Red Paddle Co 11’3 Sport MSL iSUP Review – A Perfect Crossover? | 2025

Red Paddle Co 11’3 Sport MSL 800 iSUP Review – Overview

11’3” x 32” – that’s an all-around paddle board, yeah? Maybe? But it’s a Red Paddle Co Sport – their touring line.

I don’t think you can really call the 11’3 Sport a true touring board, but you also would be missing out on its excellent performance simply by lumping it in as an all-around.

The Red Paddle Co 11’3 Sport MSL 800 is part of a quickly growing category of crossover SUPs that blend the stability and functionality of an all-around iSUP with the efficiency and tracking of a touring board, and I think it is awesome. The 11’3 Sport is both beginner friendly and offers plenty of room to grow as you develop your skills and start exploring farther from shore.

— Red Paddle Co 11’3 Sport MSL 800 iSUP Review Summary and Ratings —

Red Paddle Co 11’3 Sport MSL 800 Review – Construction and Durability

Red’s MSL 800 construction expands on their legendary material by reducing weight without reducing rigidity or reliability.

Red Paddle Co’s MSL (Monocoque Structural Laminate) is often imitated – especially in name – but is a completely proprietary set of materials and techniques that is truly unique to Red. The material production and construction process is highly monitored by Red’s technicians and the actual build time of each board is quite lengthy at over three days. But, in the end, this has given Red its reputation for building some of the highest quality and longest lasting inflatable boards in the world.

The new MSL 800 construction starts with a new cross-woven drop stitch core. The top and bottom of the board use a layer of woven fabric as a lightweight, low-flex alternative to knitted fabric. Those two layers are connected by thousands of threads in a criss-crossing X pattern rather than a traditional V pattern. This lets Red use fewer threads for a lighter construction while still retaining board rigidity. The length of these threads also give the 11’3 Sport its 4.7” thickness profile.

The outer PVC shell of the board is made using special binders and lamination techniques to create a “1.5 layer” material that, again, reduces weight without reducing stiffness, and creates a long-lasting bond between the PVC and underlying fabric.

The name MSL 800 comes from this new material being 800 grams/meter square lighter than the original MSL material.

The deck and hull of the board are joined together with a glued inner layer of PVC material. In a time where brands are racing to change to welded constructions, Red has proudly kept the same glued rail build as before for one reason – it works incredibly well. Like their materials, Red maintains strict control standards on their glues from component source to pot times to achieve this extreme longevity and durability on their boards.

There is a second layer of PVC rail around the edge of the board, and Red has also added their RSS Batten system to the 11’3 Sport. These plastic rails slide into specially-made PVC sleeves in the middle of the board to help improve rigidity.

With the RSS Battens, deck pad, and other fittings installed, the Red 11’3 Sport weighs in at just 21.5 pounds, which is quite impressive. Red has one more unique feature in that they don’t print the maximum pressure for their boards on their valves. Instead they simply rely on the “green” section of their Titan II pump gauge to let you know when the board is ready (and the “red” section to indicate overinflation). But, Red does document a maximum recommended pressure of 22 PSI.

In our standardized bend test, we inflate to a paddle board’s maximum pressure rating up to 20 PSI. So we installed the RSS battens (since this is how most people will use the board) and inflated to 20 PSI. With 170 pounds of weight over the standing area, the 11’3 Sport bent just 1.54”. That’s a little better than our total running average of all boards (1.6”).

But, we can’t forget that this is a 4.7” thick board! Any given board will have more flex when it is built thinner, so for this board to easily hold its own amongst well over 100, 6” thick boards is very impressive.

Our bend test is fun to do and gives us a nice, consistent comparison to other boards, but it doesn’t tell us how it feels on the water.

While standing, walking, and paddling normally on the 11’3 Sport I did not notice any flex. I could feel the board begin to flex when I picked up the pace and energy for a sprint, but not in a great enough amount to feel that it was truly impacting any performance.

Bouncing on the board does result in a moderate to moderately-high amount of flex, but when I stopped I felt almost no rebound at all. That’s actually a first for me. I’ve had very soft and comfortable rebound, and I’ve had very tight and springy rebound. But no rebound was new, and very welcome! I think the combination of material stiffness, pressure, and the RSS battens really aligned here to create the most comfortable board flex I’ve felt.

Long story short, the Red Paddle Co 11’3 Sport is incredibly well built. Like with Red’s other boards I’ve got no worries about their longevity (they’ve proven that over the years for sure) and the new MSL 800 is shaping up to be a true improvement rather than just a lighter material.

Red Paddle Co 11’3 Sport MSL 800 iSUP Review – Specifications

Specifications

Red Paddle Co 11’3 Sport MSL 800 iSUP Review – Features, Accessories and Versatility

The 11’3 Sport is part all-around SUP, part touring SUP, and all ready for just about any adventure.

Compared to many all-around iSUPs from other brands, the 11’3 Sport may seem a little sparse on built-in features. But, it is closer to many touring-style SUPs. As a crossover board, I think the 11’3 Sport rides the line well, but could use some slight tweaks to really optimize that versatility. I’d love to see the front cargo straps expanded to fill the empty space on the deck, a second threaded mount, and a couple of D-rings at the back of the board would really help expand capacity for overnight trips.

The 11’3 Sport also comes with a basic set of high-quality accessories. In the box you’ll receive:

• 11’3 Sport MSL 800 iSUP
• Red Paddle ATB Transformer wheeled backpack
• Coiled ankle leash
• 9” touring-style fin
• Red Paddle Titan II triple-action hand pump
• Waterproof phone case
• Basic repair kit

Red does not automatically include a paddle with the 11’3 Sport at its base price. You can bundle one with your board when ordering from Red Paddle Co, but it does come at an additional cost. At the time of this writing the paddles are on backorder (expected mid June), but you can peruse our list of favorite SUP paddles to pair with the 11’3 Sport and get on the water right away.

Red Paddle Co 11’3 Sport MSL 800 iSUP Review – Stability

The 11’3 Sport brings all-around stability to this speedy platform.

Touring boards are known for being a little less stable, while all-around boards are known for being great for beginners to gain confidence. At 11’3” long and 32” wide, the Red 11’3 Sport definitely leans into the all-around side of its crossover design for great stability. But that’s not all. The 4.7” thick profile of the board also helps improve stability by lowering your center of gravity. This gives it the feel of a board that’s around a half-inch wider!

On the water, this board feels fantastic. I had no problems with twitching, rolling, or flexing, even when the wind began to pick up and boat wakes were making their way across the water.

Walking around on the board was comfortable with a very consistent feel pretty much all the way to the tail of the board. I did feel a drop in stability when standing at the kick pad for a pivot turn from both the reduced width and the reduced volume from the 4.7” thickness. But it wasn’t a bad loss of stability – it was just what I expected.

I was able to very easily hold the board on its edge and when I rocked it side to side the 11’3 Sport transitioned from rail to rail smoothly and without any catching or popping feeling as the deck dipped under the surface and back up.

Overall I find that the Red 11’3 Sport has excellent stability as an all-around/touring crossover, including for beginner paddlers.

Red Paddle Co 11’3 Sport MSL 800 iSUP Review – Speed

It’s in the name! The Red Paddle Co 11’3 Sport is designed to be a faster and more efficient iSUP. As a crossover board it does quite well, but isn’t as quick as those more dedicated boards like the 12’6 Sport.

Red’s Sport line of paddle boards is intended to fall mostly into the touring and fitness category of paddle board. Some are a bit more oriented toward fitness and racing, others more toward expedition-style touring. The 11’3 Sport is a bit more of an outlier as it is a crossover between touring and all-around boards, but it does still retain great speed and efficiency.

In our speed testing, we ran the 11’3 Sport at a high cadence of 75 strokes per minute for a sustained sprint. Using a midrange carbon/hybrid paddle (since it does not come with one in the base kit), we found the 11’3 Sport to average around 5.0 MPH at that sustained sprinting cadence. That’s actually a little slower than I expected from this board. But, when I revved up to max speed, I was able to clock 5.8 MPH – a huge leap in speed from the sustained sprint and was faster than I expected given its width.

I did feel a little bit of flex in the 11’3 Sport as I was paddling hard for this sprinting test, but it wasn’t enough to change the board’s tracking performance and I didn’t feel that it was really impacting speed in any noticeable way. I felt neither the lurching nor halting that can happen during a sprint with softer boards.

At a more casual pace for cruising or long-distance touring, the 11’3 Sport did very well. With a sustained 25 strokes per minute (slow enough to have a brief pause between strokes), the 11’3 Sport cruised along at an average 3.8 MPH with very little effort. At that cruising speed, a single paddle stroke keeps the board moving for over 21 feet before slowing down, giving it a gliding ratio of 1.9 board-lengths per stroke.

The overall speed performance of the 11’3 Sport is closer to a high-quality all-around board – which isn’t too surprising given its size – but its efficiency is well beyond that of an all-around board and easily competes with other dedicated-touring SUPs.

Red Paddle Co 11’3 Sport MSL 800 iSUP Review – Maneuverability and Tracking

Maneuverability and Tracking can be difficult to balance on an all-around paddle board, and it is important to have a good balance of the two. The 11’3 Sport manages this task quite well on both ends.

There are lots of ways to turn a paddle board, but not all of them are equally efficient. The basic turning strokes that beginners pick up naturally are easy to use, but aren’t always the fastest way to turn – which makes them perfect for our maneuverability stress testing.

Using forward sweep strokes (paddling in an arc from nose to tail) we check how many strokes it takes to turn a complete circle from a standstill. The 11’3 Sport basically hit right on average with just over 6.5 strokes required to turn a full 360°. Reversing the stroke (tail to nose) works against the fin and turns the board faster with just 3.5 strokes on average. The downside to this stroke is it does stop any forward momentum you have.

Because the 11’3 Sport has a consistent feel as you step toward the tail, it’s also a great board to practice your pivot turns. The heavy texture and kick pad on the tail of the board give you a nice secure footing to sink the tail and spin the board around with just a couple sweeps of the paddle.

While the 11’3 Sport has about average maneuverability, it does have above average tracking performance.

How easily a paddle board moves in a straight line (tracking) is important not just for long-distance touring, but for newer paddlers who may struggle with their paddle technique or not know how to make minor adjustments while paddling.

While most new paddlers will only be comfortable taking a few to a handful of paddle strokes before switching sides, we measure tracking based on how well the boards do after 10 strokes on a single side.

The 11’3 Sport did very well for its size, deviating off course just 10° on average after the 10th paddle stroke. While that’s not quite at the level of a dedicated touring SUP, this is notably better than most all-around boards. And by switching sides more frequently, that course deviation is even smaller for newer paddlers.

The included 9” touring-style fin is very well matched to the 11’3 Sport’s shape and intended use. It gives the board a very clear balance of maneuverability and tracking, and has a simple setup. The US (Universal Standard) fin box also means you can swap this fin out easily if you want to adjust performance or need a replacement.

I really like the performance balance of the 11’3 Sport. It’s easy to turn when you want it to, and it’s easy to paddle straight when you are going from one spot to another. It’s a great choice for both beginner paddlers who need some design assistance for both, and intermediate paddlers who can amplify both maneuverability and tracking with different paddling techniques.

Red Paddle Co 11’3 Sport MSL 800 Review – Warranty and Customer Support

Red Paddle Co offers a 5-year warranty against manufacturing defects for their inflatable paddle boards. However, you must register your board on Red’s website within 3 months of purchase to qualify for this warranty period. All other Red equipment is warrantied for 1 year. Red does offer a 30-day return period for new and unused equipment only, less a $15 restocking fee. You can contact Red customer service through their website chat, web form, email or phone.

Red Paddle Co 11’3 Sport MSL 800 iSUP Review – Final Thoughts

I found this review very easy to write. The Red Paddle 11’3 Sport MSL 800 is one of the best crossover all-around/touring iSUPs I’ve used to date. It’s stable enough for beginners, but it’s sporty when you want it to be. It’s easy to turn and easy to keep moving straight. It’s moderately quick, but very easy and efficient to paddle for long distances. It’s also built incredibly well and comes with some high-quality accessories – including the best hand-pump on the market with the Red Titan II.

There are a few built-in features I’d like to see to improve the overall versatility of the 11’3 Sport, but as far as paddling versatility, I think Red has absolutely nailed the size and shape for this category of crossover iSUPs.

If you are looking for a board that is beginner-friendly, but can grow with you, easy to paddle casually with your friends, but also has great efficiency for fitness and light touring, then the Red Paddle 11’3 Sport MSL 800 is the right board for you.