Inflatable Kayak Recommendations

[slowshoes]

Anybody have a rec for an inflatable kayak. I'm not looking for a toy - it needs to be rugged with good weight capacity and row well. Deploying and stowing needs to be hassle free too or I won't want to use it.

Even if you don't have first hand experience with one, a link to non biased reviews that don't have a vested interest in selling me one would be great.

Thanks for any help.

[trooper dan]

NRS makes the whitewater variety, the maveric is a hapylon type material. There are the cheaper models the "Rascal" and "bandit". They are not hapylon, possibly some kind of pvc. I called the company and apparently hapylon no longer exists under that trade mark, nrs's equivalent is Pennel orca. Pricy but they are heavy duty and will last a long time. I want one!

NRS MaverIK I Inflatable Kayak at NRSweb.com

[slowshoes]

Nice warranty on those Dan - they must be well made. I'm not really looking for a whitewater type though, but more this type of kayak:



The one year warranty, along with all the disclaimers of what they won't cover, doesn't inspire confidence for the overall quality of the kayaks they sell though.

[daddle]

I have had those AdvanceFrame kayaks for 5 years now. Quality is good. They paddle nice. Not like a proper kayak, but good enough. Plenty of rough surf landings and departures with them in Mexico. I would never do a passage with a kayak on the deck, so an inflatable is the only choice other than a huge boat.

[pwratch]

Not an inflatable. Not even available yet. Still, check this kayak out.

Oru Kayak

[slowshoes]

Daddle, thanks for your input on the Advanceframe kayak - I was hoping to get some input from an owner, as I'm definitely considering one.

There isn't much information on how they fold up. Is it a pretty easy process and is the folded kayak a pretty small package? Do you have the single or double seat model? My boat is only a 32 footer, so space is always at a premium.

Thanks for any further info/opinions.

Bill

[slowshoes]

That is very cool pwratch - I'll be keeping an eye on that.

[brianontheroad]

we have a two person advanced elements and loved it in the bahamas, often would use it instead of the dingy -- once you've launched it a few times it's relatively easy to do (<5 minutes) and for us was easier than putting the outboard on the dink

it paddles like a sit on top, well enough for exploring -- definitely a wet ride but we didn't mind, just good to be out paddling -- the two person is pretty big in the bag, not much smaller than a roll up dingy

we're looking at upgrading to a folbot greenland ii folding kayak, $$$ but trying to find a used one or two, the one person would definitely be cheaper, skin on frame kayak (fast, light, etc.) more work to set up/break down but a better paddler

[slowshoes]

Thanks for the info Brian - I appreciate it. That folbot looks nice, but man, that's alot of pieces to put together!

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by daddle

I have had those AdvanceFrame kayaks for 5 years now. Quality is good. They paddle nice. Not like a proper kayak, but good enough. Plenty of rough surf landings and departures with them in Mexico. I would never do a passage with a kayak on the deck, so an inflatable is the only choice other than a huge boat.

Interesting to hear your comment regarding on-deck passage. We certainly transport the dink on the aft deck and with our 8-inch high thwarts the tiny kayak nests neatly in the slot between the rail and cabin. the painter ties through the stanchion base, loops over the inverted hull and back through the hand rail to the aft stanchion base. This seems like a permanent fixture so far. Am I missing something?

[brianontheroad]

I followed the link for that oru -- those look awesome, very tempted to get one $800 isn't cheap but isn't outrageous either for how compact they are, wish I could see one in person first

[daddle]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

Am I missing something?

* Your boat is big enough that the kayak does rather shrunk away. But it is still in he way in my opinion. And a tangle hazard. An aft deck with a dinghy in proper fixtures is fine too ... but how often do we see that on a typical cruiser?

* You have avoided the bad weather that will take the kayak and whatever it is tied to away.

[Bash]

I'm going to start a new thread on on-deck kayak storage so that we don't hijack this thread on inflatable kayak recommendations.

Stay tuned.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by trooper dan

NRS makes the whitewater variety, the maveric is a hapylon type material. There are the cheaper models the "Rascal" and "bandit". They are not hapylon, possibly some kind of pvc. I called the company and apparently hapylon no longer exists under that trade mark, nrs's equivalent is Pennel orca. Pricy but they are heavy duty and will last a long time. I want one!

NRS MaverIK I Inflatable Kayak at NRSweb.com

I ran an NRS Maverick down the Animas River last summer. A real kick in the pants! Great little ducky boats, extra sturdy. But I wouldn't want one as a sea kayak. They don't track straight, you don't stay dry, and top speed is a lot slower than a normal yak. Those are river toys, not ocean toys.

[sailnautilus]

We have an inflatable kayak made by Hobie... great because you can peddle and paddle (model i12s). Downside is quality is poor.... when seams started leaking. Hobie stood behind it and replaced the kayak even though it was long out of warranty.
Really stable, really easy to paddle and great for snorkling out of.