PWC Alternatives: Jet Ski vs Waverunner vs Sea-Doo

“Jet ski” has become a widely accepted term people use to generically describe all personal watercrafts, but did you know it’s actually a brand name and not an improper proper noun?

We’ve been guilty here at the Boats.net blog of using “jet ski” and “waverunner” interchangeably as SEO keywords to describe all PWCs, but these are actually brand names. PWC stands for personal watercraft, and that’s actually the correct overall term to describe these machines. With that confession in mind, here are some things you should know about the PWC brands Jet Ski, WaveRunner and Sea-Doo. 

Sea-Doo 

The Sea-Doo is the “OG” of the PWC, the first of its kind. It was developed by Canadian manufacturer Bombardier Recreational Products in the 1960s. 

Sea-Doo’s popularity has a lot to do with affordability, as well as for being user-friendly for beginners. Compared to Jet Ski and WaveRunner, Sea-Doo generally offers the most affordable price range models. 

If you’re a beginner to the PWC game and just want a fun, easy-to-use affordable watercraft to get started with, Sea-Doo is your best bet. However, the lower price point often comes at the expense of speed and comfort. In other words, the more affordable Sea-Doo models don’t offer the higher speeds or luxuries of its competitors, but they’re a solid choice for a first-time buyer. 

• We don’t sell the OEM parts here at Boats.net, but you can find genuine Sea-Doo watercraft parts at our sister site Partzilla.com. 

Fun Fact: BRP, the manufacturer of Sea-Doo, also owns Can-Am and Ski-Doo.

Jet Ski

As already mentioned, Jet Ski is a brand name — not a generic term — introduced by Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki in the 1970s.

One reason “Jet Ski” became synonymous with all PWCs is that it was the first commercially successful personal watercraft. Not long after BRP introduced Sea-Doo, Kawasaki got into the PWC game with the much more powerful Jet Ski. It was so successful that even the use of personal watercraft is now commonly referred to as “jet skiing”. 

Jet Skis were only available as stand-up model PWC until 1986, when Kawasaki began making sit-down versions as well. 

These watercraft are renowned for their high-speed performance, much like Kawasaki motorcycles are in the powersports world. However, Jet Skis are not known for affordability, being much more high-end than Sea-Doos. If speed and luxury are your thing — and you can afford one —  Jet Ski is a preferable choice.

• You can also find OEM Kawasaki Jet Ski parts at our sister site Partzilla.com.

Fun Fact: The movie Police Academy 3, which prominently features Kawasaki stand-up Jet Skis, came out in 1986: the same year Yamaha introduced the WaveRunner 500, the world’s first sit-down PWC.

WaveRunner 

Not to be left in competitor Kawasaki’s wake, Japanese manufacturer Yamaha got into the personal watercraft game by introducing the WaveRunner in 1986. 

Like Kawasaki, Yamaha is also renowned for its high-performance motorcycles, so naturally they developed their own PWC to compete with them in the watersports world. The 1980s was a decade of fierce competition in the PWC market, so much so that the competition between the Jet Ski and the Wave Runner brought Sea-Doo back into the game in 1988, after having been discontinued in the early 70s.

The WaveRunner is popular as a reliable, fun and fast PWC alternative to the Jet Ski. It’s a formidable opponent in both speed and luxury, offering plenty of storage space. Like Jet Ski, “WaveRunner” has also become a widely accepted synonym to refer to any PWC. And also like Jet Skis, WaveRunners aren’t cheap because they offer higher speed performance, comfort and extras. 

• You can find OEM Yamaha WaveRunner parts both here at Boats.net and on our sister site Partzilla.com.

Jet Ski, WaveRunner or Sea-Doo: Which to Choose?

If you’re in the market for a personal watercraft and need a little help deciding, here are some quick bullet points about “the big 3” of PWC. 

• WaveRunner has a broader range of model options to cater to beginners and pros alike than Jet Ski and Sea-Doo.
• Sea-Doo is the favored PWC alternative for affordability and for beginners, but it’s been known to fall behind WaveRunner and Jet Ski in performance and features.
• WaveRunner offers some lower-end affordable models to compete with Sea-Doo, and is widely regarded as the “happy medium” brand between Jet Ski and Sea-Doo for the casual rider seeking affordability and speed.
• All three manufacturers have offered stand-up PWC models, which were especially popular in the 80s, but eventually fell out of favor. However, like many other things that were popular in the 80s, they’re starting to make a comeback.

Whether you choose a Sea-Doo, WaveRunner or Jet Ski, one thing they all have in common is they’re all quality PWCs with pros and cons. It all comes down to how much you’re willing to pay for extra features and performance, but all three are solid brands.