Comparing Whitewater Raft Manufacturers in 2022 | AIRE, Hyside, Maravia, RMR, and SOTAR

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[@SapperMan724]

I loved my Sotar, and the folks working at the shop in Merlin were absolutely awesome, they knew my raft from when it was made and talked me OUT of buying stuff I didn't need.

[@jackchivvis4188]

My '91 Hyside has held up very good after many many miles. My only 2 gripes were that the grommet holes to lace in the floor never lined up that good and the floor developed a very slow seam leak. But it is one of their earlier boats and I would not judge todays boats against mine. Still very happy and It will out last me.

[@juliestanley2034]

Nice work as usual Zach!

[@tylertastemaker]

Dope way to handle a topic with so many answers!

[@GearGarageTV]

Thanks!

[@jdrogie]

Wing fanboi here! Indestructible.

[@andrewwatkins6109]

Great vid

[@andyneinas5902]

Thanks Zach...wishing you well.

[@GearGarageTV]

It was great to see you last week

[@samdonahue4185]

I’ve currently got a Hyside mini max w/fishing frame that I absolutely love. The only downside is I can only seat two with the frame and things tend to get tight, especially on overnights. Been thinking about going a bit bigger so that I can seat two others for day trips and have more gear space for those overnights. Any thoughts on the differences between an Aire Super Puma vs. Hyside? I know Aire is supposedly all PVC vs hypalon. But my main question would be regarding manoeuvrability and such. Ideal situation would be to keep the mini max as an R2/R4 raft but I’ve gotta be honest about the cost of having two rafts

[@tonyhunter6397]

Thanks Zach, such a novel idea it looked like you caught the vendors off gaurd, basic info for people who don’t know.

[@GearGarageTV]

I gave them a heads up and time to prepare

[@kristianmickelson]

Thanks for Sharing Zach. My guess is these companies heads of PR were like what? The whole purpose of the manufacturers being there is to be able nail this elevator pitch 10 out of 10 times, and they got a meh. Fortunately most have pretty good websites and customer service to get all the answers you need. What I think would make a more interesting video is asking a bunch of raft companies why they use certain manufacturers, might be hard to get honest opinion out of them too though.

[@GearGarageTV]

Yep that would be interesting

[@gwenquigley329]

Hey Zach! Love your channel. I’m looking to attend a guide school or paddling clinic this spring to increase my confidence on class III-VI+ water. I’ve been guiding for years but want more time on the sticks without clients/gear in the boat before the 2023 season. I’ve been considering NOC’s guide school program. Do you have any thoughts on NOC or have other recommendations?

[@ZacharyCollier]

NOC is pretty reputable so I bet they're pretty good. I don't have any direct experience with them but that's my best guess.

[@gwenquigley329]

@@ZacharyCollier Thank you!!

[@itsHOPPYhour]

Hey Zach been boating my whole life and still learn a lot from your channel! I would like your thoughts on boat choice for the rivers I mainly run Yampa, lodore, deso, west water, with the occasional salmon and grand trip. Learned on a maravia 16 raft but I am looking at cats for easier versatility with day fishing setups sorta stuck at the maravia cats and the sotar st and legends just never had a chance to run any of them. The cat boats I have experience with are nrs and hyside. What are your thoughts?

[@GearGarageTV]

For those rivers I'd stick with a 16' raft

[@dgrfsthrgsergwrtghasefq]

So if Hyside is now spraying the floor with urethane do you now have to carry two separate patch kits with the appropriate glues?

[@GearGarageTV]

Yep

[@598victor]

Wing skipped it?

[@GearGarageTV]

They weren't at the trade show

[@AKgrowngal]

So I guess you still don’t have that NRS sponsorship then? 😉

[@GearGarageTV]

Nope but I feel light it’s coming soon!

[@thenewfire]

Achilles still makes a better raft than anyone but Wing (& maybe Dib) and is much more affordable.