GUIDE TO BUYING AN INFLATABLE KAYAK

[@nitrosilvia]

Thank you. This is a really well put together video and answered so many of the questions i had. Top work

[@TheKayakCrew]

@@nitrosilvia thanks, glad you found it useful. 👍

[@ianberry8948]

Very complete summary of the pros and cons of each type. Thank you.

[@TheKayakCrew]

Thanks, glad you found it useful

[@almmes1]

Tnx, this was an really informative video. I guess PVC with drop stich floor will be great

[@TheKayakCrew]

Thank you! PVC kayaks with a drop stitch floor have the advantage of being lighter. Full drop stitch clamshell kayaks feel more robust but are heavier to carry. I guess it depends what is more important to you. Performance wise, there is not a huge amount between them but the full drop stitch kayaks feel marginally faster and more robust. They are heavier to carry though. I think you will probably be happy with either

[@GovindSoniDotCom]

Thanks a lot for this video , I couldnt decide around but now I am certain what I need and not ' want' .. subscribed..

[@TheKayakCrew]

Thanks, very kind of you. I hope it helped you buy the right kayak for you.

[@marchaywood9378]

Really helpful of you, thank you

[@TheKayakCrew]

@@marchaywood9378 thanks, glad you found it useful

[@MrWansty]

thanks for posting a very informative and entertaining video does the group have any experiance of the thicker vinyl kayaks such as intex excursion oy the bestway hydroforce ventura ?

[@TheKayakCrew]

thanks. No, we have not used those thicker skin vinyl kayaks that you mention. I did look them up. The Bestway Hydroforce appears to have a double skin construction but I may be wrong? The Intex appears to be single skin vinyl as you say ('durable 30ga vinyl' apparently). They both appear to be more durable than the Intex Explorer which is the only single skin vinyl kayak we've used.

[@core17]

Very informative. But also, your voice almost had me asleep by the end! Have you ever considered narrating the types of stories many people fall asleep to, like true crime and creepypasta? 😁

[@TheKayakCrew]

Thanks. LOL, yes I should promote my channel as an ASMR sleep promotion one. Not sure what 'creepypasta' is though...?

[@huwwi]

Very informative video thank you. I've previously had a full drop stitch Story Division kayak which was a dream to paddle but i found that it was unstable in the sea and difficult to get back into it if i happened to fall in. I've kind of gone backwards to a hybrid kayak but find it far more stable so it can be a personal thing. Keep up the great videos. I love some of the shots you take. I'm sure one of those estuaries is the Loughour? - all the way up to Pontardulais almost! would be interested to know how that went as I've never been brave enough to try it!

[@TheKayakCrew]

Thanks, we are lucky to have so much footage from our countless trips. Yes, we have done 4 paddles on the Loughor. One was at top end upstream from Pontardulais then back down to Loughor boat club. As long as you get the tides right then it's pretty safe, as with all estuaries. I prefer the hybrids to the canoe shaped drop stitch kayaks when on the sea or wide estuaries. The canoe shape drop stitch are fast and fine for canals/rivers though. Have you tried a clamshell drop stitch? They are very stable too

[@arhodes2866]

Thanks. Very informative

[@TheKayakCrew]

Thanks, hope it helped you decide what kayak to get.

[@timo3626]

Thanks for this, very helpful. Currently looking to drop a lot of money on a high end drop stitch but would like an all rounder as I intend to take it lake/camping, but perhaps sea fishing also. I’ve considered one of the Sea Eagles or Razor kayaks. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

[@TheKayakCrew]

Thanks. If you are looking to go on the sea then I would maybe not go for a canoe shape drop stitch like the Razorlite because they are not that stable. I think probably a hybrid PVC kayak with side tubes and a drop stitch floor would be best for you because they are stable and you can fit a lot of gear in the cockpit. The Sea Eagle Explorers are meant to be very good. They are not cheap but they appear to be very reliable, high end hybrid kayaks. The Razorlites also look good but being canoe shaped they won't be a stable as the Sea Eagle Explorer (but will be faster). There are cheaper models of bybrid kayaks such as the Itiwit X100, Aqua Marina Steam/Memba, etc, or other high end ones like the AquaGlide Chelans. Hope this helps

[@LOWRIandSEREN]

Looking at sea eagles myself. Will be new to the sport but being a larger paddler I’ve been looking the overall weight limits on some of the drop stick floor models which led me to the sea eagles. I’m looking at either the 380x or more likely the 385 fast track. I’m leaning more to the latter as it’s unlikely I’ll be doing any difficult or higher grade rapids so would benefit more from the increased tracking and speed of the 385.

[@TheKayakCrew]

The Sea Eagles are not cheap but look to be very well made kayaks. The Fast Track has the innovative NeedleKnife keel and certainly looks a better option for flat water cruising and some fairly light rapids. I have seen a lot of people using the Fast Track on the Inflatable Kayaking Facebook Group and they all seem happy with them. The 380X Explorer is built like a tank by the looks of it and would be better for white water and rapids. @@LOWRIandSEREN

[@---sf5cf]

Thanks! Good day.

[@fallen0ver]

how are you fixing you camera stick to the frount? tia

[@TheKayakCrew]

I usually use a wide legged tripod which I secure to the deck of the kayak using bungee cords. You have to get the tension on the cords rights to make sure that the tripod does not move.

[@---sf5cf]

Which of these two kayaks will combine high stability and speed, safety and comfort of paddling: Aqua Tec - Ottawa pro Double or Advanced Elements - AirVolution 2. ???

[@TheKayakCrew]

Hi, sorry late reply. The Aquatec Ottowa, the Adanced Elements Airvolution and the Sandbanks Style Optimal are all very similar kayaks. The Aquatec has a flat hull while the Sandbanks Optimal has a slight V to the hull. The seats are better with the Sandbanks. I have not done a direct head to head comparison but having used both a Sandbanks and an Aquatec, they are very similar with the Sandbanks being a bit better for tracking and maybe speed due to the V shaped keel. I've not used an Airvolution kayak but have used a tandem which is very similar. The only differences I can see are that the Airvolution has a hard ridge around the cockpit rim which may help slightly to reduce the amount of water which runs off the decks into the cockpit. All 3 are stable kayaks since they are all 2 panel clamshell shaped full drop stitch kayaks.

[@Daniel_Clem]

Good thing I got the Aqua marina steam 312 instead of the aqua marina memba if PVC is the ''go to'' right now compared to fabric :o

[@TheKayakCrew]

The Steam looks to be a great kayak. Great colour too. The big advantage of single skin PVC kayaks is they dry loads quicker than fabric covered ones

[@Daniel_Clem]

@@TheKayakCrew yeah it's been great so far ! I've been using it in the fast moving waters of the St-Lawrence rivers up here in Canada - Quebec and it's been serving me well. There's no reviews of it online so it was a gamble that paid off for me :)

[@Steve-el9by]

What are Gumotex like. Looking for something for lochs and rivers. Cheers . (Know nothing about inflatables. Arghhh)

[@TheKayakCrew]

Hi, sorry late reply. I have not used any of the Gumotex kayaks but I've certainly heard of them. They do a range of different kayaks and they are made from Nitrilon which is Gumotex's own proprietary fabric (not PVC). Their website says that their 'Recreational' kayaks are designed for cruising on calm water such as lakes or sea coves.Their 'Touristic' kayaks can be used for multi-day trips or traveling on rivers with a lower degree of difficulty. I've heard good reports about Gumotex kayaks, they are certainly not cheap but seem to be well made. I did consider buying one previously but they generally seemed to have low pressure chambers rather than high pressure drop stitch.

[@Steve-el9by]

@@TheKayakCrew thanks

[@howardjones2402]

Have you any favoured brands or makes ?

[@TheKayakCrew]

Not so much favoured brands/makes but of the models we have tried so far, we prefer 2 categories, namely (1) the drop stitch clamshell kayaks and (2) the PVC kayaks with tube sides and drop stitch floors. The last one I bought was an Itiwit 100 2-3 person and we've found that much lighter and more portable than the full drop stitch tandem we'd been using before. We've not yet used in on the sea though but hope to do so soon.

[@realitycheck7553]

Ive had loads of use out of my exploer 2, no signs of any punchers

[@TheKayakCrew]

@@realitycheck7553 I’m glad to hear that. Maybe we were unlucky, but had a few punctures in ours. I think if you can avoid dragging or impacting the hull anything potentially scouring like the bed of rivers or a pebble beach then vinyl hull kayaks like the Explorers can be ok.

[@edwinmoore72]

"promo sm" ☺️

[@briansilver6196]

Hi ,i enjoyed watching that ,i have a itiwit 100 one man kayak, its my first inflatable kayak, been realy enjoying it this summer and im hooked now and time for an upgrade, iv been using it on the river wey and the Basingstoke canal, probably gonna get the aquatec ottawa pro or aqua marina tomahawk next ,cant make my mind up ,thanks for your vlog 👍🚣‍♂️🏄

[@TheKayakCrew]

Thanks. I think either the Aquatec Ottowa or AM Tomahawk would be a good upgrade. The Ottowa is a clamshell kayak and will be easier to get into/out of and more be more stable. The Tomahawk will be faster, will track better, have more storage room in the cockpit but be less stable. Depends what is more important to you - stability or speed. The Itiwit X500 may be another full drop stitch option or even a SUP-kayak, if you’re doing canals/rivers.