from dragging on the water bottom. There is also a rubber coating on the pommel, so that you always have a good grip even with wet hands.

Also included is a double-stroke pump. Double stroke means that air is pumped into the board both when pulling up and when pushing down. If the pumping towards the end becomes increasingly difficult, a small lever can be switched to single-stroke operation. This makes it easy to pump the Indiana Family Pack board to the target pressure of 15 PSI.

If you don’t feel like pumping by hand, Indiana also offers an electric pump. Powered by a rechargeable battery, it takes care of the tedious pumping up all by itself.

The Family Pack Set includes a high-quality backpack trolley, in which the board and all accessories can easily find their place. The fact that you can carry it as a backpack is practical but only suitable for shorter distances. In our test, we felt with the part on the back always like a school child on his first day of school, with far too large school bag. That is, the bag is somewhat oversized. Ok, it offers besides the board also still space for all other things which you want to take to the lake. From our point of view, however, it is a bit too big.

The integrated wheels, however, relativize this criticism again a bit. Because, thanks to this trolley function, the backpack can be easily pulled behind even over longer distances. Then the massive size does not stand out negatively. Another cool Indiana detail is the combination with the paddle. This can be inserted and fixed to the bag, so that the paddle works as a handle, as with a rolling suitcase.

A leash is unfortunately not included. We recommend this necessarily to buy after and always wear when paddling.

Our conclusion on the Indiana Touring Family Pack 11’6″

We fell a little in love with the Indiana 11’6″ Family Pack during testing. It is a great set with high quality accessories. The board itself can score with nice riding characteristics, great gliding capabilities and an excellent build quality. A board that can be used in many ways, as you would expect from a SUP which calls itself family suitable. Whether for longer tours, as a play island for the kids or paddling fun for two, with this SUP everything is possible.

However, we were most excited about the attention to detail from the manufacturer Indiana. Did they reinvent the sport of SUP with this? No for sure not. But it’s still nice to see that they listen to their customers’ feedback and strive to always make the paddling experience even easier and more enjoyable.