Customer Feedback

This page is for you, our customers, to share your experiences with other paddlers. We will post your photos (edited to 72 d.p.i. and cropped, if need be, so this page doesn't take forever to load) and your stories or comments, complimentary or otherwise. We will not edit your wording. If you want to write something to the effect of "well, we liked this product but such and such an aspect of it really sucked", or "we didn't really think this boat handled as well or worked out quite in the way you guys stated" that's fine with us. We will post your comments as-is but please try to keep the naughty bits at a minimum. So far all the comments have been complimentary which sort of makes it look like we're cherry picking, but that is not the case. Send those flames!

Try to be specific with any criticism. If you like or dislike something more than you expected, let your fellow boaters know why. If you have found a way to get around these "problems", share that too. If you found a boat camping item, like a water filter or camp stove, or a sleeping pad or bag that you love or hate, tell your fellow boaters about it. It doesn't have to be something we sell. Everyone is welcome here - not just our customers. We updated this page February 19th, 2009, after a good two years without any additions. A lot of what follows had been in our email box for ages. Check back periodically to see what your fellow inflatable kayakers and rafters are up to. Enjoy!

The Superlynx is perfect! ..Emma and I paddled 25 miles on the Shenandoah, and she loved the shelf drops- her first class II's. As you can see we need rain- we are on the verge of drought while you guys are soaked. Best Lee, hope you dry out. Daniel Rogers, Alexandria, VA

Here's another owner of a blue Superlynx-
I've had the Super Lynx out a couple of times now. It's great. It paddles solo much easier than I expected. it paddles in a straight line even in windy conditions. I really appreciate your informative website and the personal attention Cindy and I got. My daughter is interested in a Super Lynx and we were considering lashing them together like you suggest for the Strike 2's. Do you have 'T' handles to fit the Cannon 2 pc. FGX Wave? Take a look at the photos. Thanks again, Paul Schreck, Littleton, CO (2 photos, at right and below)

Finally, someone sent us a raft photo instead of an i.k. shot! The picture just below on the left was shot by Digital Photography Unlimited, from Cleveland, Tenn.
Steve Baumgartner writes-
The Puma you sold us in action at the entrance to Double Trouble on the Ocoee last week. Morgan went for a little swim on later in the day (first in three years), so she decided it might be a good idea to finally install the foot cups. Thanks again, Steve & Morgan

We have now used the two inflatable kayaks several times on the Nantahala River and are well pleased with them. They both performed well and I could really tell no noticeable difference in the two on this river. We had a great time and that's what it's all about. I have attached a couple of pictures from the Nantahala. The Tomcat (top) contains my daughter (in back) and daughter-in-law. The Innova (middle pic with red kayak) contains my daughter and grandson. I'm in the purple Puma (below) with my granddaughter and grandson. Thanks for all your help, Ted

From Jim States, M.D.- (no photos with this one)

Just a note to say thanks for a great web site, informed staff, and prompt delivery - I recently purchased an Aire Superlynx to use for solo and tandem ocean kayaking in the Pacific N W, as a dinghy for a C-Dory and for some moderate white water rivers. - I was able to make an informed decision about boats based on the information on your web site and with your staff. I am very pleased with the Superlynx - as a one two or three person boat.
When doing a short Solo ocean kayaking day trip I add 2.5 gallons of water just in front of the bow seat - for balance. That is easier than switching the seats, and I need the water anyway.
As a tandem - very stable - both persons can look over the side on the same side to gaze at sea life without compromising balance. This would be a great feature for young family with children wanting to explore shallow water creatures.
As a Tandem with Rotweiller [with life vest on] in the middle - even when he stands boat was stable. Hopefully he will learn to sit down.
As a Dinghy from C-Dory to shore - it holds three adults no problem. It is easy to enter from the C-Dory compared with my Hard-shell kayaks and two kayak straps fasten it neatly to the roof of the cabin. At first I was hesitant to purchase a self- draining boat for dinghy use - however the comments on your web site about the thickest floor of any inflatable help make the decision - for the most part with two people - not much problem getting wet - if I want a dry ride from the C-Dory to shore - unless of course its rough and then its a water sport and expect to get wet. The self draining aspect actually makes it a better boat if we ever have to use it for lifeboat
Thanks again for a great web site, products and helpful staff
Jim -

From Erika in Indianapolis-
I wanted to drop you a note and let you know how happy I am with my Innova Junior kayak (note this model is no longer available). Amazingly enough, it still looks brand new, even after close to two years of use. I just came back from a trip to Crystal River, Florida, where I averaged about 10 miles of paddling each day, and my Junior continues to exceed all my expectations. It's quick, comfortable, tracks well, and is small enough to expore all sorts of out-of-the-way inlets that would be inaccessible to most any other boat. As a bonus, the endangered manatee who are native to the area seemed perfectly at home around my kayak. (Hhmmmnn, maybe it's the familiar rounded shape?) For fun, I'm enclosing a photo of a junenile manatee who was clearly intrigued by my Junior. He followed me around for the longest time and would come right up to the side of my kayak for a visit. The green you can see in the photo is the side of my Junior, so you can see just how close he was! He seemed to consider me his new green friend.

Hi- Finally got the Solar II in the water this afternoon... Had some minor back surgery last week so I've been waiting to get wet! The boat is a dream! We paddled together for the first time- no worries! A bit tight quarters for a tandem, but I think removing the foot rests might help? Altogether we are very pleased... I am going to visit Glen Canyon to see Gretchen and Russ on the 2nd of October! He has scheduled us for a paddle trip from up river somewhere to a takeout at Lee's Ferry. The boats should do well, hope the paddler's are as able! I will call tomorrow or Thursday about the paddle. Thanks for all of your help! Jerry & Jeannette Lovejoy P.S. Please feel free to use the attached pictures or not! (note: the Solar II is a model that we used to carry, but it has been discontinued by the Czech Republic factory that makes the Innova boats)

From Scott Weinhold, so far the only person who actually lives in Mongolia to have purchased a boat from us - though if you scroll down you will see he is not the only person to use one there-
Lee: Attached is a picture of my wife and seven year-old son paddling on the Tuul river last Saturday, near a herd of Mongolian horses. The spot is about 50 miles northeast of the capital of Ulaanbaatar. The Sunny worked great! Had to take off the fin because the river is low in places, but although it was a little more work to go straight, it still was OK. (photo below)

From Jim-
Thought I'd let you know that the equipment you put together for our expedition to Mongolia was exactly what we needed -- I don't think I'd change one thing. Everything worked great -- more than once I appreciated the entire package, from the Innova canoes themselves to the 12-V inflator pumps, and even the foresight you had to make sure all of our paddles and handles were of compatible and interchangeable sizes. Attached are a few photos of the equipment in action (not quite as exciting as whitewater action photos, but just fine for us). I added the camel photo just as a reminder that we weren't in North Dakota or Kansas. Thanks again for your help and advice. Cheers,
James E. Almendinger, Senior Scientist
St. Croix Watershed Research Station
Science Museum of Minnesota
(photos below and at right)

Also, some more comments below from Jim in answer to whether he had problems with the wind, and as to whether the Vagabonds were too slow, since they don't exactly have a reputation for being zippy....

- Lee -- By all means you're welcome to post the pictures -- not a problem at all. In terms of wind, it was a rare day when the wind was absent, and sometimes it really howled. But we were pretty lucky, and never had a day where we couldn't get out at some point. And, we also tended to be on the right side of the lake to paddle into the wind going away from shore -- so we were never panicked about getting back. So wind wasn't a real issue. Inflatables were clearly the right choice for what we were doing, in terms of ease of set-up and portability. I can't imagine trying to piece together a Folbot or Klepper at each site (we often visited two lakes in a day). We didn't see another boat the entire trip -- Mongolians are landsmen, and it's a rare Mongolian who knows how to swim, or who has caught a fish... Not that it's particularly exciting or a big deal, but I'll bet we were probably the first paddlers on some of these lakes (almost certainly on the small ones). Cheers, -- Jim

Will Pederson (below) uses his boat for extended trips on a number of wilderness whitewater runs, as well as some day trips. Will is well over six feet tall yet he seems to have no trouble packing plenty of gear. If you pack your drybags up as high as the one behind his back, it's best to put only light items inside in order to not throw off your center of gravity. Following are some photos and comments from him, and we agree with his assesment of the foot pegs in our AIRE Force Expediton model, which is why we didn't have them installed on out last batch. We also think they are in the way on this model when you're trying to straighten your legs to get out of the thightstraps-

Hi Lee- Here are a few pictures (above & below) from my recent paddling trip. I floated a 66 mile section of the Wallowa and Grande Ronde rivers in northeast Oregon with my AIRE Force Expedition starting on April 30th with a flow of around 4,500 cfs. This is a medium-high flow and the river was moving at 5-6 mph. I had a fun three day trip with warm weather and great camping, scenery and wildlife!
The Force Expedition kayak has proven to be a capable, tough and maneuverable boat even when loaded down with my camping gear, food and water. I've been using a large mesh duffle in the stern to hold my water, food, repair kit, foot pump, etc. Then I lash an aluminum pack frame on top which holds the duffle in and provides a good platform for lashing on the dry bags containing the camping gear. The pack frame can also be used to carry the folded up boat.
The only problem I've had are with the foot pegs moving when I don't want them to (using the dry bag in the bow as a foot rest works well though so I don't really need the foot pegs, at least on camping trips). I have tried (unsuccessfully) rolling the kayak but find it much harder to roll than my old Perception Pirouette. I have been able to flip the boat upright and get back in fairly quickly after getting dumped. Also found that I can even stand up in the boat to get a better view of the upcoming rapids (don't try that in a hardshell boat!). The boat's relatively low profile (at least compared to a raft) helps when paddling into a headwind. I also recently ran the 46 mile section of the main stem Eel from Dos Rios to Alderpoint in 3 days starting on May 12 with a flow of around 1,000 cfs. At this low flow there was a lot of paddling into headwinds (the boat's relatively low profile helped here) and some dragging the boat in shallow spots but on the plus side, the river was warm enough for some great swimming. So far, I've used the boat on up to class IV day trips and up to class III camping trips and am very happy with the performance. Thanks for all the great advice and support.

....and some more from Will-
Here are a couple of other pictures from my trip. These are from "Tumbleweed" on the Alberton Gorge section of the Clark Fork in Montana. (Thanks Will!)

Thought you might get a kick out of the attached pictures. I spent the last days on the lower Yough having a blast in my Strike. I didn't swim too much. Only problem I was having was staying in my thigh straps. Is there an inflatable foot stop I can place in the very front of my boat to keep my legs from straitening out in heavy bump conditions? -Redwood Kardon

From old friend & customer Bart-
Since I have been renting IKs from you for over a decade, I wanted to add a picture to your new section along with a few comments. The picture is from the NF Stanislaus (one of my favorite IK runs). I have always been eminently pleased with the performance and condition of the equipment I have rented from you. I have, also, been impressed with your familiarity with, and with the honest appraisal of, the performance characteristics of each of the various types of IKs in your stock. Best of luck in the future! - Bart Bartholomew
(note: the North "Stan" is located in the central Sierras, CA)

From Jay, who bought two Innova solo i.k's:
Thank you so much for all of your help with the new purchase. I am truly amazed at the high quality of the kayaks. Inflation was a breeze. When we got out on the river we had several queries as to where to get one of these. Even guides from the outfitting companies were checking them out. I am very satisfied and look forward to using them whenever I can. (no photo)

From David-
Thought you might like this Picture We went down the Lower Kern at 370 cfs. This is My son on Hari Cari. Sincerly, David Carter
(note: at low to moderate flows this is the trickiest of several class four's and many III+ rapids on this run, although this photo doesn't show the meat of the rapid at all. Getting through Hari Kari upright on a Safari, the boat David bought for his son and arguably the tippiest inflatable kayak made, is no easy feat!).

From Peter, who purchased an Innova Solar II tandem kayak-
I recently bought a Solar II from you and it is wonderful. This is my first Kayak. It paddles great and packs great too. ! On the maiden voyage I thought "why use that silly fin ?". From then on I use it religiously. The boat is fast and is not too wind sensitive.
and again from Peter-
I also like the seat backs better than my friends sunny. It has great lower back support. I am 6'8" and have plenty of leg room with the seats. Also, we are very heavy. I'm 260, wife 170, kid 40 lbs and the boat seems just fine on mostly flat water so far. Thanks again, Peter (no pictures)

From Don-
The Boat People and Innova are my two favorite e-tailers on the planet. Just last week, I called about pumps for my Innova boats. Not only did you folks spend the needed time with me but my pumps are already here.
I appreciate the time you took with me as a customer. I have bought pumps before, each one with high hopes of not needing to buy a replacement for at least a year or two. It looks like the Bravo IIs just might last.
NOTE: I have two Bravo I's that I love for compactness and efficiency but one is already sporting half a tube of AguaSeal where the top plate has cracked and the bellows worn through multiple times.
I hope you folks stay in business for multiple generations to come. Folks like yourselves and Tim at Innova are a rare breed.
Many Thanks
Don Rasky
A Very Satisfied Customer
(the problems Don mentions with the Bravo I foot pump are caused by a thin area in the mold these Italian footpump plates are made from, and it's also the reason we now carry the small Bravo 7M instead of the Bravo I) Below is a photo and some addition information he sent us about one of his uses for the Innova kayak-

I just wanted to send another pic along to show what the kayaker does while the swimmer is doing the truly hard work on a marathon swim/channel crossing. The picture below is from the recent and historic swim of Marc Lewis as he became the first human to swim from Santa Rosa Island to the U.S. mainland.
In black cap is the primary swimmer (Marc Lewis) who made the historic swim from Santa Rosa Island (15 hrs, 46 min, 10 sec I believe). In yellow cap is Phil Garn, a companion/pace swimmer for the event. On the red kayak is me. This picture is an explanation in an image as to what a support kayaker does for the marathon swimmer during a channel crossing. I'm under the light-colored hat and all the gear.
Most support kayakers, go lighter on the gear. I bring a few more things to work with during the swim to build up my knowledge of gear and technique during a swim event.

From BD-
Just a quick note to let you know I am enjoying my Aire Lynx! I've been out on several trips so far, including the Clackamas, N. Santiam and the N. Umpqua rivers in Oregon. I've only dumped out once, but it was a thriller. I failed to get right enough in curve and plowed into a rock face which dumped me left into a whirlpool eddy. A little frightening, but I managed. The boat, the paddle and me were doing circles like around a drain. (photo at right)

From Jan-
Just a note to let you know that the 'yak (Jan had bought a used Jack's Plastic Welding solo IK) made it through a 9 day run down the San Juan (Utah). The boat performed very well! You should have seen me at 8-foot rapids! Shot through the rocks like a jackrabbit! Turned on a dime and gave 7 cents change. Hull speed was about 3X the rafts... zoom, zoom, zoom. Please let me know if you would like a picture (below) to put on the "happy customer" page. - Jan (Thank you for the photo Jan!)

From Chris Stiolley-
Hi Lee, As ever, very good to talk to you.
The first attached photo is one of my long-suffering attempts at gluing the Helios deck. The following 2 (below right; we just posted one since they were similar) are my solution, which I am very happy with.
If you ever get a line on a used Sunny, old variety, good condition and good price, please let me know. I'd probably buy more than one.
Best, Chris

A note by us:
Recently Gumotex, the manufacturer of Innova brand kayaks, changed a small detail on their Helios model kayaks. Since the 70's, Gumotex had used a quasi-brass grommet at the corners of the Helios's inflatable decks both fore and aft. This grommet usually presented no problems for owners who only used their Helios in fresh water, or mostly in fresh water. However, for paddlers who often or exclusively paddled the Helios in salt water, something odd happened. The poor excuse for brass would corode, and then mysteriously, that corrosion would attack the actual vulcanized bond of the inflatable decks. Quite frequently it also attacked the seam at the top of the main tubes as well, effectively opening up the whole boat. This was a tricky repair job, though Tim at Innova has recently had some success with one urethane product. Contact him at 360-707-2855 if you have been plagued with this issue.
The good news is that for over a year now, those grommets are a stainless steel compound that hopefully will have no corrosion issues, though if we owned a Helios and paddled in the ocean, we would still keep an eye on them.
Remember that this page is not intended solely for praise of the boats we carry or our service. If you've had problems with boats or accessories, you are welcome to email us and we will share your comments on this page.

Send your photos and comments to info@theboatpeople.com.