Bluefin Cruise SUP Board Review

Bluefin Cruise Overview

In this review of the Bluefin Cruise we go into detail about the board and the supplied accessories. At the end of this article we also added a section where we answer frequently asked questions about the board.

The Bluefin Cruise 10’8 is a fairly typical all-rounderr. With a width of 32.9" / 83,5 cm this board lies stable on the water. The dimensions are close to those of the typical all-round board, which usually measures 10'5" x 31.5" x 6" / 320 cm x 80 x 16 cm.

The advantage of these Bluefin SUP boards is that they offer a lot of stability. This is especially advantageous for beginners who still don't have the experience to maintain balance on the board.

All-round boards therefore place less emphasis on top speeds and more on stability and fun.

Extremely elongated boards such as the Bluefin Sprint are designed purely for high speeds. However, the elongated shape makes them unmanageable for beginners and the manoeuvrability is also greatly affected by the design of the raceboards.

Touring boards are an intermediate form between all-round and race boards. Allrounders offer a good balance and the round shape makes them manoeuvrable.

On longer trips you usually paddle straight ahead. There is a demand for boards with less braking and more directional stability. Here come touring boards. Typically these boards are 11.5' / 350 cm or more and are about 31.5" / 80 cm wide. The Bluefin Cruise with the dimensions 12' / 366 cm long and 32.7" / 83 cm wide falls exactly in this category.

For beginners, race boards are often a bit too wobbly. And kilometers long trips are not the goal in the beginning. Advanced paddlers, who have already had one or two seasons, feel at ease with touring boards such as the Bluefin Cruise 12'. Higher speeds can be achieved and these boards keep a straight course well.

The Bluefin Cruise 10'8 with the dimensions 327 cm long and 83.5 cm wide corresponds to the typical all-rounder. The Bluefin Cruise 12' on the other hand is a touring board measuring 366 cm x 83 cm.

It should be noted that all variants of the Bluefin Cruise are 6 inches thick. The 6 inch boards are much stiffer than the narrower boards. The biggest advantage is that more air fits into the thick boards, making them more buoyant and more stable in the water.

The thickness of 15 cm has been the norm since the early 2010s, when there were major problems with the bending of only 4" thick boards. Bluefin takes this a step further by making the board a little thicker. The production processes have also evolved rapidly in recent years. In terms of robustness and durability, today's boards are hardly comparable to the first inflatable paddle boards.

Maximum carrying capacity

The load capacity of the board is 130 kg for the 10'8" model and 140 kg for the 12' Bluefin Cruise. Bluefin SUP boards can also be used by one paddler with child or two (light) paddlers at the same time..

With many other boards you have to calculate a margin between the indicated weight and the actual weight, with Bluefin boards this is not the case and this value can be maintained.

Bluefin boards are inflatable to a higher pressure (15 to 28 PSI) than boards from other manufacturers (10 to 15 PSI). The Bluefin Cruise 10'8 therefore has more load capacity than SUP boards of a comparable length..

Features & usage

The Bluefin Cruise 10'8 is an all-round board and - as the name suggests - has a wide range of applications. For beginners, all-rounders are exciting precisely for this reason. As a beginner, you don't know what makes Stand Up Paddling particularly fun. Allrounders are a good choice for lakes, shorter trips, comfortable family trips, canal cruises and surfing on small waves. This way beginners can try out many aspects of the sport.

The Bluefin SUP does not reach top speed, but is still quite sporty. The pointed nose reduces water resistance and the rather long construction improves the straight line. The Cruise 10'8 is a stable entry model, which still has sporty accents. On a scale from beginner to professional we would classify it as "beginner +".

If you'd like to be more sporty and already have concrete plans for trips in your head for which you need to cover a few kilometres a day, or if you already have experience with SUP's, you're probably more interested in the Bluefin Cruise 12'.

The accuracy on the straight track due to the elongated construction of the Cruise 12' is quickly noticeable. Larger distances on straight SUP boarding can easily be covered with the 366 cm long model. On the one hand, the board deviates less from the direction of travel, so that the paddle side needs to be changed less frequently. On the other hand, higher speeds can be achieved with this SUP.

We like the high-quality edges of the Bluefin Cruise very much. When inflated, they are very stiff and enable fast turns on both variants. The Bluefin SUP boards can compete very well with boards of the biggest brands, which often cost over a 1000 pounds.

The Bluefin Cruise is an inflatable paddle board. On several pages on our websites we have already discussed it, but here again briefly the advantages over a hard board:

• Easy to take on holiday (even in the plane)
• Easy to store in winter days
• Much cheaper
• Technology has greatly improved over the last 10 years. This is why these boards are now almost indistinguishable from hard boards.

The disadvantages of an inflatable board are that less speed can be achieved and that inflatable boards are more suitable for beginners and less for advanced users.

Material

The Bluefin Cruise is made of multiple layers of PVC glued together. In the production process the so-called dropstitch process is used. The boards produced with this process are especially stiff. The Bluefin SUP boards are also very stable and can withstand a pressure of up to 28 PSI.

Gewicht

The average SUP Board weighs 10 to 14 kilograms. With a weight of 12 kg and 14 kg respectively, the Bluefin Cruise Boards are exactly within this range. The transport of the inflatable boards is therefore easy.

After a tour the air is let out of the board, the empty board is rolled up, stored in the backpack and can then be easily transported. Experience has shown that carrying the backpack, which weighs between 15 and 20 kilograms (board including accessories and provisions), is no problem for the average SUP boarder over distances of less than one kilometre. However, longer hikes will still be tiring.

Manufacturing

When it comes to craftsmanship, Bluefin boards are certainly not inferior to the more expensive brands. For a reasonable price, the Bluefin Cruise gives you a high-quality board (including extensive accessories). The Cruise also looks like it will last a long time. We have also read many reviews from Amazon's customers. For example, there are already 500 reviews posted about the inflatable SUP, which still gets almost the maximum 5 star rating.

The vast majority of customer reviews on Amazon are very positive. Our experience and the opinions of many customers show that the people at Bluefin are also very accommodating.

Paddle

A carbon paddle is included in the delivery. Carbon paddles are not just a bonus. It is a full-fledged SUP paddle made of a high quality material.

Carbon paddles are light and stable. The included SUP paddle is very suitable for both beginners and advanced users.

The paddle on the Cruise is of high quality and makes the purchase of another SUP paddle unnecessary. The special thing about the included paddle is that it can be converted into a double paddle. The two-piece paddle can easily be converted into a kayak paddle with an extra centre piece and a second paddle blade. This way you can really use the SUP as a kayak. In contrast to Stand Up Paddling, kayaking is done with a double paddle.

The paddle is height adjustable and can therefore be adapted to different body sizes (and therefore users). A maximum length of 2.15 meters can be adjusted.

Carbon is even lighter and more robust than fibreglass. The disadvantage of carbon is that the material is sensitive to impact. You have to be careful when entering and in shallow water.

Other accessories

In addition to the paddle, the following products are included in the delivery:

SUP leash: The supplied SUP leash is a so-called "Coiled Leash", which only expands to its full length when falling into the water. This is an important safety measure, because if you use a simple leash, you run the risk of this line becoming entangled in underwater plants or rocks.

Backpack: The included backpack has extra padding for good carrying comfort. The backpack looks nice and can also be used for other purposes.

Action camera holder: With this holder you can attach a GoPro or other action camera to the front of the board.

Double-action pump: The air pump is a modern model that blows air into the board when it is pushed down and pulled up. The inflating time can thus be shortened..

Kayak seat: The kayak seat is one of the special features of the Bluefin Cruise. The seat can be attached to the four D-rings in the middle of the board.