In our review, it took us 6:10 minutes to inflate the Bluefin Cruise 10’8 up to the recommended pressure of 15 PSI (or about 1 Bar). It takes more time to inflate the larger models Bluefin Cruise 12′ or Bluefin Cruise Tandem and the Bluefin Cruise Carbons models as those have two separated air chambers.
The time you need to inflate the Bluefin Cruise can vary a lot depending on your physical fitness level, the quality of the pump and the size of the board (we’ll talk about the different Bluefin Cruise sizes such as the 10’8, 12′, Tandem and the Carbon models).
We recommend using a double action pump to inflate your paddle board (such as the one included in the Bluefin Cruise accessories). A double action pump will allow you to inflate (and often also deflate your paddle board) faster than if you were using a single action pump.
You start with the double action mode until the pressure gauge reaches about 4 to 7 PSI (depending on your fitness level), then you switch into the single action mode to achieve the desired pressure (recommended 15 PSI for the Bluefin Cruise).
We recommend filling your board at least up to about 15 PSI (or slightly above 1 Bar). Given the Bluefin Cruise is a very high-quality and durable board, you can inflate it up to 18 PSI to make it even more stiff. However, pumping the board to pressure levels above 15 PSI is very physically demanding.
The Bluefin Cruise 10’8 is the most popular model of Bluefin, but Bluefin also offers a whole range of other boards (which we all reviewed as well). Longer paddle boards with larger volumes also take longer to inflate.
The Bluefin Cruise 12′ is the next longest board in the range. In our review, it took us 8 minutes to inflate to the recommended pressure of 15 PSI. There are also some more differences to the 10’8 version. We’ve covered all the pros and cons in our comparison of the Bluefin Cruise 10’8 and the Bluefin Cruise 12′.
Bluefin’s two-person paddle board, the Bluefin Cruise Tandem, is also a great choice if you are looking for something more stable, multi-day tours or tours with two paddlers on the SUP. Our review team inflated the Bluefin Cruise Tandem to 15 PSI in about 9 minutes.
Inflating the Bluefin Cruise Carbon models works a bit different, as the Bluefin Cruise Carbon paddle boards have two air chambers.
In our review, it took us about 7 minutes to inflate both chambers of the Bluefin Cruise Carbon 10’8 up to the recommended pressure of 15 PSI and 9 minutes for the Bluefin Cruise Carbon 12′.
However, with the more stiff built, you won’t necessarily pump them up to 15 PSI. For the Bluefin Cruise Carbon paddle boards, 12 PSI often is enough. Also, Bluefin included a triple action pump in the gear package, which helped as well.
Of course, there are some Bluefin Cruise alternatives out there, but there aren’t many boards as stable as the Bluefin Cruise. You also won’t find a model which needs half the time to inflate and is as stiff as the Bluefin Cruise.
Some boards take less time or effort to inflate, however, most achieve this by building thinner boards which are just 4 to 5 inches thick (instead of 6 inches for the Bluefin Cruise). The smaller volume may speed up your time to inflate the board, but significantly make the paddle board less stiff and less stable to stand on.
To sum it up, the Bluefin Cruise is a great choice for beginners which doesn’t take too long to inflate. We especially appreciate the high quality paddle board pump included in the accessory package of the Bluefin Cruise.
