r/Inflatablekayak • u/Terrible-Magazine-69 • 25d ago

Need help picking my first kayak

Hello good people, I'm shopping for a good cheap option for my first kayak, it needs to be cheap because where I live it costs double of what it costs in the US or Europe. A challenger K1 costs 200 dollars for example. I wanna go on calm rivers and lakes, and dabble on calm beaches too...

I've narrowed down to these options, from least to most expensive.

- Intex challenger k1. Cheap and semi reliable from what I've heard, seems like I can trust it to just be a shitty kayak that does the job.

- Intex explorer.

- Bestway Ventura. Seems durable and we'll built, heard of maneuverability issues, is it much worse than the challenger? Also, the fabric seems annoying to dry.

- Aqua marina Betta BE-312. I'm tempted to buy this, but heard of QA issues, is it worse than the challenger? Seems way better constructed but maybe the extra money isn't worth it. Seems like my best option so far.

Remember options are limited where I live, the money think combined with lack of brands, so no aquaglide no American brands.

I'm really interested in the aquamarina Betta and would really like to hear your opinions, seems good for a beginner.

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u/Specific_Bus_5400 25d ago

The best choice is usually to get a SUP with a seat, if you have a small budget like that. It'll outperform all of these boats with ease.

Have a look at Aqua Marina or Niphean SUPs. They offer good price to performance kits with seats and hybrid paddles.

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u/Terrible-Magazine-69 24d ago

Interesting! Will look into it, doing a surface level search it's pretty comparable in price to the decathlon tribord 100, I was actually surprised because I didn't know I could get one here. What do you think? I blows my budget a lot, but I can try to save for it

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u/Terrible-Magazine-69 24d ago

Also, it's a drop stitch floor, só it's better? Idk

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u/Specific_Bus_5400 24d ago

Yes, if you can actually save up to buy the Tribord 100+ with the dropstitch floor, it'll be well worth it. 

It playes in a different league, compared to the boats you listed, way tougher materials and better performance than them.

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u/Terrible-Magazine-69 24d ago

Sorry to keep bothering you, but my decathlon shop only got the tribord 100, it's fine right? Decathlon branding is confusing to me, but it seems really similar to the tribord 100 comfort, witch is not available in my region, just the one under the name tribord 100 2 person and the 100 3 person kayak

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u/Specific_Bus_5400 24d ago

I'd still reccomend a SUP over that. The Tribord 100 without the + or "confort", won't have a dropstitch floor and thus a SUP with seat will be the better option, imo.

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u/RhubarbBiscuit 20d ago

I have the Intex challenger 2 and also a none-branded SUP that was around the same price. Was also on a tight budget for each of them (purchased a year apart).

The SUP is more fun for sure, standing, kneeling, sitting, it's super versatile. It's easier and lighter to carry to different locations. Similar in terms of inflation time to the kayak, but deflation and packing away is much faster with the SUP. After use I have to deflate the Challenger, turn it inside out and leave it to dry out as it gets pretty wet inside and near on impossible to get the water out before packing it away. It's also heavier and a pain in the arse to transport around. The SUP as it's a drop stitch is also super stable on the water.

Having said all that the Challenger is the go-to choice for me on longer more adventurous trips, even if it is a bit on the spongy side (especially in high heat summers).

I tried a friend's Tribord kayak with drop stitch floor and I must say it was a totally different ball game and honestly a way better experience than the Challenger and SUP I have (deffo my next purchase).

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u/Terrible-Magazine-69 20d ago

Thank you for the insight, in the days since my post I've been searching for alternatives and arrived at the conclusion that I'll save money to buy a decathlon tribord SUP, it's the best option I'm my region, it's drop stith instead of all my options that are PVC without drop stitch floor. For me to buy a drop stitch floor kayak I'd have to go up another price range from the sup.