AIRE Deluxe Kayak Seat

These are different from the standard Cheetah Chair that other AIRE kayaks come with in several ways. The Deluxe Seat has stiffer foam, and more of it, in both the backrest and the buttrest. The front edge of the buttrest has a raised ridge to prevent you from slipping when you go over those steep drops. The rear pouch, instead of being made of mesh like on the Cheetah Chair, is constructed of the same dark gray pvc as the rest of the seat, and it measures about 10" X 10". There is no flip strap off the back (few AIRE pilots use these anyway), and the rear attachments are mounted higher. There is a cup holder like the Cheetah Chair has, but also a little rod holder.

Other important differences are the height of the backrest, which is only 10" compared to about 11-1/2" on the Cheetah Chair, and the elimination of the side angle adjustment straps found on the Cheetah Chair. These backrest angle adjusting straps, located near your kidneys on the Cheetah, run through ladder locks. And these Chinese made ladder locks are very weak; many paddlers end up with them broken, and a subsequent loss of back support. Not so with the new Deluxe Seat. It has extremely beefy side supports, set to 90 degrees, with no hardware to break. You can see the side angle supports in the upper right of the two views in our photo.

The Deluxe Seat also has one other construction difference that you should be aware of. Unlike the Cheetah Chair, the Deluxe Seat has no zipper to access the interior. This zipper on the Cheetah Chair is often used to either open up & dry out the interior, and/or to add additional closed cell foam. The edges of the Deluxe Seat, on the other hand, are stitched, and most of the upper ones also have edge beading on them. This means that once water gets inside the Deluxe, it will take a while to dry out. Drying is best accomplished by setting it on it's left or right side with one of the bare stitched seams facing down. We don't want to scare you into thinking this will be a big problem, but there will be some moisture inside after it's been used a while.

It should be noted that overall, this new seat is actually less comfortable than the Cheetah chair, and it is really best to think of it as a whitewater item rather than a chair for those who enjoy easier rivers and calm water. In other words, it gives more rigid support than the Cheetah seat, but not more comfort.