inflatable kayak
inflatable kayak
Okay, so I have a friend whose husband is looking to buy her an inflatable kayak. I know nothing about these and neither does he. She is looking for something she can throw in the back of her trunk and leave it there. She'll float it on flat water primarily, but maybe once in a while something moving...but not big moving. Anyone got a suggestion on one, a brand, etc.? Anything to help in his search and purchase?
- Cowper
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Re: inflatable kayak
Know going in that for easier water, inflatables tend to be a bit slower than hard boats. This can be an issue when you boat with others, they just paddle lazily along, and you struggle to keep up. But you're absolutely right, the inflatables are great in that you can roll them up and carry them in the trunk.
If you can go the $$, take a look at the Aire line. They make boats of essentially the same materials used in whitewater rafts, so they can be inflated to high enough pressures to perform a little better (pressure = stiffness, more like a hard boat), and they are able to take on rocky creeks and rivers without any problems.
K-pumps are good, get a small one you can take down the river with you. That allows you to deal with leaks (relatively rare), but also to deal with changes in air pressure that occur when the raft heats up and cools down. You have to bleed off pressure sometimes in the sun, but if the weather and water cool your raft from when you inflated it, or sometime after you had to bleed pressure, then you may have to top the air pressure off again on the river to regain good performance.
Most people don't bother with air pressure gauges, but consider getting one of those too. Sure, you can guess at air pressure, but most people find when they put a gauge on it that they could go higher, which again, gives you better performance. But too much and POW! So guessing is not always good.
I'll let other people speak to other brands and ideas, that pretty much exhausts the state of my knowledge.
If you can go the $$, take a look at the Aire line. They make boats of essentially the same materials used in whitewater rafts, so they can be inflated to high enough pressures to perform a little better (pressure = stiffness, more like a hard boat), and they are able to take on rocky creeks and rivers without any problems.
K-pumps are good, get a small one you can take down the river with you. That allows you to deal with leaks (relatively rare), but also to deal with changes in air pressure that occur when the raft heats up and cools down. You have to bleed off pressure sometimes in the sun, but if the weather and water cool your raft from when you inflated it, or sometime after you had to bleed pressure, then you may have to top the air pressure off again on the river to regain good performance.
Most people don't bother with air pressure gauges, but consider getting one of those too. Sure, you can guess at air pressure, but most people find when they put a gauge on it that they could go higher, which again, gives you better performance. But too much and POW! So guessing is not always good.
I'll let other people speak to other brands and ideas, that pretty much exhausts the state of my knowledge.
Trash: Get a little every time you go!
- Jim Krueger
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- Posts: 1867
- Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2005 1:54 pm
- Location: Benton, AR
Re: inflatable kayak
I have had an Aire Force IK for the last three years and have just had a ball with it on moving water. For lake paddling or long slow river trips, I still prefer one of the conventional hard kayaks I have. Besides the K-Pump to top the boat off, I recommend getting a bag to store/transport the boat in, NRS has some nice ones to fit the IKs. The bag makes it easier to handle the boat and provides some measure of protection for it.
As with my wet suits and dry tops, I would not recommend storing the boat in the trunk of the car for prolonged periods. The heat and exhaust probably doesn't do any of these materials any good. Additionally, I try and make sure I don't set the boat on any sharp objects in the car or pile anything on top of it like ice chests, etc. Even riding around with it for a long time could cause the boat to rub against something.
I have one friend who paddles a Aire Lynx, and another paddles a Tributary solo IK, both very good boats, and both have more cargo room than mine. There are many IK's out there and I too would suggest getting one as well-made as the budget will allow. Some feature to look for would include an adjustable back rest, foot braces, and thigh straps.
When I use mine, I like to re-inflate it when I get home to rinse it off then let it dry over night before storing. Since my shop is hot in the Summer, and has the occasional mouse running around, I store my boat in the house where it is cooler.
Good luck with the boat selection, let us know how it turns out and how she likes it.
Best Regards
Jim
As with my wet suits and dry tops, I would not recommend storing the boat in the trunk of the car for prolonged periods. The heat and exhaust probably doesn't do any of these materials any good. Additionally, I try and make sure I don't set the boat on any sharp objects in the car or pile anything on top of it like ice chests, etc. Even riding around with it for a long time could cause the boat to rub against something.
I have one friend who paddles a Aire Lynx, and another paddles a Tributary solo IK, both very good boats, and both have more cargo room than mine. There are many IK's out there and I too would suggest getting one as well-made as the budget will allow. Some feature to look for would include an adjustable back rest, foot braces, and thigh straps.
When I use mine, I like to re-inflate it when I get home to rinse it off then let it dry over night before storing. Since my shop is hot in the Summer, and has the occasional mouse running around, I store my boat in the house where it is cooler.
Good luck with the boat selection, let us know how it turns out and how she likes it.
Best Regards
Jim
- okieboater
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- Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2005 9:21 pm
- Name: David L. Reid
- Location: Jenks, Oklahoma
Re: inflatable kayak
buy an Aire Lynx
Take care of it and it will last almost forever and perform right up with the best IK's available. If you do decide to get rid of an Aire Lynx - there will be plenty of people wanting to buy.
Taking care is what Jim suggests, IE never store in a hot trunk, always store (even driving to/from the river) in a Aire IK storage bag, at home after a float rinse with water and drain/dry well and finally apply 303 once a year. Most IK damage happens in transit or storage mostly from fabric rubbing against something.
Do what Cowper suggests, IE buy a quality IK sized air pump, learn the proper inflation pressure and for sure in hot sun when you take the IK out of the water = deflate a bit. Tuff River Stuff makes a really nice mesh storage bag, Aire has a much smaller one. The Tuff River Stuff version gives plenty of room for spare paddle, throw bag, water, lunch, repair kit, pin kit - you name it.
Take care of it and it will last almost forever and perform right up with the best IK's available. If you do decide to get rid of an Aire Lynx - there will be plenty of people wanting to buy.
Taking care is what Jim suggests, IE never store in a hot trunk, always store (even driving to/from the river) in a Aire IK storage bag, at home after a float rinse with water and drain/dry well and finally apply 303 once a year. Most IK damage happens in transit or storage mostly from fabric rubbing against something.
Do what Cowper suggests, IE buy a quality IK sized air pump, learn the proper inflation pressure and for sure in hot sun when you take the IK out of the water = deflate a bit. Tuff River Stuff makes a really nice mesh storage bag, Aire has a much smaller one. The Tuff River Stuff version gives plenty of room for spare paddle, throw bag, water, lunch, repair kit, pin kit - you name it.
Okieboater AKA Dave Reid
We are not sure when childhood ends and adulthood begins.
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We are not sure when childhood ends and adulthood begins.
We are sure that when retirement begins, childhood restarts
- robkanraft
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- Posts: 221
- Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2005 10:00 pm
- Location: Pburg, KS
Re: inflatable kayak
We have a pair of the Aire Tomcat solos. They are great boats for casual use. We use them for lower water Buffalo and Mulberry floats. Spend more if you want a serious whitewater boat. Several western outfitters have them on sale right now.
robkanraft(means rob-kansas-rafter)
robert poole
robert poole
Re: inflatable kayak
Thank you! I will pass all this on to my friend's husband. Appreciate your time all!
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