Hala Gear Atcha 86 iSUP Review
Pros
- Extreme agility for whitewater play
- High quality construction and materials for reliable use on whitewater year after year
- StompBox fin system allows you to use a larger fin that retracts into the board on impact
- Excellent choice for smaller paddlers or anyone who wants a playful and more surfable whitewater SUP
- 5-year warranty and excellent customer service
Cons
- Does not come with a paddle, however Hala’s paddles are great for use on the river
- Smaller shape is very playful, but not as beginner friendly for most paddlers as the larger Hala Atcha 96
The Hala Atcha 86 is a Whitewater SUP built to make every eddy and wave a part of your river playground.
Hala’s world-famous Atcha series whitewater SUPs are high-performance paddling machines. The Atcha 96 is a classic whitewater board known for its stability and do-it-all design. The Atcha 86 takes the same shape and profile, reduces the length and width, and offers that same level of performance in an easier to use package for smaller paddlers, and makes a fantastic river play board for larger paddlers.
The scaled-down design offers superb agility while still feeling confident as you paddle through larger whitewater features. The construction is tough as nails, and the StompBox fin box lets you use a larger fin without the risk of getting caught on rocks and other submerged hazards while paddling.
We think the Hala Atcha 86 would be a great SUP for:
- Intermediate and Advanced whitewater paddlers looking for ultimate whitewater river play SUP
- Smaller new whitewater paddlers who want an iSUP that can grow with them as their skills improve without being overly large and harder to manage on and off the water
Hala Atcha 86: Spec Sheet
- Board Categories: Whitewater / Rivers Class II+
- Listed Board Dimensions: 8’6 x 34 x 6”
- Measured Board Dimensions: 8’6” x 34.5” x 6 “
- Listed Board Weight: 24 lbs
- Actual Board Weight (board + finbox, inflated): 26 lbs
- Listed recommended Capacity: 255 lbs
- Listed max capacity: None
- Recommended PSI: 18 psi
- Fins: Retractable flexi 9” dolphin center fin, plus 2 side fins.
- Paddle: Optional
- Board Shell Construction Materials: Double layer fusion, with welded rails
- Drop-stitch type: Woven
- Price Range: High
- Warranty: 30-day refund (unused), 5-year full warranty
Performance Review of the Hala Atcha 86 Stand Up Paddle Board
Overall Score: 9.6/10
- Stability: 9.2/10
- Speed & Attaining: 8.6/10
- Agility: 10
- Waves & Drops: 9.4/10
- Construction Quality: 9.5/10
- Features/Accessories: 9.4/10
Since the Hala Atcha 86 is a highly specialized paddleboard, we’ve adjusted our rating system to reflect its intended purpose rather than trying to squeeze it into our framework for reviewing all-around and other flatwater-designed boards.
Stability: [9.2/10]
The stability score shown here is based on comparative performance to other whitewater paddleboards, rather than all paddleboards we’ve reviewed.
The Atcha 86 is not what we’d call a traditionally stable paddle board, even though it is 34” wide. The short length and high rocker give this a feel that is unlike any flatwater board. If you are experienced on flatwater boards, you might find the Atcha 86 to feel a little twitchy or squirrely, but when it comes to its overall stability on the river, the Atcha 86 is a very confident platform. That is especially true for smaller paddlers who will appreciate the scaled down design rather than using an overly-large whitewater board.
If you try to judge the Atcha 86’s stability strictly on how it feels when you are standing straight up on flat water, you are also missing out on the bigger picture here. The overall shape of the board and its continuous rocker profile give you very consistent stability when tilt the board on its edge to carve in and out of eddies or shift your weight forward or back to adjust the board’s trim as you navigate through waves and holes.
Now, this is a smaller board, so paddlers over 160-180 pounds might feel that it’s a little on the small side, especially if you are using it for harder and larger whitewater runs. But those same paddlers will also appreciate its sporty feel when working through their local Class II and Class III runs in order to play and use every feature (a practice method that is not only fun, but helps improve your ability to paddle harder whitewater).
Bill’s experience as a SUP Surfer also led him to feel right at home on the Atcha 86. He’s used to the feel of a smaller board that is highly responsive to his input when shifting his weight and moving positions.
Speed & Attaining: [8.6/10]
The score given above is a comparative rating to other whitewater paddleboards, but not in comparison to other types of SUPs.
The Atcha 86 is one of the shorter whitewater boards out there (though for a brief time Hala even made an Atcha 7’11”!) That shorter water line does reduce some of the speed performance of the Atcha 86, but mostly impacts how easy it is to paddle upstream.
Paddling speed
The lighter weight of the Atcha 86 does make it quick to accelerate with just a few strokes – which is great for getting that last burst of momentum before paddling through a large wave or blasting out of a small eddy. Sustained speed is a bit harder to manage, though, so if you are competing in a whitewater SUP race, you’ll want to weigh the improved agility of this board against its overall speed depending on the type of race (slalom vs downriver).
Attaining Up River
Paddling up river is not just a good workout, but it’s an important skill to reposition yourself on the river when setting up to paddle through different parts of a rapid. It can mean the difference between hitting the green tongue of a Class III constriction on one side of the river or getting pulled into a washing machine of a hole on the other side.
While the Atcha 86 can maneuver across the current and paddle upstream for short sections at a time, it’s not the most effective at attaining back up the river more than a few board lengths. The shorter size and high rocker of the board means it turns much easier with every paddle stroke and doesn’t have the same level of paddling efficiency as something like the Hala Radito.
Agility: [10/10]
Making tight maneuvers and controlled river crossings is a critical skill for any whitewater paddler and can be greatly impacted by board and fin design.
Turning
I’m not exaggerating when I say this is the most agile iSUP on the water. The continuous rocker profile keeps just about three to four feet of the board length in contact with the water at any given time making it super easy to spin around with sweep and draw strokes from either side of the board. Stepping back all the way onto the tail will lift even more of the board out of the water and let you quickly snap turns with just a flick of your arms.
Tilting the Atcha 86 onto its rail lets the board seamlessly carve into and out of eddies while still keeping a solid feeling of stability under your feet. All of this agility performance makes the Atcha 86 super playful on the river letting you easily move around and through rock gardens, get dizzy pivot-turning out of eddies, and of course working turns while surfing standing waves and holes.
Ferrying
Ferrying back and forth across the river is a skill much like attaining – it’s crucial for setting yourself up in a different position on the river without moving downstream. Also like attaining, a board’s ferrying ability is tied pretty heavily to its waterline length, but also its fin setup. By keeping your board at just the right angle and tilt you can cross the river current from side to side with just a few paddle strokes and without moving downriver.
The Atcha 86 uses Hala’s patented StompBox fin system that uses a fin box insert in your board to hold a spring-loaded fin. The fin stays down in the water column until you run into a rock or other submerged object and then retracts into the board changing its depth from 9”, with the stock fin, to less than 1” letting you slide over the object and barely even feel it. That 9” fin provides a lot of drive and control in the water.
While ferrying I felt that the Atcha 86 was a little tricky to keep pointed exactly where I wanted it. The easy-turning size and shape of the board meant that each paddle stroke would turn the board a little more than I planned, and if I turned too far into the current, the large fin would grab in the water and spin the board to face directly upstream. With lots of practice I was able to work with this, but I never felt as confident with my ferries as I did with the Hala Radito or Hala Atcha 96. I think switching to the shorter StompBox fin (sold separately) would help improve the consistency of the Atcha 86’s ferrying performance, even though it might actually reduce its overall tracking ability.
Waves & Drops: [9.4/10]
You can’t have whitewater without gravity! How well a SUP handles sudden changes in elevation (both down and up) is vital for whitewater performance.
The Atcha 86 shares the same design DNA as the Atcha 96, just in a smaller form factor. It’s equally at home running through big waves and big drops, especially for smaller paddlers. Larger paddlers with more experience will find it to be a playful and entertaining board, especially when paddling through your home turf Class II and III runs.
Both Bill and I could feel that the Atcha 86 does have a little less overall stability than the Atcha 96 when paddling through various whitewater features, but not as much as you might expect. The shorter length slides down and back up wave troughs faster and has to punch through the wave less because of it. When it does punch through, the pointed nose slides into the wave face without slamming you to a stop and the wider shoulders resurface the board quickly.
The StompBox fin lets you slide over shallow pourovers without worrying about catching and throwing you, though if you are running the included 4.5” side fines as well you will still have that minimum depth to consider.
Construction Quality: [9.5/10]
All iSUPs may appear to be very similar in how they’re built, but this is far from the truth. There are three main areas of construction to consider when you’re comparing paddleboards. What’s happening on the inside, how the top and bottom outer skin are constructed, how the sides of the board are constructed. Some boards also have additional stiffening mechanisms or materials added to give the board further rigidity.
Hala has always been focused on building their boards with the highest quality materials for the job. The Atcha 86 takes into account both new materials/technology and the unique needs of a whitewater SUP.
Inside the board
The drop stitch core uses a woven fabric base layer, but rather than opting for the ultralight cross-woven stitching, Hala uses a traditional V-stitching. It’s still extremely rigid and the slightly higher weight helps maintain your momentum while paddling through whitewater.
Top and Bottom Skin
The outer skin is a dual-layer fusion PVC laminate for greater rigidity and durability to combat river rash and the other hazards of whitewater paddling. They also install a wide PVC stringer on the deck to help stiffen the board further.
Rail construction
Hala heat-welds their rails for maximum durability and longevity. This process involves both a chemical glue and a mechanical bonding process for the inner rail. The outer rail layer is more reinforced PVC that wraps around the entire board and covers the top and bottom rail connections for even more protection.
Overall
The Atcha 86 has a durable, rigid, and well-built construction designed to handle the rigors of whitewater paddleboarding for many seasons.
Board Stiffness:
Because of the Atcha 86’s shorter length and high rocker, we did not put it through our standard bend test. However, the Atcha 86 shares the exact same construction as the Atcha 96, which did very well in our bend test with just 1.22” of deflection. We also felt that the Atcha 86 performs excellently on the water with no noticeable flex or bounce while paddling.
To ascertain the rigidity of each board we review, we use our own specific laboratory bend test process. The board is inflated to its maximum recommended PSI and then placed across two sawhorses positioned exactly 7 feet apart. We then measure the distance from the middle of the board to the floor. Then, we place a 150 lb weight on the middle top of the SUP, and measure the distance to the floor again. The difference between the two measurements shows the deflection, or ‘sag’, that the board has experienced due to the added weight. We have been reviewing the stiffness of boards using this technique since 2021 and while it isn’t an exact replication of the weight distortion that occurs when a rider stands on a SUP board in the water, it still gives a very useful comparative tool in determining the stiffness of the board’s construction process.
Features/Accessory Review: [9.4/10]
Features:
The Hala Atcha 86 is designed first as a whitewater / whitewater play SUP. It’s built with just enough of the right kind of features to do everything you need it to for a fun day on the river. If you are looking for a more feature-rich whitewater SUP, I would recommend the Hala Radito as it is designed to carry more equipment for longer trips.
The deck pad covers the majority of the Atcha 86 with a high-traction diamond groove texture. This gives you a very confident feeling when wearing protective footwear on the river (which you absolutely should). The tail of the deck pad has a raised indexing groove to tell you where your foot is on the board without looking. It took me a bit of thought to feel this pad through my river shoes, but I did notice it when repositioning my foot. The pad ends with a large raised kick pad to prevent you from accidentally stepping off the back of the board and for additional control while standing over the tail.
The only feature built into the standing area of the Atcha 86 is the lay-flat center carrying handle. This gives you plenty of room to freely move your feet around on the board, and the thinner handle profile will quickly lay against the deck of the board if you step on it.
At the very front of the deck pad there are two fabric rigging points and two more lay flat handles. The handles offer you a way to hold onto the board while kneeling through particularly gnarly sections of the river, and as a way to control and maneuver the board, and make it easier to get back on, after falling off. The rigging points can be used to tie down a small item within easy reach (like a water bottle) or can be used to extend the size of the front cargo area. Soft rigging points, instead of stainless steel D-rings, are a safer alternative for whitewater paddlers both in case of falling on them and reducing the ability for fingers and other items to get stuck in them during a fall.
The front cargo area is relatively small with a single bungee cord tied between four more soft rigging points. But, there is plenty of room for small and medium size dry bags to carry your river essentials (water, snacks, safety equipment, etc). The inflation valve is located at the nose of the board to make more room at the tail for the deck pad and to make it easier to deflate and roll your board at the end of the day. There are also carrying handles at both the nose and the tail.
What I do wish the Atcha 86 had is an integrated action camera mount on the nose of the board to make it easy to capture all of your whitewater adventures.
On the bottom of the Atcha 86 you’ll find two FCS/Two-Tab style fin boxes and a large cavity for the StompBox fin box insert. After adding just enough air to give the board its shape, simply slide the StompBox fin box into the cavity and under the front flap. As the board inflates to its final pressure the pressure of the board itself and a few hard foam wedges keep the fin box securely in place.
Included Accessories:
The Hala Atcha 86 comes with a basic set of high-quality accessories. Along with the board you get a nice duffel-opening roller backpack sized to fit the Atcha 96, a double-action hand pump, basic repair kit, two 4.5” flex fins with a fin key, and the StompBox fin box with a 9” fin pre-installed.
Hala does not include a paddle with the Atcha 86, nor do they offer their paddle at a discount when bundled with the board. While it would be nice to see a bundle discount, I also appreciate that Hala doesn’t burden you with being forced to buy their own paddle with each board. However, the Hala Grafik and Lock and Load Grafik make excellent whitewater and river paddles. The carbon fiber shafts and 7-layer composite blades are durable and provide plenty of power and control on the river.
Summary Review of the Hala Atcha 86
The Hala Atcha 86 is a niche board in a niche sport, and I think every whitewater paddler would benefit from having one!
The smaller size is well-suited to smaller paddlers who don’t want to be pushing a 36” wide board down the river, but still want that hard-charging performance. Larger and more experienced river paddlers can benefit from the Atcha 86 by both improving their overall board handling skills on this agile river runner, and by focusing on turning your home runs into all-out playgrounds.
If you have any questions or comments please let us know below!
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