Aqua Marina Echo
- Written by Staff
- Published in Reviews
- Comments::DISQUS_COMMENTS
Only best products in a given category receive “A” grade.
Overview:
Paddle Board Highlights
Who is it for?
The Echo from Aqua Marina is a stable, inflatable paddle board designed for all around paddling. The Echo is perfect for beginner paddlers and is a board that is stable, affordable and lightweight. The board weighs just over 17lbs making it easy to carry for just about anyone and it’s shape best suits the board for recreational paddling. Its lightweight construction and shape combined best fit this board for short to mid-range distance paddling, from around the beach and dock to up to 3-5 miles. Retailing at $549, the board is very affordable.
First Impressions
At first look, the graphics and color are stunning, the shape design is quite awkward, and the construction strikes as weak. The Aqua Marina Echo has some gorgeous looks, coming with an exceptionally beautiful play on color and graphics. The shape design is interesting with it’s rather thin width of 4in making the board feel less buoyant on the water but is extremely lightweight and very easy to carry. The construction does appear fragile, as something that needs to be handled carefully and the pump for the board is a bit tricky at times to get locked in and took us a few tries to get it going. The board does feel pretty stable with its 32in width but the glide feels rather slow. This board however is at a great price point and just about anyone who wants to use the board should be able to hop on and paddle away with ease.
Benefits
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Primary Use
All AroundPaddle Boards fall into two broad categories, All-Around and Specialty boards, with all-around designed primarily for recreation while speciality boards for top performance in specific disciplines
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Durability
FragileDurability is largely a result of the board construction and shape, with more durable boards typically carrying more materials (added layers, PVC, etc) and as such adding to the weight.
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Stability
StableStability is a product of construction and shape, where boards w/ 30”+ wide and 200+ liters in volume offer plenty of stability for your AVG adult while a board under 26” wide is a challenge.
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Glide
SlowGlide is a result of board shape and construction, w/ boards weighing under 30lbs and designed for racing offering best glide while recreational boards normally being on the slow side.
Learn more on the Aqua Marina website.
Features
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Dimensions
10'6" x 32" x 4""Industry standard in board dimensions reads: L (length, from nose to tail) x W (width, from rail to rail at midpoint length), and H (height, from top to bottom of board at midpoint length).
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Weight
17.11 lbsStandup paddle boards tend to fall into 4 different weight classes: extremely lightweight (under 20 lbs), lightweight (20-28 lbs), average weight (28-35 lbs), heavy (above 35 lbs).
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Volume
206 LVolume is a key metric to determine how much weight a board can carry. Boards w/ 200+ liters offer most floatation with boards under 150 liters typically for high-performance surf.
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Capacity
254 lbs / 115 kgCapacity is the max cargo weight a stand up paddle board can carry, considering not only the paddler’s weight but whatever else the paddler may choose to carry alongside him/her.
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Add On's
Bungee/ GoPro MountAdd-on’s include bungee cords, a minimalist way to haul things; connexsup, which allows for all sorts of attachments, even fishing rods; and FCS II/Connect, for easy fin instal.
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Handle
StrapHandles directly affect carrying ease, with external grip handles (Liftsup & EZgrab) offering most comfort, Internal Ergo Grip the mid-tier comfort, and box handles as least comfortable.
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Holders
NoFishing rod holders and/or paddle holders can make paddling that much more pleasant, esp. when needing holders for the rod or having a safe place for the paddle during yoga.
Sizes Available
| Length | Width | Thickness | Volume |
|---|
Similar Products
Aqua Marina Beast
$599
Boardworks Shuhu Riptide
$599
Surftech Runabout
$999
Scott Burke Quest
$629
For more detailed reviews and to look at similar models, visit Supconnect.com. If you like this review, give us the thumbs up. Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments. And make sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss the latest news and reviews from Supconnect.