Our inflatable kayak
line includes whitewater
kayaks, kayaks for oceans,
calm water, and backpackers,
with AIRE, Innova, NRS,
Incept, Hyside, BicSport, and
others. Details on solo
whitewater, tandem
whitewater, and touring
inflatable kayaks are found on
their respective pages, but
some rough rules of thumb
about all models are as
follows:
The more boat length in
the water, known as the
"waterline", the more easily a
whitewater model will ride
through holes. Long waterlines
on a touring kayak - inflatable
or otherwise - increase hull
speed and tracking. Short
waterlines decrease weight
capacity but can help a kayak
pivot and surf better on rivers
or in ocean waves. Wide boats
are more stable but also
slower. In other words, there's
no such thing as a fast
flatwater boat that is also a
great, stable whitewater
craft.
An i.k's total payload
capacity (your weight plus
your gear) depends on width,
waterline length, tube
diameter, and on self-bailers,
how thick the floor is from top
to bottom. In some instances
you will be sitting directly on
top of the inflatable floor, and
on other kayaks there may be
an inflatable or foam buttrest
underneath you. Many of the
Sea Eagle, Stearns, and
Sevylor "self-bailers" that are
being sold today have floors
that only range from 3" to 4",
so if you are a larger person,
or you want a tandem model,
you will want to keep this in
mind. To really function
properly most true river
inflatables will have floors 5"
to 6" thick, or at least 4" on
some of the longer solo
models. All inflatable kayaks
in our two whitewater sections
are self-bailing except the
Innova Vagabond. Merced
River with I.K. photo (Photo:
rocky, technical low water
runs are ideal for inflatables.
Unlike hardshell kayaks, which
tend to get pinned, inflatable
kayaks will "boof" over
obstacles. This boat was a
decked version of the Innova
Junior that Hyside built for us
back in the 80's called a
"Bullet", and no, these are no
longer available)
To be sure, we don't try
to carry every brand of
inflatable kayak. There are
some European models we've
never even seen. Several
issues may keep something
out of our selection. There are
a number of companies who
either mostly sell direct (like
Sotar, Maravia, Custom
Inflatables, etc) or who do so
exclusively (like Demaree in
Maryland).
Some may sell through a
handful of dealers, but due to
labor intensive one-up
production may not be able to
offer a margin that allows a
dealer to stock and sit on that
company's inventory. A few
simply don't seem to offer a
good price/quality/warranty
ratio. And others, like some
lower end mass produced
brands are so readily
available at hundreds of
retailers - and even on Ebay -
that again, it makes no sense
for us to be a "me-too". Even
if a brand or model isn't here
now, that does not mean we
won't pick it up later. And just
because something isn't on
our pages does not mean that
boat isn't worth your
consideration, but we do try to
carry inflatable kayaks that
will provide both excellent
performance and cost you the
minimum amount per year to
own.
