Hobie has been one of the most recognizable names in boating, ever since they started making sailing catamarans and surfboards in the ‘50s. And they’ve changed with the times, making increasingly popular paddleboards and SUPs for the past 20 years or so. That’s when they invented their MirageDrive, a propulsion system where you use your legs to drive fins under the boat.
Here’s a story from The Manual about five new changes to Hobies’ lineup of boats and boards, but the one I like most is the Mirage Eclipse, a SUP with an improved MirageDrive that looks like a lot of fun and costs $1,899. Hobie says that using the Mirage Eclipse is easier than walking; you just climb on and go; the large MirageDrive fins push you forward. The Mirage Eclipse is not a paddleboard; it’s a pedalboard.
On the Mirage Eclipse, you hold on to the handlebars and pump the pedals, as if you were on a StairMaster. The idea is that by using the big muscles in your legs, as opposed to the smaller muscles in your arms, you can go farther and longer on the pedalboard than you could on a paddleboard.
The Mirage Eclipse is 10’ 6” long, 33.5” wide, and it can hold 225 pounds. The hull weighs 43.2 pounds; fully rigged, the pedalboard weighs 54 pounds. See a video of the Mirage Eclipse in action, below, or read more:
