SUP Awards: 2025 Gear of the Year Winners

SAN DIEGO, California - After more than six weeks of evaluation, we’re thrilled to reveal the winners of the 2025 Supconnect Gear of the Year Awards, part of our 16th Annual Supconnect Awards. This year’s program featured seven product categories, with nominations launched on July 1st. Through a combination of public voting, retailer input, and insights from our trusted advisory board, the final selections have been made. Without further delay, here are your 2025 Gear of the Year category winners

Overall - Pau Hana Oahu

The Pau Hana Oahu takes home Best Overall Paddleboard for 2025 by doing what few boards can: excelling across styles, skill levels, and settings — all while staying true to the brand’s signature blend of performance and lifestyle. At its core, the Oahu is a versatile, all-around hard board with a shape inspired by classic longboards, offering smooth glide, easy maneuverability, and rock-solid stability. Whether you’re cruising calm lakes, catching small waves, doing yoga, or just paddling with your kids or dog on board, the Oahu delivers a ride that’s accessible and fun for just about everyone. It’s also one of the best-looking boards on the market, with standout graphics and a polished finish that reflect Pau Hana’s attention to detail — a visual appeal that’s been echoed by retailers and consumers alike. Durable construction and thoughtful design touches (like SeaMount attachment points) add function to the form, making this board as practical as it is beautiful. For its unmatched balance of versatility, style, and user-friendliness, the Pau Hana Oahu earns Supconnect’s Best Overall Paddleboard of 2025.

All Around - Red Paddle Co 11'3 Sport

The Red Paddle Co Sport earns this year’s Best All Around Paddleboard for blending versatility, performance, and premium design into one of the most refined inflatable boards on the market. Whether you’re cruising your local lake, chasing fitness goals, or stepping up to faster paddling adventures, the Sport lives up to its name with a ride that’s smooth, stable, and impressively quick. Engineered with Red Paddle Co’s signature MSL Fusion technology and RSS battens for added rigidity, the Sport offers superior glide and tracking, standing apart from typical all-around boards. The sleek outline and drawn-in nose improve acceleration and efficiency, while the comfortable deck pad and clean deck layout make it equally friendly for new paddlers or intermediate riders looking to progress. What really sealed the win? Retailers across the board highlighted the Sport as one of the most frequently recommended boards in their shops—a testament to both its build quality and the experience it delivers. It’s a go-to board that’s easy to grow with, without sacrificing performance or durability. For its smart construction, reliable handling, and consistent praise from both users and retailers, the Red Paddle Co Sport is Supconnect’s Best All Around Paddleboard of 2025.

Race - Infinity Blackfish

When it comes to race boards, performance speaks louder than hype — and the Infinity Blackfish continues to speak volumes. Long respected for its versatility across race conditions, the Blackfish remains a favorite among competitive paddlers who demand both speed and control. At the core of its success is Infinity’s hybrid planning hull, which blends glide and stability in a way that works equally well in flatwater, chop, and ocean races. A refined rocker, dugout standing area, and sleek rail design all contribute to its efficient, responsive feel — allowing paddlers to stay fast and confident through buoy turns, surf entries, and long-distance efforts. This year’s version builds on its legacy with subtle but meaningful updates, dialing in performance for paddlers across a range of skill levels and race types. It’s a board that continues to show up on start lines around the world — and hold its own. With strong rider loyalty and positive feedback from shops that see it succeed across a range of race formats, the Infinity Blackfish earns Supconnect’s Best Race Paddleboard of 2025.

Inflatable - Starboard iGO

In today’s saturated inflatable SUP market, it’s rare to find a board that hits the sweet spot between quality, versatility, and value — but the Starboard iGO does exactly that. Designed as a true all-around board, the iGO delivers exceptional stability, glide, and ease of use for paddlers of all levels, from casual cruisers to first-time adventurers. Available in multiple constructions, including Zen and Deluxe Single Chamber, and built with Starboard’s Welded Rail Technology, the iGO is engineered for longevity and performance. The package also stands out with premium accessories—no weak links here. From board to paddle to pump, every element is thoughtfully selected to elevate the paddler’s overall experience. But it’s not just the product specs that earned this board the win. Retailers consistently highlight the iGO as one of their most trusted and best-selling inflatable boards, citing its durability, low return rates, and universal appeal across customer types. For its top-tier construction, thoughtful design, and strong endorsements from both paddlers and retailers, the Starboard iGO earns Supconnect’s Best Inflatable Paddleboard of 2025.

Surf - Sunova Ghost

The Sunova Ghost strikes an exceptional balance between high-performance surf design and accessibility — a combination that’s earned it strong praise not only from paddlers, but from retailers across the globe. Built in collaboration with Rick “Creek” Weeks, the Ghost was designed to help real-world surfers ride better in everyday conditions. And it delivers. With a forward fin cluster, flatter performance rocker, and fuller outline with a subtle hip, the Ghost generates speed with ease and turns on a dime. Its tuned nose flip and refined bottom contour (flat to single, into double, to subtle V) offer smooth transitions and crisp, responsive rail-to-rail surfing — even from a neutral stance. Available in a wide range of sizes (7'11"–9'6"), it’s a versatile option that suits both seasoned riders and those still honing their skills. That versatility, coupled with standout performance and consistently positive retailer feedback, makes the Sunova Ghost Supconnect’s Best Surf SUP of 2025.

Touring - SIC Maui Okeanos

The SIC Maui Okeanos continues to be the benchmark for touring in 2025. Retailers, paddlers, and testers alike praise its do-it-all personality: a generous gear platform, rock-solid stability, efficient glide, a comfortable deck underfoot, and practical carry points that make long days simpler. Since its early prototypes in 2019, the Okeanos has refined a formula that just works. Thoughtful volume distribution keeps the board composed from nose to tail—equally friendly for confident footwork or fully loaded adventures. The refreshed graphics add welcome energy without sacrificing SIC’s clean aesthetic, and the inflatable Okeanos brings the same DNA to a travel-ready package. Flat water is where it truly shines, which is why retailers keep recommending it and paddlers keep coming back. For its balance of performance, utility, and fun, the Okeanos earns Supconnect’s Best Touring Paddleboard for 2025.

Hybrid - Starboard Generation

The Starboard Generation is just that: a board for the new generation of standup paddling. The Generation is a board that excels in multiple water conditions; whether it’s a touring adventure, a local race or even paddling into some waves, the versatility of the Generation stands out. A few of the features that the Generation includes: the board is fairly parallel, which delivers a predictable and controlled glide. The wide nose delivers fast acceleration when sprinting as it floats on top of the water. The tail is pulled into a square shape, making it easier to sink for fast buoy turns and most responsive to turn sharply in surf. These are just a few of the many features and you can see the thought that went into this board was not taken lightly. And to put the board to the test, our editorial team did a full review of the Generation to say it lives up to the hype is an understatement. This board was So. Much. Fun! What’s more, when we check in with retailers about what boards are a hit with consumers this board continues to be brought up and highlighted. In saying all of that, this is why we’re giving the Starboard Generation the 2025 Supconnect Gear of the Year Award for Best Hybrid Board.

Graphics - BOTE HD Native Bombardier

BOTE takes home Best Graphics for a layout that’s equal parts art piece and product design. The board pictured nails a cohesive look from tip to tail: a rich, faux-teak deck flanked by crisp center pinstripes; bold yet tasteful branding; and illustrated nose/tail panels in a teal/sea-green palette that reads tropical without slipping into clutter. The graphics wrap cleanly over multiple surfaces—the deck, rails, and hull—and even extend to the matching paddle blade, so the whole kit feels deliberately composed rather than stickered on. What really sells it is the balance of textures and shapes: geometric striping down the centerline, the “HD” callout and hex emblem as design elements (not afterthoughts), a clean white hull punctuated by a large, well-placed BOTE wordmark, and rails that transition smoothly between colors for a premium, layered look. On the water or on a shop wall, it pops—high contrast, camera-friendly, and unmistakably BOTE. It also fits a bigger story: BOTE has been notorious for stunning board art for years, and this graphic package continues that legacy—showing that performance gear can carry lifestyle-level aesthetics without sacrificing restraint or readability. This is standout design with staying power, which is exactly why it’s our pick for Best Graphics.

Rental - SIC Maui Tao

The SIC Maui Tao Series is the rental operator’s dream: durable, versatile, and built to keep working day after day. Thanks to ACE-TEC and TOUGH-TEC constructions, these boards shrug off dings, docks, and daily abuse better than most, which means less downtime and longer fleet life. On the water, the Tao lineup covers a wide range of uses—surfing, yoga, fishing, and more—so a single series can serve first-timers, families, and repeat customers alike. Stable platforms, comfortable deck pads, and practical tie-down options make sessions smoother and safer, while easy-clean surfaces and no-fuss hardware keep maintenance simple. For its unmatched combination of durability, ease of use, and multi-sport versatility, the SIC Maui Tao Series earns Supconnect’s Best Rental Paddleboard for 2025.

Technology - Aqua Marina GLOW

The Aqua Marina GLOW wins for taking night paddling mainstream with real, embedded tech—not a bolt-on gimmick. Its integrated Ambient Light System turns the board itself into illumination, extending sessions after sunset while boosting visibility and stoke. Aqua Marina bills it as the world’s first glowing SUP, built on an all-around platform that stays stable across a range of conditions. Under the skin, Aqua Marina backs the show with substance—Woven Drop-stitch, Heat Fusion Welding, and Eco-Print manufacturing for a lighter, tougher, and more environmentally conscious build than typical iSUPs. For marrying safety, fun, and forward-thinking construction in a single, accessible package, the Aqua Marina GLOW is our Best Technology winner for 2025.

Congratulations to all the Gear of the Year winners of the 2025 Supconnect Awards! Your innovation, dedication, and impact continue to elevate the sport and inspire the global SUP community.