Inflateable kayaks

[comanighttrain]

Hey chaps,

I have always fancied the idea of kayaking down some rivers and lochs but kayaks are expensive and a bugger to transport... I stumbled on inflateable kayaks the other night, they appear to be less expensive ( <£200, some <£100), easy(ier) to transport and quite light (about 10kg).

Has anyone ever used one? The thing that comes to mind is that they wont handle anything like a real kayak because of the weight....

[GwersyllaCnau]

I've used inflatable Kayaks, they're great for easily storing and transporting but mine didn't last very long, I got fed up with punctures. You can get very good 2nd hand kayaks for about the same price as an inflatable or try building your own out of ply. Here is a link to a series of photos of the build of an open canoe that I did with my son a couple of years ago. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=19297&id=1075852973

[Thumbcrusher]

My first boat was a sevylor colorado inflatable and i found it easy to transport and virtually impossible to overturn. you could also get an amazing amount of kit in it for wild camping as well. The downside is that they don't handle brilliantly in windy weather but then again neither does my GRP canoe.
What i would say is stear clear of cheap inflatables as they are generally only toys - i would say that anything less than £300 brand new possibly needs some thorough research before you buy it to make sure it's up to the job. There are loads of inflatable canoe reviews etc on the song of the paddle website. (Hope the mods don't mind me mentioning another site!).

[comanighttrain]

thanks guys!

GwersyllaCnau
The reason im going inflatable as well is storage and trasnport...no garage and no car at the moment...

Thumb
I would be ok with a toy as long as it survived a weekend without killing my and my buddy - if i get serious about it then i'd save up for a better one for sure... It would probably a freshwater river/loch i'd use it in so the weather would be quite tame

[GwersyllaCnau]

I prefer freshwater lakes, nearly drowned too many times on rivers. I'm quite happy now just gently exploring bays on lakes now. If i can't see my refection in the water it's too rough Ha Ha. Good Luck with whichever boat you choose and happy paddling.

[Aaron Rushton]

I have to second thumbcrusher on the seylor colarado. it's mroe like an inflatable canoe than a kayak but does have double paddles like a kayayk. i've fished from it all round the pembs coast with my dad. I've been a mile out fishing for mackeral. they are very stable but not very manouverable. you have to be very careful with hooks ut they are fairly resistant. never been down a river but would imagine you'd have to be carefull with underwater obstructions and rapids as it might not be able to take them.