who, me?
I’ve said almost nothing in this thread except to ask the OP to provide more detail on intended use. Maybe because I have mentioned Aire (and their Tributary) products before, there is an incorrect impression that I think inflatables with bladders are stronger? I often mention Aire because they have a great reputation out here for inflatables, and my experience with their products has been good (even the tribs with the less expensive bladders). In fact, my recent purchases of inflatables (in this case rafts) have not been bladder types. My most recent pick was a Sotar raft over an Aire raft – that decision was based largely on weight (Sotars are lighter) – I’m getting old, and I appreciate light when I’m moving big puzzle pieces around in the garage.
Pakboats
I’ve had two Pakboats kayaks and they are nice boats – currently I have a Puffin (the solo version of the Saranac Carldelo recommends). The frames are similar to tent poles, light aluminum that are shockcorded together. They form a rigid skeleton and then you insert it into a heavy duty urethane and rubber coated nylon skin that firmly attaches to the frame. Then you inflate the sponson tubes along the inside of the hull which add shape and flotation stability.
A nice thing about the Pakboat Saranac is that you can paddle it open like a canoe or with the deck on (which attaches around the rim with heavy velcro). You can get tandem or solo spray decks for the Saranac so it can be paddled by one or two. The inflatable seats are very comfortable. As you’ve noticed, they are very very light.
And they are very durable. The guy I bought my first one from used them on guided fishing trips in the Canadian Arctic and Patagonia, even in rocky streams and moderate white water. Many wilderness researchers and park service rangers have used them over the years for water access in remote areas.
There are quite a few videos of people using Pakboats on Youtube, also several of folks showing how they are assembled.
The company is in New Hampshire and they are very responsive to any questions about the boats. They also sometimes have some demo models on sale at their website. They are a bit above your stated budget, however.
repost, maybe
You might want to start a new post asking specifically about the Advanced Elements. Have tou checked the user reviews for that model on here?
yeah, tetonj and wleaf I’m trying to get
you to think about inflatables in new ways. My point of view is simple: if you go less than &700.00 retail on a new duck and your looking for durability i think you get a stronger boat with single tube construction. So if your bashing rocks, running over sticks, or blowing your boat up stiff to enhance performance a single tube might be the way to go. Vinyl bladders are the weak link in the low end offerings.
At least two prior companies have tried glued seams on raft construction. One went out of business very quickly when the boats began to have problems in less than a year (mid eighties). Another had leaking issues after the rafts were several years old. There is much discussion on Mountain Buzz about that scenario. I have no firsthand knowledge of the slow leak scenario- developing leaks over time. So when Saturn showed up with the promise of “cheap” inflatables with glued seams I was skeptical. Three years later, after my friends purchased their Saturn boats I jumped on the band wagon and bought a tandem ducky. Time will tell how they hold up and if they develop leaking problems in the long haul. I don’t consider Saturns to be a commercial grade boat for the ww industry but so far the news is good for weekend warriors. Four for five individuals I paddle with are playing hard in saturn boats on class III-V whitewater and the boats have been holding up for 3+ years despite being pvc and glued. They are considerably cheaper in price than most other whitewater rafts and ducks.
Rocky Mountain, another new entrant, is going welded but is using pvc. They just recently released their ducky. Time will tell on their products as well.
A new direction for inflatables is the “light” boat. Packrafts and new light raft by Avon have me drooling a bit.
On my Campways Shoshone the floor is literally falling apart and the whole boats needs to be taken to the dump. My Maravia has bad valves and no easy fix because of a lack of replacement valves. My Riken Cherokee duck needs a new military style valve in the thwart, and also floor plug (unavailable) is missing,my Aire tomcat was brought back to life with a new $90.00 vinyl bladder after one season of use. The Saturn duck had to be patched after my son snagged it on something in transport (probably the trunk latch)on its second trip out. I’m designing new seats for my sevylor ducks and so it goes with inflatables. If you play hard and boat a lot, stuff happens
Teton John Sotars had a delamination issue in the 80s. Hopefully they fixed that issue in the last 25 years.
Aire makes some quality boats but its not the tributary series. The Super Duper is a fun boat to paddle but many hardcore boaters don’t like boats with zippers on the floor- sand eats them up and works its way around the bladders. I liked the way the super duper paddled- an aggressive boat, but I wouldn’t want to own one- maintenance.
I rate customer service by how well folks solve my problems not by their prior reputations.
interesting
I do appreciate the detailed specific experience with duckies you offer, and admit that some of my biases about them should be adjusted, especially regarding durability. That information is useful for anyone seeking a boat for the sort of paddling you do on fast rough water.
But I’m still unconvinced that the duckies you describe would be the best option performance-wise or overall value, for what the OP’s parents are looking for in a boat for primarily coastal and flatwater paddling. They are still more raft than kayak.y
Also consider Innova kayaks
I’ve got the Safari and the quality is great. Very lightweight also.
http://innovakayak.com/
Re: repost
I wasn’t aware of the available reviews. Thank you for pointing them out. The Convertible seems to have good overall reviews.
I may be looking into the blue DS model (airkayaks.com). I haven’t been able to find many reviews on that model, outside of airkayaks.