Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Well, that was fun. This Advanced Elements inflatable, convertible kayak was procured at the last second before leaving on a tour thru Oregon. I ended up putting it into several small lakes (Sparks, Elk, Hosmer) as well as sending it down a river (Clackamas near McIver SP). Due to the length and diversity of our tour, my Perception Acadia hard shell was once again left at home. There are several things you need to know. First and foremost, where ever you go you will be the only one with one of these. You will be conspicuous. You will be watched. At the boat ramp, people will stare at you because either they've never seen anything like it or because they wonder if they too should get out of their hardshells and into something a lot more portable. Whereas other inflatables reveal their parallel tube design, the Advance Elements products wraps the tubes in a conventional looking and handsome envelope. Reviews of other smaller tandems mention that leg room can be an issue, so I'm happy to report that at 15 feet there is plenty with the AE. Don't count on a much cargo though unless you convert over to single passenger. The second thing you should know is that it does its job very well. On the lakes it was fast in the open and, close to shore, impenetrable. On the river, the tough rubber lower survived rude rocks in class 1+ rapids. Yes it is heavier than the others, but it is also stable, robust and sturdy. Third, those electric pumps normally used for matresses will not work. Surprisingly, a cheap 14" double-action will do the job, in about 200 strokes, allowing you to get from car trunk to water in under 10 minutes. I recommend going to a 19" pump. Count on getting the pump online because currently, kayak dealers and sporting goods stores provide almost no inventory or support for inflatables. I got a longish 240cm paddle and was glad I did as the inflatable tubes necessarily make the kayak wider than a hardshell. This was an unexpected game changer for us because we can now tour knowing we have impromptu access to lake & streams along the way without worrying about security and storage for a hardshell.