Sea Gods Cross Touring Inflatable Paddleboard
Pros
- Surprisingly great combo of all-around SUP + touring SUP
- Fantastic for someone who wants the stability and fun of an all-rounder but also some of the speed of a touring board
- Lightweight, but high-quality construction (woven drop-stitch, welded rails)
- Stunning artwork - just be aware that literally everyone is going to ask you where you got your board when they see it (that seriously happens to us every time we go to the lake with a Sea Gods board)
- Great kit that includes everything you need plus an extra long quick-dry towel you can use to dry off and protect your board
Cons
- The ‘tool-less’ fin works, but we have to put the plug in the most middle position in order to get it to click in, and that position isn’t as snug so we recommend using the included fin plate and screw
- The optional kayak seat leaves you sitting flat on the board. If you're not flexible (like me), you will want to find a way to elevate yourself. We’d love to see an inflatable kayak seat for other stiff-hipped paddlers.
The more we paddle the Sea Gods Skylla, the more it becomes one of our favorite all-around SUPs.
As we dove into our review of the Sea Gods’ Skylla Touring Cross, we didn’t fully know what to expect. At 11’ long, 33” wide, and a nose that tapers like a touring board, The Skylla is unique even when we compare it against other hybrid touring/all-around SUPs.
However, after paddling this board for 3 years we can confidently state that the Skyll Touring Cross SUP has become one of our favorites to recommend to the paddler who wants the:
- Playfulness of an all-around SUP
- Performance of a shorter touring board
- Stability of a wider SUP
- The most beautiful board on the lake or ocean
The Skylla Cross Touring iSUP hits the mark for a stable, yet speed capable and maneuverable hybrid board. It has lots of volume to fit a large range of paddler sizes and can serve as an adventure-touring SUP for paddlers who want more stability over more speed.
The Skylla also works well as a sporty cruiser for larger paddlers or paddling with a dog or kid. On top of that, the Skylla is lightweight, rigid, and durably constructed to serve as a ‘jack of all trades’ on the water.
It also doesn’t hurt that it’s got some gorgeous artwork on the bottom of the board, and it’s now available with three different colorways/artworks.
Sea Gods Skylla: Spec Sheet
This year Sea Gods is expanding the Skylla CX with two new color ways. In addition to the Drew Brophy edition, the Skylla CX is now available in a Playful Spirits (image above) and Leopard print design. As always, these are limited editions, so get them while supplies last but we do expect them to be in stock through the 2025 season.
- Board Category: All-Around / Touring Cross Hybrid
- Listed Board Dimensions: 11” x 33” x 6”
- Measured Board Dimensions:
- Listed Board Weight: 19.5 lbs
- Actual Board Weight (board only, not inflated):
- Listed Max Capacity: 350 lbs
- Recommended PSI: 14-18 (max 20)
- Fins: Single fin, Dolphin Style Kumano w/ FCS fin-box
- Paddle: 3-piece carbon fiber (handle), nylon blade
- Board Shell Construction Materials: Fusion PVC Laminate, heat-welded rails
- Drop-stitch type: Cross-Woven
- Price Range: Mid to High
- Warranty: Lifetime
Performance Review of the Skylla Cross Touring Stand Up Paddle Board
Overall Score: [x/10]
- Stability: 9.4/10
- Speed: 8.9/10
- Tracking: 9.2/10
- Maneuverability: 9.0/10
- Construction Quality: 9.8/10
- Features/Accessories: 9.3/10
Stability Rating: [9.4/10]
Being 11’ long and 33” wide, the Skylla has plenty of volume to give you a stable feel on the water. Though not quite as stable as the 34” Diatom by Sea Gods, the Skylla will still be a great option for novice paddlers worried about balance.
As an all-around/touring hybrid SUP, the Skylla has a more tapered nose to reduce surface area and drag on the water, allowing you to move a little faster than a true all-around, but its 33” width doesn’t force you to trade off stability.
The rigid construction of the Skylla also helps with stability in that it allows you to carry more weight without the board bending and feeling bouncy on the water. I have been able to paddle with my squirmy 8 year old child and still feel balanced and in control, at least when he’s not purposely trying to tip us over!
Speed Test: 9.6/10
| Board | |
| Top Sprint Speed: | 5.3 MPH |
| Average Cruising Speed: | 4.0 MPH |
To obtain our speed test results, we use a Speed Coach SUP 2 device from NK Sports. This gives us accurate real-time readings on how fast we are paddling and our stroke rates. For the top sprint speed, we paddle as hard as we can for approximately 10-15 seconds and then record our average speed. For the casual test, we paddle at 35-40 strokes per minute for approximately 30-60 seconds and record the average speed.
The Skylla performed better than expected in our speed test for an all-around/touring hybrid SUP. We were able to maintain a top speed of 5.3 MPH in our max speed test, and 4.0 MPH in our casual speed test.
Our key takeaways from the speed test were not necessarily how fast the board was, but how light and lively it felt on the water. This is one test where we deeply appreciate a rigid board with quality, yet still light-weight construction – and that’s exactly what the Skylla offers.
How does that compare vs the other Sea Gods SUPs in terms of speed? It was expectedly faster than the wider, more rounded, 10’6” x 34” Diatom, but slightly slower than the longer, narrower, 12’ x 32” Carta Marina touring SUP.
Tracking: 9.2/10
The Skylla performed above our expectations considering it’s an all-around/touring hybrid rather than a true, dedicated touring SUP. If your technique is 100% honed in, the Skylla is capable of tracking very well. If your technique is more loose, the Skylla will still track better than a classic all-around SUP.
Overall, the tracking on the Skylla isn’t going to be as good as Sea Gods dedicated touring boards (such as the Carta Marina or Ketos), but it tracks better than expected for a board that is 33″ wide.
Maneuverability: 9.0/10
The Skylla is a light 19.5 lbs so is pretty easy-going and quick on a casual turn just to change direction. Beginner paddlers will appreciate how lightweight the board is here.
For more intermediate and advanced paddlers, reverse sweep and pivot turns are as expected for an 11’ x 33” SUP that has a fairly square, wider tail and large hatchet fin. It’s a bit slow on a reverse sweep due to the larger fin, and does about average for a pivot turn.
One area of improvement Sea Gods could make would be to add a tail kick pad for those intermediate paddlers who are wanting to quickly step to the back of the board, plunge the tail, and do a pivot turn quickly. With the kick pad it will take you a second to figure out the proper place where your foot is directly above the fin.
Construction Quality: 9.8/10
The Skylla uses the latest, most up-to-date construction methods for inflatable SUP construction.
Instead of using linear drop stitch as the core of the Skylla, Sea Gods chose to use a cross-woven drop stitch.
What this means is that the thousands of threads holding the shape of the Skylla intact are oriented in ‘x’ patterns for higher rigidity when compared to linear drop stitch SUPs. This method of construction also uses less material, making for a lighter board. The evidence of this can be seen directly in the fact that both the older, non CX versions of the 10’6 x 34” Diatom and the 10’6 x 32” Elemental Wave are heavier than the 19.5 lb Skylla, despite being smaller boards.
Aside from the drop-stitch orientation, the remaining steps of the Skylla’s construction are consistent with the rest of Sea Gods’ line-up. The PVC layers are applied to the woven fabric layer via ‘fusion’, which bonds with heat instead of glue, hence their coined term ‘Ultra-light Fusion’. To seal the Skylla together, the rails are applied and molded with heat, and then reinforced even further with seam tape, to make for a durable board that Sea Gods confidently backs with their lifetime warranty.
To really get across how well the Sea Gods SUPs are built/ what they can endure, I’ll share with you a bit of anecdotal evidence from Allie, one of our past SUP testers. While we don’t typically intend to put our test boards through sketchy situations to try their durability, sometimes happy little accidents happen.
“My dog and I were paddling the Skylla in a slot canyon in Lake Powell when we got caught in a sudden wind storm. If you’re familiar at all with desert weather or Lake Powell, you’d know that wind storms hit hard and fast and this one easily picked up to 25+ mph. With the Skylla’s rigid construction, I was able to paddle through some serious white caps and do some knee surfing on the wake (to my dog’s dismay, of course). Once we reached a shoreline to rest and wait it out, I made the mistake of setting the lightweight Skylla down to fix my lifejacket and the wind sent this board absolutely flying. It was sliding across rocks, shells, tumbleweed fragments and finally stopped when it slammed into a sharp, rocky cut-out.
Most lesser quality boards in this situation would have popped or would have had too much flex for me to safely paddle myself and my pup out of that. Instead, the Skylla walked (or paddled?) away with only some (surprisingly minor) cosmetic damage. When the wind died down again and the water turned back to glass, we were able to hop on the Skylla and paddle home like nothing happened (aside from catching a case of strep throat from inhaling too much red dust).
The bottom line here is that SUP construction, while sometimes a confusing topic, is crazy important. Sure, you want a board that will last and look nice, but what really counts is whether or not it’ll keep you safe in some less than ideal situations. When the wind started to pick up, I was glad to be on a Sea Gods paddleboard; and I think I might have been swimming back home if I was on a less carefully built iSUP.”
Board Stiffness:
Stiffness Test: 1.0” Bend
During our bend test, we place the SUP on top of two sawhorses that are spaced 7 feet apart. We then place 150lbs on the board’s midpoint and measure how much it bends under that weight. This test helps us differentiate between construction processes and helps verify manufacturing claims from each brand.
Considering the Skylla’s quality construction, cross-woven drop stitch with fusion layers, 1” bend is well within our expectations. The most important takeaway here is to note that Sea Gods was able to achieve the same (or slightly better) level of rigidity on the Skylla as seen on the rest of the SUPs, while significantly decreasing the weight of this board.
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: [9.3/10]
Features:
The front cargo area ties into 6 D-rings with 2 integrated action mounts and removable grab straps. The Skylla also has kayak seat compatibility with the 4 D-rings located on the rails.
Reaching down to the tail there is a 4-point cargo area that also has 2 more integrated action mounts. Lastly, Sea Gods always nails it on finishing touches, in this case the addition of 3 carry handles, and a grippy diamond groove deckpad.
Included Accessories:
All Sea Gods SUPs including the Skylla come with the following accessories:
- 3 – piece carbon fiber paddle
- Dual chamber hand pump
- Semi-flexible kumano pressure fit fin
- Full-swivel coiled leash w/ key pocket
- Repair kit
- SUP roller backpack
- A fast-drying, elongated beach towel that is long and wide enough to use to lay your board on
Overall, we really like this kit. The lightweight carbon fiber paddle is majorly appreciated during a long day of SUP’ing, and the roller backpack is super roomy to easily fit your board and smaller accessories (because the last thing you’ll want to do after a long paddle is wrestle with your bag).
We also like their kumano click fins, but note: the fin comes with 3 different holes to put their ‘plugs’ into. Adding all 3 plugs will give the fin the tightest, most secure fit. However, we have yet to be able to use the fin with more than just one plug because we can’t get enough pressure to snap the fin into the fin box. As such, we typically recommend using the included fin plate and bolt to fully secure the fin.
Finally, we appreciate how Sea Gods has included a dual-chamber pump (although we recommend to everyone to get an electric SUP pump in addition to a manual pump).
And perhaps the thing we appreciate most from Sea Gods kit is that they have really focused on shipping with biodegradable/recyclable plastic and materials. We wish all brands would follow this lead.
Summary Review of the Skylla Cross Touring iSUP
As we mentioned at the beginning, the Skylla is sort of a jack of all trades in the water. It’s a stable 11’x33” board but its tapered shape and lightweight construction make it easy to paddle and maintain some decent speed to keep up with your buddies. It’s also pretty maneuverable and more than capable of hauling some gear or a human or furry passenger.
Bottom line, I’d be hard pressed to find something I don’t like about the Skylla and I’d feel confident recommending it to any paddler that wants some touring board performance without having to fight to stay on their feet. It really is one of those boards where I almost don’t need to know anything about you and can feel comfortable saying you will love it.
As always, we appreciate you taking the time to read through our review of the Skylla by Sea Gods. See you on the water!
SupBoardGuide
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