Inflatable kayak choice

Hello dear community :wave: I would be thankful to get some advices from experienced people! I need a new kayak, im really limited on space, so probably my choices are only inflatable ones.Also my spending limit beeing 1000 euro, foldable kayaks seems really out of my range. I’m living in Denmark at the moment, so mostly I would use it in lakes, bays and sometimes in open sea just near the shore. I had intex explorer k2 before, sadly local cats didn’t enjoyed it :(. I should mention that I’m looking for a tandem kayak with capability to paddle also alone. Intex was good as first kayak, but now I would like to get something with a lot better quality as i believe it should impact whole paddling experience. What’s the main difference between low and high pressure kayaks? Should it be one of the choosing factors? I also read about 2 layer kayaks that it’s really painful to dry it out, so it would be a big downside if it’s true. I’ll add a few kayaks who caught my eye below. Feel free to suggest any others. Thanks in advance!

Story kayak- Story 2-Person Oppustelig Kajak - Hele Danmarks Skate- og Surfshop

Aqua marina tomahawk - Aqua Marina Tomahawk AIR-K 2-Personers - Oppustelig kajakker - Kano & Kajak Butikken

Aqua marina memba deluxe 2 (can’t add link)

Advanced elements advancedframe convertible (can’t add link)

My comment comes from experience with a much older low pressure type kayak/ canoe. It was really only for playing. Way too flat and too much surface area in the water, to be useful for long paddles. A high pressure might be a lot stiffer and narrower which would help. Look at the pictures closely especially the hull and keel designs. Definitely read reviews. It would be good if you could make contact with a user of the models you like. Good luck with your search.

here you go

Looking at Scandinavian dealers of Pakboat folding kayaks, they seem to be at or below 1,000 Euros. Have you checked with any of their regional dealers? They are a Scandinavian based maker, after all. And of course a folding kayak can be shipped through the post.

A decent folding kayak would be more seaworthy than many inflatables, which tend to get blown around on open water and can be dangerous if you need to reach shore in strong currents.

Watched his videos a few times already. Really informative, but for example, he is saying that his first kayak Advanced elements convertible wasn’t that great. But all other people ranking it, as one of the best kayaks. So would like to get other people opinions

Thanks for suggestions, Was looking at it, sadly, it’s over 1000euro, cheapest I could find was 1.500 euros

Thanks for the suggestions!

I had an Advanced Elements ultralight kayak, that I purchased last year as my first ever kayak. I was very pleased with it. I found inflating and deflating it to be pretty easy - amount of time was comparable to loading and unloading a hard kayak from a car. I’ve watched that guys videos - his main issue with the AE kayaks are the drying time. I first purchased and used mine in June, and we had a very hot summer. Drying time was not an issue at all. I would wipe it down with a quick-dry towel, partially deflate and put in a sunny spot, and by the time I was done putting other stuff away in my car it was dry. However, as the weather cooled in the fall, drying time became more of an issue. Water did get stuck in some corners that were hard to get at with a towel, and the fabric-like material took longer dry and I would definitely have to take it out again once I got home and put it in the sun for few hours. But overall, I was extremely happy with this kayak. It tracked pretty well, and in terms of speed I was able to keep up with other recreational kayaks in similarly sized boats.

A paddler on our most recent club trip on a small local river was using one of the Sea Eagle drop stitch kayaks (Razorlite I think). It’s open so really more of a “Pack Canoe” than a kayak. I was impressed. It seemed to be efficient and, at 28" (71 cm) wide, will give a better paddle stroke than the big tube ones. The owner seemed to have no concerns about running over some of the minor log jams we found. I’m going to guess that it, by its design, won’t get blown around as much either. Seemed to be very much like a low canoe with thicker side walls. U.S. sticker price seems to be $999. No idea if they are available on your side of the pond.

Covid era typical. Most things will cost more and take longer to get.

Had a similar club member with one. My impression was the same. I liked the boat.

Be skeptical of owner reviews. A large proportion of boat reviews are posted by people who have never owned a boat other than the one they just procured. And few beginners will have had any experience with a variety of models and sizes. The number of “10 out of 10” ratings of cheap, badly performing and even unsafe kayaks would be laughable if it wasn’t so dangerous for people looking for reliable recommendations.

The only reviews I put any stock in are ones where the writer explains their experience with a range of types of boats and includes details on their own metrics (size and skill level) and compares features with other models with which they are familiar.

Kayaking is mostly fun and everybody loves their first boat, no matter how crappy it is.

I was reading really good reviews about Seaeagle razor lite, sadly price in Denmark is around 2000 euro for it…

I really like that kayak, but damn, that drying is going to be a big big issue for me then, I have like 5 local cats lurking around, so it would mean I would have to keep an eye all the time. Big thanks for sharing your experience!

Now Im pretty much between two fds kayaks.

1- Aqua marina Tomahawk Air-K 440 (440 cm x 78 cm) Price 940 euro

  1. Story 2 person kayak (470 cm x 82) Price- 800 euro

https://www.kitedanmark.dk/story-2-person-oppustelig-kajak-17228.html?utm_source=google_shopping&148=3542&gclid=CjwKCAjwxuuCBhATEiwAIIIz0T5GHBloubIzAEMZdLbmpuxqMhdKphrZ9_oCj-yYH0KDjOffFkNS_xoCoxoQAvD_BwE

Both kayaks seems pretty similar, both gives 2 years warranty, Story kayak is a little longer and wider, Tamahawk has 2 fins, which maybe would help with tracking. Also I’ve seen people been complaining about random bubbles on Tomahawk, even in their advertised photos I could see it. So it’s a little bit worrying, Also people been mentioned being it not super stable. Sadly there is not much info about Story kayaks. I wonder specially, how stable they are in bays, as it’s not open sea, but still you can get some small waves :confused:

Have you posted your question on the Song of the Paddle forums? They are more heavily used by European paddlers and you might be more likely to find users of those two brands there – neither are marketed in the USA.

I posted a note 4 years ago before a trip with my folding kayak from the US to the UK and got 5 responses within 24 hours! In fact the contacts through that enabled me to find a paddling club in the town I was staying in and I went kayaking with them twice during my stay. Very active forums.

There is also a folding and inflatable kayaks forum with members worldwide:

http://www.foldingkayaks.org/phpBB/

I haven’t, so I’ll give it a shot, big thanks for the suggestions!