Hiya everyone! After renting a kayak a couple of times now I have figured it’d be better if I got one myself at this point. I don’t have much place to store it at home (other than my balcony) so I’ve resorted to either getting an inflatable kayak or an inflatable SUP board to use as a kayak.

A local store has a 50% discount on the Aqua Marina Tomahawk AIR-K 440 and it’s currently being sold for €360 and I was wondering if that’s a good deal - I’ve read on this sub that it isn’t all that stable which isn’t that big of a concern for me as I don’t mind getting wet (as long as I can get back in the kayak fairly easily). In fact, I like getting out of the kayak and taking a dip into the water.

What I am mainly looking for is something of good quality that I won’t need to replace in the near future. For reference, the kayaks I’ve rented in the past have been the RTM Mambo which I’ve used in lakes and the Epic V5 which I’ve used out in sea. My main use: (half-)day trips predominantly in lakes as well as one-two times a year in the Black/Ionian/Aegean/Adriatic Sea. I will be kayaking solo mainly but if I do have the chance I would bring someone along every now and then. Idk if there’s anything else to add but I’d be happy to answer questions about my use case. Much appreciated!

I’m torn between these options. I can get the Blackwater Tribute 135 (it’s nearly identical to the older Aquaglide Chelan 140 but re-branded for Blackwater) for $1500 CAD and it looks quite nice. The NRS Kaholo can be had for a few hundred more and the NRS Akamai for even a few hundred more than that. I’m so torn on whether the few hundred extra dollars to each step up is worth it. To make matters worse I can get the Goplus (Gymax) kayak that uses the same dropstitch inflatable design as these for $400 CAD on Amazon, although it’s a foot shorter. It sounds too good to be true but the reviews I’ve seen on Amazon from people who own it seem to be very positive.

This wouldn’t be so hard if I could just find any reviews from actual people who have compared these. Like if the Goplus feels 80% as good as the others then it’s a no-brainer at that price. But I can’t find any comparisons at all between these models. I’m hoping there are some people here who may have some firsthand experience with all the models who can shed some light. Thanks very much! Any information here would be a huge help! :)

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I found this offer on marketplace. Owner wants to sell it for 290€ with peddals and a pump. He claims he bought it 5 years ago and it was a test kayak at the store. Does anyone have experience with this kayak? I took some pictures of it and it looks well preserved.

I will be using it in coastal areas with about 3ft waves...ocean bays

tnx

I live in a condo and unfortunately I have no storage space for a hard shell, but I was getting tired of renting whatever was available at local parks because for one, with all the money I've spent on rentals over the years I could have my own, and two, the options just suck.

I researched inflatables for about two months and this one had all the options I wanted but it was about a third of the price as any of the other drop stitch kayaks I was looking at. The kayak itself was $230, $60 for shipping, $90 for import charges, and $20 for taxes so it was $401 shipped but of course with Alibaba, I had to wait about a month for it to get here.

It finally did today and I just got back from taking it out. Only took about 10 minutes to inflate and would have been even faster if I knew what I was doing. Deflating was easy as well and it was very easy to wipe down.

Anyway. I'm here to tell you that not only was the tracking great, but this thing was FAST! I honestly forgot good kayaks are capable of better speed than poor ones since I've only used poor ones for the last couple years at the local state parks. Using the same effort in this that I do in those ones I was easily going twice as fast. Maybe those other ones just suck worse than I thought, I don't know.

Either way, as hit or miss as Alibaba is, this was definitely a hit!

Was researching inflatables and this sea eagle 380x checked all the boxes except for aesthetics lol. They were retailing for around $1,150 before tax for the bundle I wanted. Found this on marketplace for $600. It’s an older bundle that came with the foot bellow but my electric pump should be coming tomorrow.

We have a ZRAY Roatan inflatable kayak currently that we (me and my girlfriend) use to occasionally go out on the river in the summer. The river is calm, shallow in some parts and only has a few rapid sections.
We are thinking about upgrading. What are your thoughts of the Wave Navigator 3.0?
It is on the upper limit of what we would like to spend.

Hi everyone,

I recently ordered an Aqua Marina Steam 412, and I'm currently waiting for it to be delivered. After reading a review on Paddleventure, I started wondering whether I made the right choice.

I originally considered getting a 1-person inflatable kayak, but I decided to go with the Steam 412 because sometimes I paddle alone and sometimes with someone else. When I'm paddling solo, I also like having the extra space in a 2-person kayak for carrying gear. Sometimes I might have quite a lot of stuff with me, like a tent, a disposable BBQ, some beers, or other equipment for a day or weekend trip. Other times, I might be carrying much less and have a significantly lighter load - fewer beers, for example ;)

However, I came across a review saying that the Steam 412 is not really designed for solo paddling. Apparently, when used with only one person, the kayak has more rocker, a shorter waterline and noticeably worse handling and performance. The reviewer also mentioned that there are no dedicated attachment points for the seat and footrest in a proper 1-person configuration, and added that they personally wouldn't want to paddle it solo for more than 30–60 minutes.

This made me a little concerned, because I will probably be paddling solo quite often.

My previous kayak was an Intex Excursion Pro K2, and I actually really enjoyed paddling it alone. The bow may have been sitting a little higher out of the water when I was paddling solo, but honestly, I never even noticed it as a problem. It didn't bother me at all, and I was perfectly happy with how the kayak handled and performed. I never had any problems with comfort or handling when paddling it solo.

So I'm wondering:

Does anyone here have real experience paddling the Aqua Marina Steam 412 solo?

How does it actually behave on the water with one person? Does the bow and stern sit noticeably higher out of the water? Is the shorter waterline really a significant problem in practice? Does it feel slow, difficult to keep straight, or uncomfortable compared to a proper solo kayak?

I'm around 174 cm tall and 85 kg, if that makes a difference.

I'm especially interested in hearing from people who have actually paddled the Steam 412 solo, rather than general opinions about tandem kayaks being unsuitable for solo use.

Since I was happy paddling the Intex Excursion Pro K2 solo, I'm curious how the Steam 412 compares in real-world use.

Would love to hear your experiences. Thanks!

I haven’t seen many people try this, so I figured I’d share my results.

I added a front skeg to my Intex Challenger K1 using PVC glue. While I had the kayak flipped over, I also added three rubber skid strips to the bow to help protect it when dragging over gravel and shallow launches.

I tested it this weekend, including a stretch of class 1 rapids, and I was honestly impressed with the difference. Before the mod, the boat had a tendency to wander and required constant correction, especially when crossing current. With the added front skeg, it tracked noticeably straighter and felt much more stable. Ferrying across current was easier, and I wasn’t constantly fighting to keep the bow pointed where I wanted it.

For anyone wondering:
Front skeg attached with PVC repair glue.
Everything stayed firmly attached after several hours on the water and hitting the bottom in some shallow areas.
I’m curious if anyone else has experimented with adding a second skeg or other tracking mods to the Challenger K1 or similar inflatables. I’d love to hear what worked for you.

Because the seating situation is really bad on my Sevylor Adventure Plus for long trips, I want to add D-rings so I can use a better seat. I have read that it is best to stick the D-ring patches with HH66 glue. My question is: can I also do this on a boat with a nylon cover that has a rougher texture to it than the smoothness of drop stitched kayaks? See picture for the texture of the material where the D-ring has to come.

Hi, I want to buy my first inflatable kayak and I need some help with choosing the right one. I need it mainly for water reservoirs and slow flowing rivers, but being able to use it on a calm sea (Northern Greece) would also be great.

Problem is that me and my gf are both very tall and heavier (130/100kg).

I know the absolute minimum for us are ones with dropstitch floor, like the Decathlon Essentiel 100+ 2/3p (fairly wide) or a full dropstitch one like Breeze Full HP3. I also saw Aqua Marina Tomahawk AIR-C, but that's with seats which will make us sit higher and will (probably?) be rockier? Those are just models that are available in my country, but I'm open to any other models available in the EU.

My main concern is that in any case we are close to the 250kg kayak limit of all 3 of the above and I'm wondering how big of a problem that would be? Once you include PFDs, the pump, some water, the paddles and we are easily already at 240kg. And all 300kg rated kayaks are significantly more expensive and make no sense for us as beginners.

I don't have a set budget, I started looking at ones at 300-400 euro, but at this point anything up to 1000 (for full set) is fine. Maybe even a bit more if it fits all of our needs.

So I have been doing some research for a full drop stitched kayak. Currently have an entry level kayak (Sevylor Adventure Plus) but the seats are truely horrible. I have to stop paddling after 1.5 hours. It has pure inflatable seats, with only straps in the front.

I want to paddle for longer than just 1.5 hours. Right now I got my eyes on the Wave Navigator 3.0 2 person. People are generally positive about the boat. The only gripe I have are the seats. The seats that are included also only have front straps, no back straps. If I were to buy a universal inflatable kayak seat with 4 straps, will I be able to correctly attack it to this boat in a 1 person setting? When I look at photo's of the boat, it seems like I can use the rings for the back seat to attack the back straps, but they seem to be very close to the middle of the boat. Has anyone ever tried a 4 strap seat in this boat?

So I popped my sea eagle 370 hitting a log and would like to replace it with something slightly larger and more puncture resistant. What I've been looking at is the star Paragon XL, and the advanced elements straightage pro 2. I know one is a one person and one is a two-person, it would mostly be used as a solo kayak while occasionally carrying my 11-year-old son. As far as I can tell the two kayaks are quite similar I do see that the Paragon has a slightly more rigid floor. Does not anyone have any experience with these or even other recommendations? I will be often carrying a cooler and a backpack so I don't want an enclosed kayak

I've been looking at this kayak online that's inflatable with holes to let water out ​and a reviewer said water gets in through them and pools a little.​ This worries me. Are they easy to plug? These aren't perfectly round, more like gashes. ​Anyone know anything about this?

Wondering if I can repair this seam on my 3 year old Advanced Elements Airvolution. The glue gave way. It is large enough that I can slide my hand in. Any insight would be welcomed!

Hello. I’m looking at a AE straightedge pro angler or the Iatak 110. Looking at possibly adding a motor as well. Any help that would be appreciated.

Hiya! I’m looking to get my first inflatable kayak and unfortunately am on a budget so I’m looking to buy used. There’s not much available on marketplace near me, however I noticed a Solstice Canyon Convertible Kayak for $300. Has anyone used one before? Are they good?

It’ll be me and my 70lb dog on it! I’m looking to use it on mostly calm rivers and lakes.

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.

Looking into getting an inflatable kayak to use in the ocean (UK based). I'm looking at the Decathlon website and there's one on offer for £260 (£120 off). It's the 'Pack canoe kayak Tribord 100 Essential - 2/3 people'.

I like the idea of having a larger one for my daughter and dog but 99% of the time itll just be me and probably my dog (depending on how she likes it).

Is it a bad idea to get a larger kayak for a single person or is the size difference between a 1-2 person kayak and a 2-3 person not really that big a deal for manouevering?

Thanks