Aqua Marina Monster Inflatable SUP Review

Looking for a top-notch paddleboard that can carry a significant load without compromising stability? Behold, the Aqua Marina Monster SUP – a lightweight beast that lives up to its name. It’s a marvel in paddleboarding, able to hold up heavier paddlers (to 374 lbs.) while maintaining perfect equilibrium, making it an ideal choice for everyone from novice paddlers to seasoned professionals.

When it comes to the Aqua Marina Monster Inflatable SUP’s performance, enthusiasts and critics agree that it’s hard to beat. The board’s large size and innovative design contribute to its stability, speed, and maneuverability.

The design team at Aqua Marina has managed to pair cutting-edge technology with a sleek and appealing aesthetic. The Aqua Marina Monster Inflatable paddle board’s length, width, and thickness are all optimized to provide stability and speed, while its drop-stitch construction ensures durability.

One of the most significant advantages of the Aqua Marina Monster Inflatable SUP is its blend of durability and portability. This board’s construction materials and design make it a durable option, while its inflatable nature means it’s easy to transport and store.

Despite its size, the Aqua Marina Monster Inflatable SUP is surprisingly fast and agile. The board’s pointed nose and tri-fin setup allow it to cut through the water with ease, making it a fun and responsive ride.

Ideal Users for the Aqua Marina Monster:

The Aqua Marina Monster is designed with stability in mind, making it ideal for those seeking secure water touring experiences. Its large surface area offers ample space for carrying gear and can handle slightly choppier waters. Because of its enhanced stability and size, it is perfect for beginners, particularly those with less than 3 years of SUP boarding experience and who aren’t seeking high speeds. This board is primarily designed for recreational use, focusing on relaxation rather than competition.

Main Applications:

All-Round / Yoga / Touring / Relaxation

Speed:

Given its length and width, the board isn’t built for speed, focusing instead on stability.

Transportation:

This SUP board is inflatable and light, making it easily transportable. It can even be carried on a bicycle.

Stability:

The board provides high stability on water. It can support up to 374 LBS / 170 kg, making it possible for two people to ride it simultaneously, depending on their combined weight.

Personal Experience:

The new Aqua Marina Monster brings a nostalgic feeling, with its high stability, reminiscent of the Aqua Marina Atlas. The updated design now features a red grip deck, replacing the previously black one. The 6″/15 cm thickness, which is now standard with most Aqua Marina models, combined with the drop-stitch construction ensures the boards won’t bend easily. The complete package provided by the Aqua Marina Monster offers a great deal for its price, allowing you to get started without needing to buy additional accessories.

Aqua Marina Monster Review — Features & Specs

What is a Monster SUP?

A Monster SUP is a larger-than-life stand-up paddleboard designed for multiple riders. These massive boards typically range from 12 to 18 feet in length and can accommodate up to 10 paddlers at once. They are a perfect fit for group outings, team-building exercises, and family trips. Riding a Monster SUP is a completely different experience compared to a traditional SUP board. The larger the board, the larger the fun, right?

Why Choose Monster SUP?

Monster SUPs are not your average inflatable boards. They’re designed to carry multiple paddlers, creating a unique shared experience. These boards are perfect for those seeking a fun, social activity on the water. Whether you’re planning a family outing, a team-building activity, or just a get-together with friends, a Monster SUP is a perfect choice.

Measurements

The reason we always start with measurements is rather obvious. Indeed, this is the one factor that can break the deal before you even proceed to discuss quality or features. So, let’s crack the case.

An overall look at the Aqua Marina Monster will tell you quite a lot about the board but most significantly, its length will almost always come first to your attention. Indeed, this is perhaps one of the biggest

Aqua Marina boards on the market and that’s already limiting. Indeed, the average user of this board will often be limited with the adult range and that makes this board inadequate for teenagers and even some young adults, depending on their size.

Nonetheless, the extra feet in length will compensate so much on the performance level as will be further discussed under the performance tab.

Further, the width of inflatable paddle boards is often generic, remaining with the 30 inches margin and that’s because it simply works. However, Aqua Marina has built the Monster with 32 inches in width.

At that margin, the Monster hits a sweet spot for the length to width ratio, making it an even more balanced platform and one which can perform efficiently in most environments.

Beyond stability and balance, the board will also provide you with enough space to adjust yourself continuously without the risk of falling off every time you budge.

Last but absolutely not least, the board’s thickness is rather exemplary as it leaves nothing to chance. At an impressive 6 inches in thickness, the board is definitely going to show some impressive durability and strength.

Without a single doubt, the board will stand strong even under excessive weight and will not bend at the center unless if it’s used to transport elephants to Europe.

Long story short, the Aqua Marina Monster is capable of handling up to 270 pounds as a maximum load and that is impressive.

Quality

For a board to be able to handle that much weight, it has got to be robust. So, how can Aqua Marina achieve such rigidity in a board that is primarily inflatable?

Well, it’s simple. PVC is the answer to almost everything industrial nowadays because it’s simply unbeatable. However, the company at hand doesn’t use just any PVC but military-grade substance. Unbelievably robust, the board is made out of the same matter as zodiacs and bulletproof vests which can already say so much.

However, what’s even more impressive is the fact that the Monster is further enhanced via an industrial drop stitch construction that glues the hull together perfectly, leaving no room for seams to survive and definitely no collateral punctures unless if used to snowboard down the rocky mountains.

All in all, the Monster is one of the toughest iSUPs on the market and one which has endured sufficient torture tests to stand out as a viable and long-lasting option.

Features

Certainly, features have not gone old yet for inflatable paddle boards and the evidence is right here. This iSUP might not be the latest board on the market but it definitely carries around a bunch of practical features that would make your experience even more enjoyable.

• If you do yoga, workout or simply like to paddle while standing in diverse environments then you’re going to really appreciate the giant EVA gripping pad spread almost all over the back of this board. Indeed, the pad covers almost the entirety of the board and that makes it one of its best features as it enables you to move around freely and comfortably or even make room for a couple of friends.
• Further, the Monster at hand features a very interesting set of D-rings. With four rings on the nose of the board, you are set with a handy cargo net that will help you transport or secure any of your belongings when paddling alone and especially things you can’t leave at bay. Also, the board features an extra D ring on the tail for ankle leash attachment.
• With a single fin, you’d expect nothing less than solid manoeuvers and agility from this board and you’d be right. Indeed, with a single fin, you can slice much easier and alter track more efficiently which often signifies a relative lack of tracking ability but a much smoother experience as you learn your way around the ropes.

Performance

There is quite a lot to say about the Aqua Marina Monster but before all, we must shine more light on the fact that it’s an entry-level board that is great for diverse paddling activities. From yoga to work-out and meditation to touring, the Monster surely puts in quite the resume and that makes it one of our favorite iSUPs.

The size of the board is ever so ingenious, making it very versatile and capable of taking on the most random environments and that can range anywhere from steady lakes to raging canyon white water.

Further, the navigation system just works. Indeed, this is nothing out of the ordinary but the command of this board is certainly going to be a piece of cake and stability will be its strong point.

Packaging

It’s always fun to peek at iSUP packages when doing these reviews because they always feel like opening Christmas gifts.

In that respect, the Aqua Marina Monster includes:

• Paddle: The shaft is made of 1.2mm thick aluminum with a diameter of 1.14”(29mm). The blade consists of 70% PP and 30% fiberglass, with dimensions of 15.7”x 7.9” (40 x 20cm). It comes with a standard T-bar handle, and the paddle has a three-section length ranging from 68.9” to 86.6” (175-220cm). The paddle’s total weight is 1020g (36.0oz).
• High-Pressure Pump: The pump has a 2.2+2.2L capacity and can generate a maximum pressure of 20psi. It features an ergonomic handle and pedal design, and a switch tap for single-to-double action. It also includes a shockproof gauge.
• Leash: The package includes an 8’/5mm flat water safety leash constructed from heavy-duty material.
• Fin: The reinforced nylon fin measures 8.7” x 7.1” (22 x 18cm) and uses a slide-in installation method.
• Carry Backpack: Designed with ergonomics in mind, this backpack comes with padded shoulder straps for carrying the board, paddle, pump, and all essential accessories comfortably over long distances. An inside pocket is included for storing fins, manuals, and repair kits.

What others are saying:

“Great board for me as a beginner. Was able to stand immediately. The board sits well in the water, is easy to steer straight ahead and is stable and does not tip over easily. Workmanship is good. The board is not particularly agile, so individual riders may not be as suitable for progress. But you can also travel with a dog in pairs, as it easily carries 120 kg.”

“I bought the SUP to spend time on it with my girlfriend and we used it every weekend for the first summer.
We were traveling on lakes and rivers. It feels high-quality, inflates quickly and offers enough space for two.”

“Good SUP for Beginners. I used it extensively at the lake for two summers. Stability is very good, even with 2 people. The quality of the board is all very good.”