The Gear Shed - Play Boat Comparison

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In this episode of the Gear Shed, Trevor is doing a comparison video on 3 popular play boats. Play boats in rafting are rafts that are less than 12 feet in length designed to surf and play on features. These boats are often super light weight and can be very flippy. The narrow width and high rocker of these boats makes them somewhat unstable, but also a blast to paddle. This video will be comparing the Hyside Mini Max, Aire Cub, And 11 foot SOTAR SL. You can find out more about each boat at the links below, but if you're going to spend 3200 to 5000 dollars on a raft make sure you know what you are getting into.
Hyside Mini Max: www.raftingmag.com/rafting-ma...
Aire Cub: www.raftingmag.com/rafting-ma...
SOTAR SL: sotar.com/products/sotar-sl-1...

[@dirtactual]

This is the best comparison video I have seen. Thank you.

[@drdanielcottam1]

I love these gear head type of videos, You should do the small cat boat comparison like Jacks culebra, aire sabertooth and the hyside and rmr boat. I have a jacks and can make a trip out to you. Also have a sabertooth

[@chesterfrantz6209]

Fantastic comparison, thx,

[@jeffreygreen9315]

How about the RMR Storm? Can you offer some quick comments on how it would compare to this group?

[@CyBORG1208]

I can tell you from limited experience in a minimax, owning a cub and quite a few laps in friends' storms that the storm is a different beast. It doesn't taper as much from the middle so it feels a lot wider, and it's much heavier (almost 40lbs heavier than my cub.) If the cub is a mazda miata, the storm is a subaru. It feels more stable, much less sporty, roomier, harder to get on edge and less responsive. Accelerates slower (both in the positive and negative direction), holds more momentum, etc. The storm is a great boat. I have R3ed and R2ed it and watched several buddies R1 it. I don't really feel like it is as good of a boat in tight creeks and for playing as a cub or minimax, but what you lose there you gain on the other end of the spectrum. If you are looking for a comparable RMR, although it's still a bit different, the Thundercloud is probably more competitive with something like the Cub. I have friends who own both and they pick the Storm for things R3 on the Gauley or Ocoee and the t cloud for things like class v southeast creeks. I think of the storm as a little boat with big boat energy. It seems like a much more versatile boat (at least in my mind) but if you are heart set on a super responsive play boat, I would look elsewhere. It is definitely a jack of all trades, which makes it really popular from what I can see. Caveat to all this is that it has way more in common with all these boats than with, say, a 13 foot raft. We are "zoomed in" on that ~10-11 foot boat niche.

[@RaftingMagazine]

The storm definitely fits into the play boat category, a lot of CyBORG1208 echoes what folks generally feel about the storm. Weight is the biggest factor with the RMR boats. they tend to be significantly heavier than the boats in this video. That being said it has a fantastic price point if it is your first boat or you are looking to add to the fleet on a budget. They are solid and last a long time as well as being pretty stable. The waterline makes a lot of the difference though. The boats in this video tend to have better edges for surfing and playing on features as well as more rocker. That is going to make these 3 boats feel more loose and carve and cut across waves easier. If you need to carry the RMR boat anywhere though you're going to have a lot tougher of a time. It also will not accelerate as fast due to the increased momentum. That being said it is likely to punch through waves better because of the higher weight of the boat. Hope that helps!!

[@drdanielcottam1]

also I have multiple different types of high end duckies and it would be fun to do a comparison on those

[@lerpone]

It seems like repairing an Aire in the field would be a pain in the ass. I can’t imagine having to de rig my raft, unzip a massive zipper and then find the hole in the bladder. Plus the extra time it takes to clean those silt traps out at the end of every season if you are a Utah boater like me. Every time I see an aire that’s over 10 years old, they’ve had to replace the bladders. I would choose a Hyside all day long. The triple bonded seams on a Hyside are stronger than the material itself. Plus they are the most UV and chemical resistant boats out there. I have owned a maravia, Aire, and Hyside over the years and the Hyside just seems to keep on going. It’s 30 years old without a single patch.

[@Fuckstupidlibtards]

My thoughts exactly. Rubber seems to be the easiest to live with in the SW, and my Max 12 rolls very well. However, that made in Myanmar Hyside had a patch in the bottom of the floor out of the box...

[@lerpone]

@@Fuckstupidlibtards They have been making Hysides in Myanmar for years. I am pretty sure all hysides have that patch on the bottom, I think is has something to do with the floor valve it the I Beam.

[@Fuckstupidlibtards]

@@lerpone if Hyside were upfront about country of manufacture, it would impact sales. As it stands, we don't see any of the benefit of lower manufacturing costs in the price tag of these boats. I suppose it's just like everything else made overseas by private companies, but still a bit disappointing. Still love my Max 12 though!

[@gumwap1]

@@lerpone that’s correct. I’ve owned 4 Hyside’s and they all have that floor patch under the valves for an extra layer of protection.

[@thenewfire]

@@Fuckstupidlibtards Aire is definitely a PITA unless you live in Idaho. They take care of their locals. And my Hysides came with the extra protection on the floor as well. Rubber is 100x easier to live with long term.

[@CyBORG1208]

yes! been waiting for something like this. Curious if you could throw throw the Sotar Rogue in there too. I know it's not a "play boat" necessarily but as a creek boat it competes with some of these

[@RaftingMagazine]

For sure, We're working on an updated review of that boat and we can add some of those talking points in there. The rogue has a little different design at its core, but one of the biggest differences is in the surfing. The Rogue is not super good at surfing so a play boat is going to be way more fun in that regard. We'll definitely add that into the updated review though. Thanks for watching!

[@alvaroarnal6]

Great comparison! Curious what your thoughts are about AIRE's sealed floor option in a Cub?

[@kylebrown7307]

I broke a toenail on an aire zipper right before a trip. You only make that mistake once!

[@Bertiemang]

People have run the grand canyon in the minimax

[@drdanielcottam1]

Again I would love to bring my boats out to you and we can do some days and run some stuff. Or we can come up to Idaho or Utah and meet there

[@Obliticus]

Lol, rafts that cost more than a brand new car did when I was a teen. RF vs thermal welding... you say one is stronger than the other, but then don't tell us which one is the stronger? 🤔

[@gumwap1]

RF is a thermal weld. Thermal welding is done by different means, most requently hot air and RF RF = radio frequency. The oscillation creates heat at the interface which melts and bonds the urethane/pvc So to say that one is stronger than the other is a misunderstanding

[@OPFlyFisher304]

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