The Bluefin Cruise has not only convinced in our best SUP Board article. For several years now, the Bluefin Cruise has been one of the best-selling SUP boards on the market and has also been able to accumulate many top reviews from customers on Amazon.
With the cruising design, the Bluefin Cruise offers on the one hand a lot of stability and on the other hand the board is also quite suitable for touring because of the tapered board tip. Especially for SUP beginners, the SUP board from Bluefin is therefore a good choice.
For this article, however, we looked at alternatives to the Bluefin Cruise. Throughout many reviews and test reports, there are two crucial points of criticism, which we will discuss in more detail below.
Table of Contents
Three Reasons Against the Bluefin Cruise
#1 Weight
Inflatable Stand Up Paddling Boards have a weight between 6 and 20 kilograms. How heavy a SUP board is depends mainly on the thickness of the material, the number of PVC layers (which make up the board) and the size.
For a 10.8 (325 cm) SUP board, the Bluefin Cruise 10.8 at 12.6 kilograms and the Bluefin Cruise Carbon 10.8 at 14 kilograms are quite heavy. This is mainly because the Bluefin boards are built extremely sturdy, which makes them very durable, but also accounts for the high weight.
The main difference between the normal version and the Bluefin Cruise Carbon is that the Cruise Carbon has an additional carbon layer woven into it, which provides extra stiffness and better riding characteristics.
Although the Bluefin Cruise comes with a top backpack with very well padded shoulder straps and additional back padding, and the Bluefin Cruise Carbon also comes with extra wheels, a lightweight SUP board would still be more practical for longer walks or for traveling by public transport.
In the selected alternatives, we have therefore also paid particular attention to the weight.
#2 Price
In terms of price, the Bluefin Cruise is in the middle class. There are significantly more expensive boards as well as inexpensive models. In our opinion, the Bluefin Cruise price is justified because the board is top built and comes with a lot of high quality accessories (kayak seat, lightweight paddle, SUP leash, waterproof phone case, etc.) already included.
However, in the comments on our YouTube channel, we have seen that many people still find the price of the Bluefin Cruise too high and want a more affordable SUP board. In the listed alternatives, we have therefore also primarily considered the price and picked out several (even) cheaper boards.
#3 Design
With its blue color, the Bluefin Cruise doesn’t stand out as much as other boards (despite its chic pattern).
In addition, other brands want to share in the great success of the Bluefin Cruise and have based their new models more on the Bluefin Cruise in recent years. The Miweba Bluemarina Mapuna Sport is the most extreme example of this that we have come across so far.
However, Bluefin has already confirmed that they are working on the design and that some interesting innovations will appear here as early as 2022. We remain curious.
5 Best Bluefin Cruise Alternatives
#1 Aqua Marina Beast
The Aqua Marina Beast is a very affordable paddle board with a kayak option. The Beast is one of the most popular beginner paddleboards on the market.
With its size of 10’6 (320 cm) in length and 32 inch (81 cm) in width, the Aqua Marina Beast offers lots of stability. This especially suits beginners, as even new paddleboarders can easily keep their balance on this board.
The scope of delivery of the board varies a lot, as there are multiple sellers for this paddleboard. Check out the offers and compare prices to find the best offer for your needs.
The Aqua Marina Beast is a very solid all-around board and an excellent choice for the price. It has been on the market for years and continues to be very popular. The board is great for ambitious beginners as it offers a lot with its great construction quality (including additional rail reinforcements), extended features (great deck pad with a kick pad) and its high-quality gear.
You can mount a kayak seat on the board. Although, a kayak seat is not always included in the scope of delivery.
However, there are plenty of options to purchase an additional paddleboard kayak seat. Just check out our article here.
With its wide construction, the Aqua Marina Beast is not such a good choice for longer tours.
In addition, the quality of the accessories included with the Beast does not quite match that of the Bluefin Cruise.
Conclusion
The Aqua Marina Beast is an affordable SUP with a kayak option. The overall quality of the board and the included gear can not keep up with the Bluefin Cruise.
For long tours, a sporty built board is better suited. However, due to its affordable price, the Beast is an interesting choice for beginners who like to mount a kayak seat.
#2 Bluefin Cruise Carbon
The Bluefin Cruise Carbon is an interesting alternative to the Bluefin Cruise.
You can consider the Bluefin Cruise Carbon as a pro model compared to the standard Bluefin Cruise.
Also, we wrote this blog post comparing the Bluefin Cruise to the Bluefin Cruise Carbon.
To some it up, the Bluefin Cruise Carbon offers everything the standard version does, and some on top of that…
The Bluefin Cruise Carbon is one of the stiffest paddleboards in the world. It is more expensive than the normal Bluefin Cruise, but offers more in terms of stiffness, included gear and board features. With its weight, it's not the best model for travelling, but on the water this inflatable paddleboard comes as close to a hardboard as you can get.
The Bluefin Cruise Carbon is more pricey than the normal Bluefin Cruise.
However, for the higher price tag you’ll get an even more stiff (!) paddleboard, more & better additional gear and more sophisticated features such as a US-fin box.
What makes the Bluefin Cruise Carbon more stiff than the Bluefin Cruise is 1. the two air chamber built and 2. the added carbon rails.
Conclusion
The more pricey Bluefin Cruise Carbon is a great choice for very ambitious paddlers who want to get themselves the stiffest paddleboard there is. The better included gear, is also a nice extra.
#3 Goosehill Sailor
The Goosehill Sailor is a versatile board and great for beginners. The board is stable in the water and has good tracking.
It’s a very light board with a weight of just 9.3 kg (20.5 lbs). Despite the light weight, the board is stiff enough to carry adults.
We really like the workmanship in general and, also, the Goosehill Sailor paddleboard is very popular, gathering thousands of great reviews online.
This results in a good price/performance ratio.
The Goosehill Sailor (as well as the similar built model Goosehill Rainbow) are classic all-around boards that are well suited for beginners. There is some exaggeration when it comes to load capacity, but overall the board seems to be stiff and received many positive reviews. Given the affordable price, both paddleboards are great boards to start with.
The accessory package is definitely not the best one and can’t keep up with the Bluefin Cruise in this regard, but the included gear is good enough for beginners.
Also, there are no D-Rings on the deckpad. Therefore, you won’t be able to attach a kayak seat on the Goosehill Sailor.
Conclusion
The Goosehill Sailor costs way less money than the Bluefin Cruise. For this price, the light-weight Goosehill Sailor is very well-built. The included gear can’t keep up with the Bluefin Cruise and you can’t attach a kayak seat to this board, but, overall, it’s an interesting Bluefin Cruise alternative if you are on a budget.
#4 Thurso Surf Waterwalker
The Thurso Surf Waterwalker is a great paddle board for beginners. It is made with good workmanship and has many extras.
The accessories are also very good quality, which is not something that every manufacturer can match.
Both versions of the Thurso Surf Waterwalker are great paddleboarding boards for beginners. Above all, the great workmanship, the numerous features on the board and the extensive accessory package included with the board make this paddleboard set so outstanding. Hardly any other manufacturer can match Thurso Surf in terms of quality. However, the Thurso Surf Waterwalker isn't available often.
We like about the board that it’s got a great built quality. In fact, the material, quality and shape are very similar to the Bluefin Cruise, which is a great thing.
One downside of this board compared to the Bluefin Cruise is that it comes with less additional gear.
Conclusion
Overall, the Thurso Surf Waterwalker is quite similar to the Bluefin Cruise. It comes with less equipment, but in terms of built quality and shape it’s quite similar.
#5 MOAI Allround 11′
The Moai Allround 11′ is a good board because it is a mix of an all-rounder and a touring board, which makes it behave similar to the Bluefin Cruise.
The contour and features are well-chosen and provide many advantages of both types of boards.
This board also has a high-quality finish and good quality accessories. The trolley backpack received very positive reviews, as did the fiberglass paddle.
The high load capacity and long length are especially good for more heavy paddlers. The board is also pretty fast and stable in the water because it has two plus one fin setup.
The kickpad makes it easy to turn the board, but you will need some practice.
The MOAI Allround 11' closes the gap between all-rounders and touring boards. The paddleboard of the Dutch brand combines many advantages of both board types. The MOAI Allround 11' is very well-built and comes with a whole accessory package (including a very high-quality backpack and a lightweight fiberglass paddle).
You can’t mount a kayak seat on this board, but the deck is comfortable and there are cargo loops to tie down extra gear.
One upside of this board is that it is a bit less expensive than the Bluefin Cruise. Also, the MOAI Allround 11′ SUP is significantly lighter than the Bluefin Cruise, with a weight of just 9 kg (20 lbs).
Conclusion
The Moai Allround 11′ is a fairly priced board. The board is a bit lighter than the Bluefin Cruise and lightly less expensive. However, you can’t mount a kayak seat and the board comes with way less included gear.
Final Words
We hope that this listing of Bluefin Cruise alternatives has helped you. If you have any suggestions for more alternatives, feel free to post them in the comments. Anyway, the plan is to update this article regularly.
When we revise the article, we can then add the new Bluefin Cruise alternatives right into the post.
