The Sea Gods Skylla CX balances comfort, performance, and is available in three different looks.
Sea Gods Skylla CX iSUP Review – Overview
What do you get when you cross an all-around cruiser SUP, a touring board, top-quality construction, and the industry’s most eye-catching graphic designs? If you guessed the Sea Gods Skylla CX, you’re right!
The Skylla CX was one of our favorite iSUPs when it debuted in 2022, and remains one of our favorites in 2025. It was Sea Gods’ first board using their “CX” construction making it ultralight, rigid, and durable. While the original Hippocampus artwork is no longer available (all of Sea Gods’ board art is limited edition!), this year Sea Gods has three versions of the Skylla CX to suit any style.
— Sea Gods Skylla CX iSUP Review Ratings and Summary —
Sea Gods Skylla Cross Touring 11'
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Construction & Durability
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Features and Versatility
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Stability
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Speed
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Maneuverability
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Tracking
Overall Score
The Sea Gods Skylla CX is one of the most effective (and eye-catching) cross-over style paddle boards we’ve reviewed.
Pros
- Three different bold artwork choices to suit your style
- Excellent construction keeps the Skylla lightweight, rigid, and durable
- Well-balanced blend of performance for both all-around use and light touring use
- High quality accessory kit and eco-friendly packaging
- Plenty of cargo storage and accessory mounting options for any kind of adventure
- Lifetime warranty for worry-free paddling
Cons
- Tracking performance is good for an all-around board, but falls short of a true touring SUP
- Three options for artwork means you have to choose one (or just buy all three)!
Sea Gods Skylla CX iSUP Review – Construction and Durability
Sea Gods works tirelessly to tweak and experiment with their constructions to find the right combination of materials and techniques to make a lightweight, but rigid and durable iSUP. Their CX construction is top of the line.
The welded seams and dual reinforcement strips give the Skylla a durable and long-lasting construction
Inside the Skylla CX is a cross-woven drop stitch core. This is made with woven fabric layers for the top and bottom of the board that are connected with thousands of yarns stitched at precise angles to keep the board flat and rigid when inflated. Compared to traditional knitted builds, the CX construction helps significantly reduce weight without reducing overall stiffness.
The outer layer of the board is made with a sheet of fiber-reinforced PVC that is heat-laminated to the drop stitch core. This “Fusion” construction combines the materials without the need to apply glue by hand which further reduces weight, but also reduces the chance for manufacturing issues like misapplied glue or delamination.
After the shape of the Skylla is cut from the fused material, the edges are bound together by heat-welding a piece of reinforced PVC to the top and bottom. Lastly, another piece of reinforced PVC is glued to the rail along with reinforcing strips along the top and bottom edges of the outer rail.
Once the deck pad, D-rings, and all of the other accoutrements are added to the Skylla, it weighs in at just 19.8 pounds and is rated to a maximum inflation pressure of 20 PSI.
The Skylla CX did very well in our standardized bend test, deflecting just 1.22” with 170 pounds of weight.
The Skylla CX is extremely rigid while standing and paddling.
On the water, the Skylla also felt very rigid and I didn’t notice any bend or flex when standing on the board, paddling normally, or even while sprinting.
I did feel some flex in the board when bouncing up and down on it, but even that was minimal. When I stopped bouncing, the Skylla settled down quickly with just a touch of a tight, springy feel. But it didn’t feel overly-bouncy like it was trying to throw me off.
Bouncing on the Skylla CX produced a small amount of flex with a slight spring in the rebound.
The Skylla CX, like all of Sea Gods’ iSUPs, is built extremely well. This combination of materials and methods keeps it light without sacrificing performance, and Sea Gods stands behind their paddle boards with a warranty for the expected lifespan of the board (which is typically considered around 10 years, but can be far more with proper care).
Specifications
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 11’ 0” |
| Width | 33“ |
| Thickness | 6“ |
| Weight | |
| Max Capacity | 350 pounds |
| Board Weight | 18.8 pounds |
| Kit Weight (SUP & accessories) | 33.5 pounds |
| Buying Info | |
| List Price | $1554.00 |
| Warranty | 10 years |
| Returns period | 30 days |
Sea Gods Skylla CX iSUP Review – Features, Accessories, and Versatility
The Skylla CX is a true crossover iSUP built for all-around use and light touring, and it has a fantastic set of features and accessories to match that use.
The Sea Gods Skylla CX is 11’ long, 33.5” wide, an 6” thick. It weighs 19.8 pounds, has a maximum pressure rating of 20 PSI and maximum recommended weight capacity of 350 pounds.
The nose of the Skylla has a triangular shape to balance the stability from a wider nose and the efficiency of a narrower shape.
In addition to the handle on the nose of the board, the Skylla also has a large cargo area on the front with two passenger handles and two threaded accessory mounts.
The threaded accessory mounts can be used with lights, cup holders, phone/camera holders, and more.
There are two removable passenger handles on the front cargo area that offer a great position for sharing the Skylla with a child or smaller adult.
There are three fixed handles on the Skylla for carrying the board. The deck pad of the Leopard version (shown here) has a pebbled texture, while the Drew Brophy and Playful Spirits designs use a diamond groove pattern. Both textures offer excellent grip when wet and are comfortable to stand or sit on.
The Skylla CX Leopard has a newly-designed kick pad at the tail of the board with a small increase in thickness under the rear cargo area before the full-thickness kick pad at the very end. The other two versions of the Skylla do not have a kick pad.
There are four D-rings around the middle of the board for easily attaching a kayak seat for extended paddling while seated. You can also use the rear pair of D-rings to extend the rear cargo area or tying down a cooler.
The smaller rear cargo area is connected with four D-rings and has plenty of space for small and medium-size dry bags.
The Skylla CX has a very wide, square tail shape to help increase its stability and overall capacity.
Under the board is a new split-style Universal Standard (US) fin box to easily roll the board when you are done paddling for the day.
The Skylla CX features Sea Gods’ new accessory kit with everything you need to get on the water including a paddle and triple action hand pump (not pictured).
The Skylla CX comes with a complete accessory kit with some really nice features. Through their efforts to move to completely recyclable packaging, the Skylla does not come wrapped in plastic like most iSUPs, but instead is wrapped in a 12’ long microfiber towel that can be used as a landing mat to protect the board during inflation and deflation (or as a massive towel).
Sea Gods also updated their bag with a slightly lighter weight material, though it still feels extremely tough, and a newly designed bottom carrying handle. While the handle may not seem like a big deal, changing from a closed handle to an open handle means you are less likely to chip your nails while lifting the board – and just goes to show you how much time and thought Sea Gods puts into every aspect of their product. That’s definitely not something I can say about every brand. Even their repair kit goes above and beyond with a screwdriver for easy paddle maintenance and a small pot of grease to help maintain your hand pump.
When the Skylla CX lands on your doorstep you’ll find the following in the box:
- Skylla CX iSUP
- Sea Gods roller backpack
- Double-chamber/triple-action hand pump
- 12’ microfiber towel/ground cloth w/ bag
- Sea Gods carbon fiber/nylon hybrid paddle
- 9” flex touring fin
- Semi-straight, lay-flat leash
- Advanced maintenance and repair kit
Sea Gods Skylla CX iSUP Review – Paddle
Sea Gods includes a carbon fiber and nylon hybrid three-piece SUP paddle with the Skylla CX.
The Sea Gods paddle uses a carbon fiber shaft and handle, and it has a durable nylon blade.
The Sea Gods hybrid SUP paddle has a carbon fiber shaft and handle combined with a reinforced nylon blade. This combination gives you a midweight paddle with high durability, comfortable handling, and easy setup.
This year, Sea Gods has omitted the bottom clamp that connects the paddle shaft and paddle blade, leaving the spring button to hold the pieces together. I personally don’t view this as any sort of downgrade or potential problem. Most three piece paddles I’ve encountered don’t use a clamp a this part of the paddle, and the paddles we received from Sea Gods this year have all fit well with minimal or no play or wobble at this junction.
The handle section features a molded carbon fiber T-grip, printed length scale, and an indexing groove to help you align the handle and blade properly. I’ve found that there is still some room for error with the indexing groove, so make sure that the handle and blade are aligned before clamping the handle in place, or they could be off by a noticeable amount.
The paddle blade has a medium to medium-large teardrop shape blade made with fiber-reinforced nylon. This is a great combination for casual cruising and durability, but if you plan to use the Skylla CX for more of its longer-distance touring capabilities I do recommend picking up a lighter paddle with a more rectangular or smaller sized blade.
Sea Gods Skylla CX iSUP Review – Stability
One of the most impressive aspects of the Skylla CX is how stable it is without giving up its performance in other categories.
The extra width of the Skylla’s midsection and tail keep it easily stable even when tipped on its rail.
Sea Gods specs the Skylla at 33”, however it did measure 33.5” for us. We typically give about a quarter-inch of leeway to allow for variance during construction. An extra half inch of width will definitely help with stability, but honestly I don’t think it really matters for the Skylla. The shape itself is crafted for stability.
The widest point of the board is between the center handle and the front cargo area – right where your center of gravity hovers when paddling – and the extra wide square tail helps resist tilting from side to side. Add in the rigid construction and you’ve got a stable shape even if it were a half inch narrower!
Rocking the board side to side is smooth, with even and controlled recovery.
Rocking the board back and forth, walking around on the deck, and standing on the tail to lift the nose were all very easy to do on the Skylla CX. It’s a great choice for beginners who want a stable and versatile board, and more advanced paddlers who want a higher capacity touring board.
Sea Gods Skylla CX iSUP Review – Speed
The Skylla CX can really accomplish a lot as a crossover paddle board to bridge the gap between a cruiser and a touring SUP. While its speed performance is great for an all-around board, it’s noticeably less than what we normally see in a dedicated touring board. But let’s not forget, it’s 33.5” wide!
The Skylla CX has good speed performance as an all-around board, but is on the slower side for a touring SUP.
We look at four different components when testing speed – sustained sprint speed, top speed, cruising speed, and glide length.
In our sprint tests, the Skylla CX performed well for its width at an average speed of 4.9 MPH while paddling at 75 strokes per minute with the Sea Gods paddle. When going all-out, I was able to reach a peak speed of 5.2 MPH. These results are on the higher side for a wide all-around board, but are low for touring SUPs. Since the Skylla is shorter and wider, though, I still consider this a win for the Skylla. The Sea Gods paddle is also designed more for cruising than for speed, and it was noticeably difficult to use at a higher cadence due to its shape and weight.
If you do want more speed for long-distance touring or even the occasional race, then I would recommend looking at the Carta Marina CX or Ketos CX for a much more efficient high-speed paddling experience. The Carta Marina is a stable touring SUP while the Ketos is an even narrower fitness and racing board.
The Skylla’s cruising capability is pretty fantastic in my book. At a very casual 25 strokes per minute, the Skylla CX averages 3.8 MPH with ease. While at this speed, a single paddle stroke will produce about 20 feet of glide before the board slows down – or about 1.8 board lengths. That’s right on the line between the best glide for all-around boards and what we expect to see as a minimum for touring SUPs.
While the Skylla CX isn’t the fastest iSUP overall, and not even Sea Gods’ fastest iSUP, it does feel very easy and smooth to paddle. “Smooth as butter” was the impression from one of our testers with the first iteration of the Skylla, and that still holds true today.
Sea Gods Skylla CX iSUP Review – Maneuverability and Tracking
The Skylla CX does a good job of balancing these opposed performance metrics. It’s both easy to turn when you want to and easy to keep straight when you don’t.
Turning the Skylla CX is easy, even with basic sweep strokes.
With the right technique and a bit of practice, you can turn a stand up paddle board in a circle with just a couple of strokes. But not everyone – especially beginner paddlers – can effectively use these more advanced skills. So we do our maneuverability testing with basic turning strokes that anyone can do.
In our maneuverability test, it took just 5 forward sweep strokes (paddling in an arc from nose to tail) to turn the Skylla in a full circle. That’s pretty quick, even for an all-around board. Using a reverse sweep stroke (the same motion but from tail to nose) swings the Skylla around in just 3.5 strokes on average.
For those who do want to learn the more advanced turning techniques, the Skylla responds well to cross-bow draw strokes and the wide, square tail makes it a great board for learning how to step back to the tail for a quick pivot turn.
Tracking performance on the Skylla CX will come down to your stroke technique.
Getting a stand up paddle board to move in a straight line can actually be a pretty difficult task depending on the board, fin, and technique. Our tracking test is designed as a stress test to point out the differences between boards, but in reality there are a number of ways to paddle straighter on any SUP.
In our 10-stroke tracking test, the Skylla CX performed similarly to many cruiser-style iSUPs with an average course deviation of about 20 degrees after 10 paddle strokes.
That type of tracking performance is good for a cruiser, but is far from what we typically see in touring SUPs. The good news is, the Skylla does actually track better than this during regular paddling. Our tracking test uses strict forward stroke technique and 10 strokes on a side. Most beginner and intermediate paddlers aren’t comfortable taking that many strokes on one side at a time. Most of that deviation in our test happened in the last 2-3 strokes, so paddlers taking 6-8 strokes on a side will feel it track much straighter. And of course, small corrective strokes will keep the Skylla on track very easily.
The Skylla CX comes with a 9” touring-style flex fin with tool-less click-fin inserts.
Sea Gods includes a 9” flexible touring fin with the Skylla CX. This is a great fin for this board as it provides good tracking and stability while still keeping the Skylla easy to turn. If you do want to adjust the maneuverability and tracking performance, the split-style US fin box is compatible with hundreds of different shape, size, and material fins.
Sea Gods Skylla CX iSUP Review – Artwork
The Skylla CX is available in three different art styles including this Leopard Print.
The Skylla CX comes in three different artwork options. The model shown here is the Leopard print version. This bold style is fun and eye catching, and features unique rail coloration for Sea Gods and a color-matched leash. While most of Sea Gods iSUPs are designed by professional artists, Sea Gods owner Mandy Johnston picked this design and the color profiles herself.
If leopard print isn’t your thing (it’s okay to be wrong 😉) Sea Gods has the Skylla available with two other amazing artworks. The first is the Drew Brophy edition Skylla that features a skateboard-style motif of creatures from Greek mythology.
Skylla CX Drew Brophy edition.
Skylla CX Playful Spirits edition
As always, each version of the Skylla CX is a limited-edition paddle board. Once it’s sold out, these boards will be gone for good!
Sea Gods Skylla CX iSUP Review – Warranty and Customer Support
Sea Gods is known for their lifetime warranty on their inflatable iSUPs. If you experience any manufacturing defects over the reasonable life of your board, simply contact Sea Gods for a warranty claim. In addition to the lifetime warranty for the boards, all of the included accessories are warrantied for 1 year, and there is a 30-day return period if you decide that the Skylla CX isn’t quite what you want. To contact Sea Gods you can reach them via phone, email, online chat, or through their social media channels.
Sea Gods Skylla CX iSUP Review – Final Thoughts
The Skylla CX is a great do-it-all inflatable paddle board for all skill levels.
SUP is a “quiver” sport – as you progress you’ll want different boards for different activities. While I don’t use the term “quiver-killer” lightly, the Sea Gods Skylla is one case where this one iSUP could easily replace three or more boards. It’s wide and stable like a cruiser or even a fishing SUP. It’s efficient and quick to paddle like a touring or fitness board. And of course, it’s a great all-around SUP for those who like to change it up on a daily basis.
If you are interested in all that SUP has to offer, a versatile and well-built board like the Sea Gods Skylla CX will stick with you forever. And did we mention that all three versions look incredible?
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