Inflatable kayaks/canoes? - Page 4

vandiesel · 11-27-2012, 08:40 PM

That is really cool.

**BroncoHauler** · 12-02-2012, 08:20 AM

Posted on Sport Woot today (12/02/2012). No idea if it's worth it or not, but it's today only.

Today's Woot
Sea Eagle SE 330 Pro Kayak Package

$219.99 [s:24vwbbni]$593.00[/s:24vwbbni] 63% off List Price

http://sport.woot.com/

joey2cool · 06-28-2014, 08:52 PM

Check out the inflatable paddle boards. Way more fun.

http://www.advancedelements.com/hula11.html

My partner and I outfitted two of these with a folding seat and kayak paddle.

REI is selling the paddle board with a carry handle, bag, patch kit, paddle, pump, and gage for under one grand. The kayak gear adds another $120 or so. Everything fits in the back of the van.

Bring your shorties! It's a blast out on the local lakes. Stiff and stable for up to 250 pound person.

Pschitt · 07-02-2014, 11:37 AM

An alternative to inflatable kayaks are foldable ones. I carry a Feathercraft Big Kahuna in VivaLaVida which works definitely great. Much more performant than an inflatable one, it's about the same size folded, maybe ten pounds heavier... The only bad side: it's quite expensive...
Take a look at http://feathercraft.com/

Edit: Just saw they actually also offer inflatable kayaks...

oclv · 08-04-2014, 05:34 PM

My wife and I kayak a lot. We are on the North end of Lake Tahoe. We have Ocean Kayak sit on tops hardshells that we have had for 7 or 8 years and they have been great. My wife also has a Hobie inflatable pedal kayak that she loves. However it is pretty large for hauling in the Sportsmobile and too heavy to fly with. So we spent a lot of time researching good quality inflatable kayaks. After looking at practically everything under the sun (most everything discussed here) we purchased a Sea Eagle Fast Track 385. We've had it on the water several times and it's been great. Tracks straight, easy to set up and take down, easy to dry (biggest complaint with Advanced Elements), high quality, can be paddled solo or tandem. Not the "coolest" looking but well designed for what it is designed to do. Not inexpensive but several places sell them for less than the company website.

JohnandMandi · 08-06-2014, 12:25 PM

We have a question for the whitewater crowd here.

We've been flirting with whitewater kayaking for a few years but living where we do we don't get to run WW that much. Mandi has recently voiced some anxiety with being "in" the boat and she wet exits in under a second instead of attempting a roll. Her flat water roll is 100%. Mine is maybe 50/50 but I have half achieved an actual combat roll, someone had a hand on my boat so I don't count it. I'm absolutely enamored with the sport so swimming here or there is just part of it to me right now. We started with a personalized WW class and moved up to class III by the end of it. The next year we did a refresher and are fairly solid, albeit rusty the beginning of each season. Mostly we run II/III.

So, would it be wise to maybe switch to a two person inflatable for Mandi's comfort? We haven't decided to drag our boats around with us yet but we have earmarked space for the rest of the gear. She's always had a slight fear of water, mostly what's in it, but being upside down is her WW problem. She enjoys being on the rivers but I can tell she is carrying quite a bit of anxiety. We've rafted before and she has always had a great time.

-John

Viejo · 08-06-2014, 03:33 PM

John - I think the answer's obvious - DO IT ALL.

If you are hooked on WW as I was then you will find some people of your own skill level to boat with. Check paddling clubs. With the van, I'm sure you'll be a popular new member.

As for Mandi, don't try to overcome her phobia. Get a 2person inflatable and do things in her comfort range when you travel together. I'll bet Florida has a lot more of her style of water than yours.

If you don't have the kind of marriage that allows for an occasional weekend in the Georgia hills with your paddling buddies then you'll just have to choose your passion, Kayaking or Mandi. (If it's Kayaking, be sure to get the van in the settlement

).

littleboomer · 08-06-2014, 04:55 PM

I too have just started looking for an inflatable for fishing when on van travels. I WW kayak and canoe, but am looking for something light and easy to put on the roof. I saw the NRS Pike. Does anyone have experience with this boat? It's only been out a couple of years, but seems perfect for us SMB owners.

JohnandMandi · 08-07-2014, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Viejo

John - I think the answer's obvious - DO IT ALL.

If you are hooked on WW as I was then you will find some people of your own skill level to boat with. Check paddling clubs. With the van, I'm sure you'll be a popular new member.

As for Mandi, don't try to overcome her phobia. Get a 2person inflatable and do things in her comfort range when you travel together. I'll bet Florida has a lot more of her style of water than yours.

If you don't have the kind of marriage that allows for an occasional weekend in the Georgia hills with your paddling buddies then you'll just have to choose your passion, Kayaking or Mandi. (If it's Kayaking, be sure to get the van in the settlement

).

Great advice, especially me not trying to overcome her phobia. We have the kind of marriage where we choose to be glued to each other almost every second of each day and that will never change, unless she shows me the door. When a trip is arranged she always comes and is content, most times, to just read if she skips the main event. Mandi suffers from "missing out syndrome" which is why I over think a lot of things so she can always be included. She's the baby of 5 so it makes sense. We both have an affinity for the outdoors but I tend to be quite infectious about things. I can't help it as I'm an all in kind of guy. She's learning to not get caught up in my excitement and to evaluate my crazy ass proposal(s) from her own perspective.

Since we are planning a 4-5 year trip in our van, dragging the boats around could become a real pain. I do think that as we travel the US there will be many opportunities to run some rivers and I'm worried she'll be really disappointed if we didn't have "her" boat with us. A duckie might be a great compromise for us so we're thinking we may drag our gear up when taking our van to Ujoint and rent one. I've taken several family and friends out in those and it's a blast. Honestly, I'm drawn to play boating so I'd like to eventually start getting into some beginner waves and holes to see if that's something to pursue. Mandi has no interest in that at all. I run in a Jackson Fun but could trade out to something else if I find we are running rivers in an inflatable and I actually get into play boating. I love being on the water, any water, so I'd try to make two pieces of wood lashed together work. Learning to surf kayak in Mexico could be pretty awesome too!

-John

86Scotty · 08-07-2014, 07:03 AM

I think this has been overly covered earlier in this thread but I love my Advanced Elements Advanced Frame inflatable tandem. Man, what a title! I got tired typing all of that, but that's what it's called. I bought it to get my wife out but also to get my kids out on the water in something easier than our big old aluminum canoe. It packs pretty small for a tandem boat and I've been WAY impressed with everything about it in and out of the water. Also, I can get BOTH kids in it, at least for now. Mine fits easily on the roof in front of my Thule box but it's pretty heavy (50 lbs?) so of course you can't pop the top with it there.