Shopping for an inflatable fishing kayak in Alaska

Hey there, sorry for the delay! Got distracted by other things this winter, but I’m back! After looking at my analytics, and doing a lot of thinking, I have decided to continue on with Alaska adventure and lifestyle videos, AND focus a bit more on outdoor gear and clothing for Alaska, plus shopping in and from Alaska.
I love making content, but I’m trying to grow! So, I’m focusing on what the analytics say YOU like as the viewers.
I’m going to keep making long form videos- adventure/ lifestyle and my short form will be focused on a new series simply titled, Outdoor Gear Talk and Review. Stay tuned for more details.
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www.nrs.com
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www.rei.com
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[@tacrewgirl]

Good info. Thanks.

[@AlaskaPirates]

You are welcome! Thanks for the comment. 😁

[@livenhfree]

Nice! I just started looking and it didn't take me long to find Aquaglide. They seem to be a great choice for inflatables. Very impressed with what I've seen so far. Thanks for the vid! Keep away from all them bugs in the bush!

[@AlaskaPirates]

Hey thanks! Glad my vid was helpful! The bugs are relentless terminators built by SKYNET, there is no escape😳🤣

[@AlaskaPirates]

I have a couple more videos about it, check them out!

[@paulmcgonigle2379]

great to see a new video from Alaska. hope all is welll with you, video quality and sound gets better and better with every video. hows the RV restoration going?

[@AlaskaPirates]

Hey thanks for the comment! Things are going pretty darn good these days, stay tuned for RV project updates coming soon!

[@bobrich1950]

Finally pulled the trigger. Ordered a BF130 over the weekend while they had a 20% off sale!! Expecting it delivered later this week.

[@AlaskaPirates]

Congrats! I’ve been dialing mine out! BUY A PRESS FIT FIN! I stupidly lost my fin plate nut and am grounded until I get my new press fit fin and 3 spare thumb screws🤣🤦🏻‍♂️ Now I’m having to help my friend do construction work at his house until my stuff gets here in the mail🤣🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

[@bobrich1950]

@@AlaskaPirates Thanks. Curious what paddle length you're using? I'm about 6' and all the charts i see for that keep pointing me to a 250 cm paddle.

[@AlaskaPirates]

I got the longest one I could find, the tubes are pretty big, so a longer paddle is key to be able to clear them and paddle effectively and efficiently.

[@alaskanflick5303]

Sounds like a solid choice, looking forward to seeing some fishing vids with it in action!

[@alaskanflick5303]

And awesome unifisher vibes😂

[@AlaskaPirates]

Hey thanks! Stay tuned for more kayak and fishing action!

[@AlaskaPirates]

😎😎😎

[@Chris_at_Home]

Ak Raft and Kayak is a great place. We bought a pair of Aire Traveler canoes along with a nice rowing frame from them many years ago. We can use them separately as a canoe or as a huge raft with a rowing frame.

[@AlaskaPirates]

That sounds like an amazing rig! Got any pics?? Yea, they are a great local shop.

[@pauls3616]

Great video. The Aquaglide looks like a solid choice and REI provided great customer service. Thanks.

[@AlaskaPirates]

Thanks for the comment! Glad you liked the video!

[@AloneinRemoteAlaska]

Hey Pirate! HEY you finally showed your face! Piece of cake right? I am not a fan of kayaking but you buy things like I do! Has to check all the boxes! Or do with what you CAN find and find that it works just fine! Glad you got your kayak! Will be cool to see some fishing from it! 😉

[@AlaskaPirates]

Hey thanks! Yea, the time I saved by talking to the cam was enough to change my style for now. I love kayaking, but I love the water in general. Kinda been distracted by exercise and the outdoors this year, after spending so much time inside, learning how to video edit🤣🤷🏻‍♂️ how is your winter going so far? You get a snow machine yet?? Mine has been mild until the past week or so.

[@AloneinRemoteAlaska]

@@AlaskaPirates HA! No snow machine yet but also no job!!🤭I do enjoy water but mostly just fishing from the shore. 🤣

[@AlaskaPirates]

Oh man! I think you will really start to LOVE the winter as soon as you start braaping around on a machine!

[@flyguy2021]

I bought the Blackfoot 130 from REI when it was 20% off (but no dividend). I decided it really didn’t meet my needs, and the best thing about REI is you can return pretty much anything for any reason up to a year.

[@AlaskaPirates]

That’s why I love REI too! What was it about the Blackfoot that you didn’t like? I’m extra stoked about mine this season, getting all the small details worked out.

[@flyguy2021]

@@AlaskaPirates I think the Blackfoot is great for what it is. More of an issue that I just can’t convince myself I like to fly fish from a kayak compared to a raft/pontoon boat like my Watermaster. I always feel like I’m picking up and putting down my paddle to adjust my position rather than fishing.

[@AlaskaPirates]

Aya

[@bobrich1950]

Finally got it out on the water. How much time does anyone here spend on clean up and drying after each use ? Thanks

[@AlaskaPirates]

Well… today I had a fun time, terrible experience. It was a super busy nice day at my local lake, TONS of ppl. I tied up in a fine spot… if ppl could obey the rules. They were blasting wake, my skeg got wedged between two rocks and I was taking waves over the stern. I came out to check after my tempura prawns and I had to get a plastic cup to bail with from the bar tender. Bailed out a bunch, then just took off to get back. Got back fine, but the water in the boat gave me a VERY hard time at the beach. Myself and the boat now have permanent sand in and on us. The BEST part of the day was when I discovered that the boat ramp was blocked off by cars from the brewery, lots of ppl for food and live music, great show! Anyways, I did not wash or dry the boat. I’m going back out to a different lake tomorrow. I’ll prolly pull the scupper hole plugs and use a bucket to wash out the lake funk and beach sand. GET A BILGE PUMP, wash as often and the best you can, apply Solar protectant as instructed. I just drive with it and call it dry. 🤷🏻‍♂️ the UV protectant and getting the sand and gravel out are the most important for longevity. I use 303 UV protectant. KEEP IN MIND, I have the motor mount and motor on my kayak so it’s pretty heavy and awkward. I’ll post a short of the lake today after I finish writing this.

[@bobrich1950]

If shipping cost had been a non-issue, would you have gone with the Sea Eagle over the Aquaglide ?? If so, why? Thanks.

[@AlaskaPirates]

At the time yes because it had everything I was lookin for, however, now, I’m very happy that I ended up with the Aquaglide. The AG has 150 pounds more maximum weight capacity and in my opinion it is made with better materials. Sea eagle boasts about multiple layers of strong material. A good rule of thumb to follow when shopping for inflatables is, more layers of mediocre material will always be worse than one layer of really good material. I think you would be good to go with either one, but I am happy with the AG and it’s quality and performance. If you end up with the sea eagle PLEASE let me know what you think, as I have wondered. Hope this helps and let me know if you have any more questions.

[@bobrich1950]

@@AlaskaPirates Thanks and i will. Have you had the Aqauglide on any streams yet ? Curious how it handles Class 2 rapids.

[@AlaskaPirates]

It’s a beast, great all around boat, and the self bailing floor makes crashing through rapids a pleasure! The Blackfoot can easily handle up to class 3 no problem. The seat has 2 heights, I’d go with the lower for a trip with more rapids. They also make inflatable backrest type seats for white water, lowest center of gravity. I have taken my bucket boat pack raft through class 4 rapids, and I can honestly say I’d 100% charge the same rapids in the Blackfoot. Hoping to do a couple river trips this season too. That being said, the Blackfoot is a very capable white water boat, BUT, you have to rig accordingly. You won’t be able to rig the boat the same for both. I like having everything out on deck, polls, boxes, whatever, on lazy river float trips. But I will stow everything or portage gear when I come up to a known rapid. For white water trips, that’s the focus, so everything is strapped down and nothing is loose. The versatility is my favorite part of this boat.

[@bobrich1950]

@@AlaskaPirates Thanks for the invalueable insight. Much appreciated. Hoping to pull the trigger on one of these boats in the next couple of weeks. Tight lines !!

[@AlaskaPirates]

No worries! I just try to pay it forward!! So many ppl have helped me out, I try my best to do the same.

[@FirstLast-ml7yf]

Seems like my saturn kaboat 14 and aquaglide chelan 14 mean i have drank the inflatable koolaid..now for those chinooks.. 11:10

[@AlaskaPirates]

Yep, I’m sold on inflatables now. Prolly going to expand my collection.

[@bobrich1950]

Really good video sir ! Looking forward to the unveiling of the new boat. As i have one of these on the top of my list as well. Can't decide between this and a SeaEagle 385fta.

[@AlaskaPirates]

Hey thanks! The next video should be coming up in the next couple of days! Just let me know if you have any questions about the AquaGlide.

[@DenKwonDo]

I was in the same boat as you with my decision, and I chose the Blackfoot 130, and I'm glad I did. Our first kayak was a Sea Eagle SE 370, and it served us well and is still in perfect condition 9 years later, so I can attest to Sea Eagles quality, however, Aqua Glide is also a good company that stands behind their products, so, whatever you choose will be a good choice, however I personally believe the Blackfoot is a better option between the 2. Happy paddling, and be safe out there:)

[@AlaskaPirates]

Hey thanks for the input! I was wondering about the longevity of sea eagle. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with both, these are my favorite kinds of comments.

[@DenKwonDo]

​@@AlaskaPirates No problem, isn't that what we should all do, share our experiences and learn from one another?:) Sea Eagle actually made videos of them driving a jeep over one of their kayaks, so they are definitely durable! The SE 370 is made of K80 PVC, so not the same as the 1000 denier fabric used by Sea Eagles higher end watercraft, and we had done plenty of fishing out of it for quite a few years, and the only punctures it ever had was from fish fins twice and a mouse taking a chunk out of it, so id say it past the test. Ive never had to deal with Sea Eagle customer service, but they are known for being good, but today I did have to deal with Aqua Glides warranty department do to my hand pump being defective, and they were great to deal with and they are sending me the upgraded and more expensive SUP Hand pump to replace the defective one, so I'd say their customer service is amazing so far based on my experience. 1 other thing to note, is about the switchpad accessory mount base are(9 of them). I am having some difficulties with the fit(holes alignment) and getting the Yak attack Mighty mount switch holes to line up with the base holes, and when talking to customer service I was told that the RailBlaza switch mounts are the best fit for the Blackfoot, so I'm going to try that out next and hope it's a better fit. Custom service also gave pointers to have the hull in the sun or use a low heat heat gun(key word 'low heat') to hopefully make the yak attacks or Scotty mounts fit better if you are having problems with them. My son and I were about to send the Blackfoot down some whitewater on the flooded Mississippi(34,000 cubic foot let second class 4), however, although we have 9 years experience paddling canoes(we have 3) and kayaks(we have 10 in total), we were advised by a local Master Whitewater Paddler that we don't have the skills for that whitewater and that that once the river hits it's projected 40,000' per second that there are only 3 kayakers in the entire state of Minnesota that will have the skills to safety navigate it. So, unfortunately we are going to play it safe and wait till the river goes down a bit before we test it's whitewater abilities.

[@AlaskaPirates]

Thank you so much for all the helpful info! Glad to hear AG customer service was good to deal with. My Scotty rod holder fits perfectly and I also have a Railblaza camera mount. I do like the locking feature on Railblaza mounts a lot. I’m going to need a Yakattack rail mount this year to mount my fish finder, hopefully I’ll luck out and it will fit with the same ease as my Scotty rod holder, OR, I can go back through Railblazas stock to see if they offer something similar. They do have a large selection. I’ll keep posting updates of my kayak’s evolution for ppl to get some ideas, I also hope ppl continue to share their experiences and ideas too!