Days out on the water are made even better by having a fully stocked cupboard of water toys. We pick out 12 of the best boating water toys on the market...
A boat without boating water toys is like gin without tonic – you need them both to appreciate the full effect.
Every month we pick out an extreme new water toy as part of our toy of the month series, and we’ve also picked out the best boating water toys from our Editor’s Choice that will make your boating days even more memorable.
These range from a £25 snorkel right up to a £40,000 jet ski, so no matter what your budget is, we’ve got you covered!
Best boating water toys under $1,000 / £1,000
Subea Easybreath full face snorkel mask
Revolutionary snorkelling design
The Subea Easybreath full face snorkel mask is certainly an eyebrow raiser, and we don’t mean just when you stretch it over your head!
For the creators of this neat piece of kit have taken a long hard look at the humble snorkel and come up with a redesign that’s not only revolutionary, but eye-catching (in all the right ways) too. Best of all, it works.
Available exclusively at Decathlon, who spent seven years perfecting the design, the Subea Easybreath essentially comprises two individual mask sections; one for vision, one for breathing.
An exclusive air circulation concept prevents fog from forming and the field of view is an unrestricted 180 degrees.
Price: £24.99 / $45
Read more about the Subea Easybreath full face snorkel mask
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Ruckraft tow float/drybag
The idea behind the Ruckraft is simple. You’re anchored off a lovely beach, you fancy a swim ashore for an ice cream and a wander, but you have no way of taking your clothes, towel, phone and wallet with you.
Cue the Ruckraft! Inflated by simply blowing into it (it takes about 30 seconds), what you end up with is a Lilliputian inflatable dinghy.
There is a large (70L/25kg) drybag to swallow all your necessary bits and pieces, or even a tent, which secures to the raft using clips. And it’s available in a choice of colours (orange or yellow) for extra visibility in the water.
Price: £164
Airhead Super Mable
Three-person towable tube
The Airhead Super Mable is a good option for boat owners looking to get into the exciting world of towable tubes.
With the ability to carry up to three riders at once, the Super Mable is a good option for weekend party boats that are typically laden with several passengers.
While not as extreme as smaller, sportier variants, with a suitably experienced boat driver at the helm it can still deliver a surprisingly wild ride.
Price: $250 / £400
GoPro Hero 9
The ultimate action camera
Once you’ve stocked up your tender garage with all these amazing boating water toys, you’ll need something to film your adventures with, right?
Don’t be fooled into thinking all action cameras are the same, we’ve tried a number of different alternatives and none seem to offer the point and shoot simplicity of the GoPro range while still delivering consistently good footage regardless of light and shooting conditions.
They are perfectly suited for shooting on a boat for a number of key reasons. Firstly they are waterproof to 33ft (10m).
Secondly they have exceptional built-in stabilisation which corrects even the shakiest of hands and roughest of rides and thirdly they have ultra wide angle lenses with remarkably little distortion which make even the smallest of cabins look suitably palatial.
Price: £420 / $350
Read more about the GoPro Hero 9
Best boating water toys over $1,000 / £1,000
Red Paddle Co Compact SUP
Best-selling inflatable paddleboard
An inflatable SUP is a must-have boating water toy these days, but even when packed away a standard one takes up a lot of space on board.
RED’s new Compact SUP is specifically designed to solve that problem. A 10-year programme to develop the world’s most portable SUP has resulted in this new model which packs down into a backpack roughly half the size of a conventional one.
Crucially it claims to have achieved this without compromising the rigidity and stability for which its boards are renowned.
Price: £$1,699
Read more about the Red Paddle Co Compact SUP
Geneinno Titan T1
Can’t afford your own submarine? The Geneinno Titan T1 underwater drone is the next best thing…
Back in 2020 we featured the DeepSeaker DS1 four-person personal submarine. However if your toy budget won’t stretch to €1 million for a proper submarine and substantially more for a superyacht big enough to park it on, there are more economical ways to explore the depths without getting wet.
The Geneinno Titan T1 is, according to its manufacturer, the deepest-diving consumer drone fitted with a 4K camera, and the first with a robotic arm.
Price: $2,799
Read more about the Geneinno Titan T1
Nautibuoy Platform
Inflatable pontoon system
It’s party time and you’ve got too many people and not enough boat. So what do you do? Call Nautibuoy.
There’s no denying that Nautibuoy’s range of inflatable platforms are a great idea as they effectively extend the size of your boat by, well, as much as you like really.
There’s no need to stop at one platform, just tie a string of them together and just keep on going and going and going…
Price: £3,180
Read more about the Nautibuoy Platform
Kawasaki SX-R stand-up jet ski
The latest SX-R Jet Ski has a top speed of well over 50 knots – if you’re brave enough!
There are two kinds of personal water craft (PWC) – the original stand-up style like this Kawasaki SX-R Jet Ski and the larger sit-down style such as the Seadoo Spark and Yamaha Waverider.
It is these sit-down models which now dominate the market, to such an extent that in 2011 Kawasaki discontinued its stand-up range altogether. The jet ski name lived on as a generic term to describe any form of PWC (it’s actually a Kawasaki registered trademark) but not the product itself.
For six years the line lay dormant until in 2017 Kawasaki launched a brand new Jet Ski called the SX-R – a pumped-up, pimped-up, stand-up model with eye-bleeding graphics and a monstrous 1,500cc four-stroke engine.
Hugo took the chance to test one in 2020, after reading some slightly alarming safety warnings…
Price: $11,599
Read our test drive review of the Kawasaki SX-R stand-up jet ski
Fliteboard Series 2
Electric foiling surfboard takes watersports to the next level
We think James Bond would have loved this boating water toy, but if the press release is anything to go by it looks as if the bad guys may have got there first: “Fliteboard has been quietly taking over the world since it launched in 2018” it trumpets.
Putting aside the trivial matter of global domination, we can’t help but marvel at this terrific machine, which single-handedly redefines the concept of cool waterborne running – move over PWCs.
Fliteboard – an electrically-powered hydrofoil which raises the rider approximately 70cm above the water – originates from Down Under and was conceived by former kite-surfing world record holder David Trewern.
He knocked up his first prototypes using a 3D printer (bought from Aldi) and before long was zipping around the bay near his home in Belongil Beach, New South Wales at speeds of up to 45 km/h.
If you’re still not convinced that this is one of the coolest boating water toys to hit the market in years, then check out the video above of Rob and Morgan Wylie crossing the English Channel on Fliteboards in 2021. It’s not just for pros either, this is another boating water toy that’s got Hugo’s personal seal of approval.
Price: €13,200
Watch our Fliteboard test drive video
Awake Rävik S
This 30-knot electric jet board makes waveless surfing even cooler
The Rävik One and Rävik S are the latest in an exciting line of electric jet boards that can offer endless, waveless surfing. The electric surfboard concept continues to gather pace with two cool looking boards from Swedish brand Awake.
The Rävik One uses an 11kW brushless electric motor to achieve a top speed of 30 knots (9 knots faster than the YuJet and almost as quick as the petrol-powered Jetsurf that we covered in 2020).
MBY editor Hugo Andreae recently tested one, proving that even a surf-sceptic in his 50s can learn how to ride one in just a few hours.
Price: €15,900
Watch out test drive video of the Awake Rävik
Seabob F5 SR
The original and best underwater scooter
It’s long been a contender for the most desirable boating water toy out there, and now the redoubtable Seabob has been given even more grunt by its makers.
Dubbed ‘F5 SR’, this little beauty is the most powerful watercraft in the Seabob F5 series. Its E-Jet Power System delivers a mighty 745 Newtons of propulsive power – roughly two-and-a-half times as much force as a bullet leaving the muzzle of a rifle.
To keep its pilots on the straight and narrow, two rear fins provide stability and help improve manoeuvrability.
Price: €17,800
Read more about the Seabob F5 SR
Narke Electrojet GT95
Carbon-hulled Jet Ski gets 50% power boost
We’ve all been there. An idyllic bay, the perfect sheltered anchorage, anchor set just so, bimini rigged, the first long cool drink of the afternoon and it starts – the dreaded Jet Ski of a neighbouring boat, droning up and down and up and down as everyone on board takes a turn and none have the wit to travel more than 500 metres in either direction.
Well, salvation might finally be at hand in the futuristic shape of a carbon fibre e-Jet Ski from Hungary nicknamed the Cyberjet!
A three-seater personal water craft, this new Narke Electrojet GT95 model is powered by a 95hp e-motor. This represents a 50% increase on Narke’s 65hp debut model, which was launched at the 2018 Cannes Yachting Festival.
Price: €47,500
Read more about the Narke Electrojet GT95
Didn’t find what you’re looking for? Head to Amazon’s dedicated boating page for more marine products.
