Whitewater rafts,
catarafts, rowing frames,
oars, and rafting accessories
from AIRE, Hyside, Maxxon,
Tributary, NRS, Incept,
Sawyer, rigging, and Boat
People specialty items are
found in these sections of our
site. Pumps and lifejackets
are listed under our Rivergear
sections. Our whitewater rafts
include self bailers and
"bucket" boats from Hyside,
Tributary (AIRE's import
line), and Incept.
Got questions? We have
rowed, paddled, or sold just
about every brand out there,
so don't hesitate to call or
come by. We love to "talk
boats," and would be happy to
answer your questions. Time
can be tight for typing
lengthy emails though, so if
you have more than a couple
questions please phone us.
Please note that photos of
AIRE's 130, 143, and 156
series are not discernable
from one another in photos
since they all look alike -
they are merely scaled up or
down from each other. AIRE
also has an optional upgrade
on all American made rafts to
a Sealed Floor Pocket;
more about that in the boat
descriptions. Also new for
2008 on the R and D series
rafts is a grey rowing frame
chafe panel, though some of
our photos still show the
older models.
We try to offer the highest
values, which is why many of
the inflatable rafts in this
part of our website are from
AIRE, and Tributary, which is
AIRE's import line. We were
the first AIRE dealer in
California and we knew AIRE's
owners long before the company
existed. Greg Ramp, AIRE's
prez & chief boat designer,
used to make inflatable kayaks
out of his detached garage in
Grants Pass, Oregon way back
in the eighties. They were
some of the best designs you
could buy at that time. From
there he moved to Idaho to
work for Maravia Corp,
continuing to develop his
ideas and setting up the huge
"urethane encapsulation" spray
booth they use to this day. A
couple years later he
co-formed AIRE with Kris
Walker, and Alan Hamilton who
we knew from his days as NRS's
manager. Kris has since left
AIRE to market his high
performance marine cat
designs.
For us and for our
customers, it's very important
that the crew at AIRE are easy
to work with. It is even more
important that they are
impeccably honest people who
always cover their products
just like they say they will.
AIRE is the only inflatable
raft builder out there
offering a warranty with
coverage for damage you do to
your boat, not just defects
that are the fault of the
manufacturer. Most of the
other boat builders claiming
ten or twelve year guarantees
may only cover the hull
material for that period, or
have exclusions that make the
warranty far less impressive
than at first glance. AIRE's
ten year guarantee works like
this: If there is any problem
that is "AIRE's fault", you
pay the shipping charges to
them and they cover the return
freight. If the problem is
"your fault", you pay shipping
both ways as you would with
just about any other brand.
Why cover your damage too?
AIRE would rather fix the boat
properly with their welders
than having one of their
products looking awful due to
a mickey-mouse repair job, and
it's also simply part of their
service policy.
AIRE's whitewater rafts
tend to be in line with, or
priced lower than, the
majority of other makes, and
their line of imported
Tributary's offer what is
likely the best value around.
They are great performing
rafts with no glue used in
their construction, unlike
similiarly priced Chinese and
Korean pvc rafts. When you
purchase a raft you are really
paying for two key things:
quality - specifically how
long the product will last and
what it will cost per year to
own, and handling. A"good
handling" raft or inflatable
kayak will be responsive
through a wide variety of
river conditions. All of
AIRE's models are extremely
well designed from a
hydrodynamic standpoint, and
they self-bail as fast or
faster than any other brand.
Some brands that a few
elitists insist are better
handling may in fact take
longer to drain, effectively
making them slower to respond
since they might be carrying
6" of water in continuous
rapids.
What about quality? In the
simplest terms, quality really
boils down to how long the
boat will last, or how long
you can maintain it in
functional condition. With
AIRE's internal bladder design
there is nothing that can
permanently disable one of
their rafts. If a couple main
tube bladders start developing
pinholes after say, 15 or 20
years, you can replace them
for fraction of the boat's
value. The outer hull of an
AIRE could in fact be nearly
worn down to the base fabric
all over and the raft will
still hold air just fine. On
the other hand, if a
non-bladderized pvc boat
becomes leaky at every crease,
or a hypalon raft accumulates
so many patches it won't hold
air for two hours, what do you
do? Boat sealants may help
with some of these problems
but it's not a long term
solution, and if your raft
needs multiple, expensive
repairs and is only worth
$700, do you pay a repairman
another $700? In most cases
the boat either ends up
fetching next to nothing at a
garage sale or taking up space
in a landfill. There is no
reason an AIRE boat can't go
30, even 40 years with upkeep,
a lifespan matched by few
other boats. For the same
reason an AIRE can be made to
last forever, it is also the
most easily serviced in the
field if something should go
wrong. With all these
considerations we don't feel
there is a better whitewater
raft than an AIRE or Tributary
at any price.
For more information about
multiple boat discounts, and
discounts on accessories that
are purchased with your boat,
please see the F.A.Q. page of
our website. This section was
updated in March of 2010.
