Hey, I’m taking a trip back home to PA and need a WW boat that can be taken on a plane. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on what a good inflatable model would be for a mainly class III WW trip. Thanks
Jeremy
Not much help here…
You might want to post this to or review the threads on the Raft forum of Boatertalk. Some recent discussions on the NRS Bandit versus Aire Tomcat series (the lightweight of the Bandit series looks attractive for flying / hauling).
Aire Tom Cat Looks Good
I haven’t paddled one, but if I were buying now, that is what I would get.
Price point matters.
You can probably buy 3 AIRE Tomcats on sale for what a Force XL costs. The Force is going to be by far the better true WW boat. The Tomcat will get you down a class III river though and sometimes it’s nice to have more than one as a loaner.
As noted in this thread, boatertalk has a thread going concerning the NRS Bandit and it’s lightweight advantage. Downside is no history for the reliability issue.
I typically use an IK tandem for multiday trips in the class II-III range. It has not proven practical to fly with that setup. The tandems push 50 lbs by themselves and add up: pump, pfd, 2 paddles, helmet, and enough camping gear to support anywhere from 3-7 days, it’s too much.
I really think you can’t go too wrong with any current vendor once you exceed the pool toy type of boat. They all hold resale value in case you wish to trade up.