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Bay Sports Cruise

PS 9 6 cruise 1
Bay Sports Cruise

Summary

On the surface, the Bay Sports Cruise might just exemplify what we just talked about. So, why should you take the time to take a look at this iSUP. Also, if you were considering a board from the Bay Sports line, what sets the this one apart from the others?

Overall
5

Pros

  • Perfect length for surfing
  • Super lightweight
  • Stable for its size
  • Excellent maneuverability
  • Includes premium accessories

Cons

  • Glides poorly compared to other boards
  • Paddle could be better quality
  • Low weight capacity
When it come down to it, a lot of Bay Sports’ iSUPs might seem nearly identical save for the size of the board itself. While that may hold some water (sorry), the trained eye can spot the subtle but important differences and how they play a role in the overall performance and value of the board.

LengthWidthThicknessWeight Capacity
11'34"6" 320 lbs

Performance

One of the standouts with this iSUP is that if you are adult under 180 pounds, this is the absolute smallest board you should get. This starts to make sense when you compare this to the smaller model, the Rider, which comes in at 8’10” and bills itself as a kid/surf iSUP but ends up being really to small for most adults. Here you get a lot of the benefits of the smaller boards, namely that the Cruise is great on the waves since it is super maneuverable plus it’s a bit more rounded than many of the longer boards which gives this maximum stability for its size.

However, if you’re on the upper limit of that weight limit, the stability factor goes out the window. Also, since most people will be pushing that weight limit, you’ll find that this board isn’t all that fast as you’ll find with a bigger board.

Features

Honestly, there isn’t all that much going on with the features of this board, but it has everything you need to keep your day on the water fun and easy. There are 2 handles carrying handles on the board — 1 in the center and the other on the tail. The center handle helps you to move across land while the back handle allows you to easily move the board in and out of the water or drag it on the beach if you need to. We would have liked to have seen a front handle on this board as well since the front is wide enough for it.

9.6 signature 1512x

The other major feature to discuss is the EVA foam pad. While it doesn’t include the entire deck, we’re happy with the large amount that it does cover. Also, Bay Sports uses a diamond grooved traction on the entire pad. This is ideal since if you’re going to use this for activities like surfing, you’re going to get the deck wet and slippery, so a pad like this will end up being your best friend.

Design

Like a most Bay Sport board, you have a choice of 1 of 3 color schemes: Pink/Blue, Blue/Yellow or Navy/Orange. While the board itself is attractive enough, all of the writing and branding across the deck, rails and bottom are a bit much. We prefer the simple elegance of some of their other boards, such as the Classic boards or the Mandala.

The board itself is short and wide, which was done to give it maximum for stability for its size. Up front, the nose is slightly lifted to give the SUP better handling in choppy water and waves.

Toward the nose there is a storage area that’s standard on most boards of this brand: a 4-point bungee area with D-rings on each point for tying down extra gear. There’s 1 additional D-ring attached to the grab handle in the back for use with the included ankle leash.

Under the board, we see a 3-fin thruster setup to help to provide as much speed as possible, especially when used for surfing, while still giving you a decent tracking for general paddling

Construction

Like with other Bay Sports iSUPs, the Cruise is incredibly light for its size, which works out great for kids who have to carry this around on their own. This is in large part due to the Fusion-Tech construction that get its strength from a focusing on creating an internally reinforced board versus relying on 3 or even 4 layers of the outer PVC like other boards do.

However, there are areas that do have multiple layers of reinforcement. For example, the rails are have 3 layers of PVC material since they tend me be one of the more vulnerable parts of an iSUP.

A great feature of a having a smaller board is quicker setup time since you have less volume to inflate. Since the air pump that comes with the board is so high-grade, we doubt the thought of getting an electric pump will even cross your mind.

Included Accessories

We’re very happy with what Bay Sports included here. Out of the box you can expect a fiberglass 3-piece adjustable paddle, 9″ FCS SUP Touring center fin, US air fin box, ankle leash, ballistic-weave nylon backpack, repair kit and a Helios triple action dual-chamber hand pump. Let us just say that this pump is one of the best we’ve seen included with an iSUP and makes inflating the board a whole lot faster and easier.

Our Verdict

If you read our review of the Bay Sports Rider, you’ll know that we gave it some criticism because it was marketed as a kids/surf SUP when it was clearly just a kid’s SUP. With the Cruise, it’s actually large enough that many adults can use it, thought admittedly not ones over 180 pounds. While not the best surfboard around by any means, it’s general-purpose enough that we would feel comfortable recommending it for other activities as well.

If you’re looking for an inflatable iSUP solely for the purpose of having a portable surfing option, then we would certainly have you give the Bay Sports Cruise a closer look. However, if you’re in the market for something more along of the lines of an all-around board that you can also take on the waves within the Bay Sports line, we would suggest you go a level up with the 10’6” Explore.

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR VERY OWN BAY SPORTS CRUISE 

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