I am a whitewater kayaker and previously only had tried whitewater kayaks. I went through the whole novice phase where trying to paddle just turns you around and around - not to mention, extremely frustrating. White water kayaks are meant to spin very easily because you want to be able to maneuver your kayak really quickly when you are in the rapids or among rocks or other hazards. Speed is much less of a concern with a white water kayak since, well, the water is already moving, so you don't need to paddle very hard.

However, taking a whitewater kayak in a lake is pretty much good for only two things: 1) An extremely good workout - since the kayaks simply do not want to go straight and 2) Practicing your skills in a safe environment without having to worry about hazards and currents.

My wife had been wanting to go on the water with me for a while now so I finally buckled down and bought this kayak (of course after researching the hell out of inflatable kayaks.) Friend kayakers had told me that Inflatable kayaks are in general stable and this kayak just delivers on the mark. I bought it with the double action pump and it worked pretty well. The kayak is pretty heavy - 56 lbs. I consider myself strong but trying to carry it in the case to the water was a bit of struggle. The reason is not that the weight. Rather, the carrying case is is like an oversize shopping bag - of course, zippered, so it is completely enclosed. The handles are not big enough to give you enough length to hang around your shoulders. You can put your arm in and put it on your shoulder, but it is not very comfortable.

Setting it up was pretty straightforward. It takes about 10 minutes to fully setup. One thing I had been dreading was pumping the kayak up. Surprisingly, the kayak barely requires 1-2 psi pressure when fully inflated, so the pump really pumps it up very quickly.

I did a water launch of the kayak i.e. take it in about calf deep water and then place your butt in the kayak. Then raise your legs and bring them in. My wife is not a kayaker and does not know swimming, so I was quite concerned with stability of the kayak. I suited her up in the life vest and had her sit in first in the rear seat. Boy, it was stable! She sat down with not an issue. I got in without any issues as well. I tried to rock the kayak, it does not rock much. Both Primary and Secondary stability of the kayak are excellent. Primary stability means when the kayak is sitting on water and you try to rock it a bit, does it become tippy whereas secondary stability means when the kayak is almost on its side, does it become tippy or tips over. Happy to say, I did not feel any tippiness at all.

Tracking: Tracking means when that when you are paddling, how well does the kayak move in a straight line. Coming from a white water world, I am really well versed with keeping a kayak straight (remember how I earlier said that white water kayaks DO NOT want to go straight and require skill to keep them moving in a particular direction). I was simply amazed at the tracking ability of this kayak. I mean after I paddled it for a few strokes and just let it go, it would go in exactly the direction that I left it at. No turning, no twisting whatsoever. Coming from the whitewater world, this just seems like magic. The fact that the kayak has a welded keel at the bottom and a plastic weldged spine at the bottom must be contributing to that as well. I tested the tracking in flat, calm water and it performed superb. Of course, if you try it in a windy place or otherwise moving water, it would affect the tracking.

I noticed while setting the kayak up that there is an aluminum backbone in both the tips of the kayak which keeps the tips sharp and help it cut through the water. It was not much work to make it travel through the water.

The seats are pretty OK. The seats attach to the kayak with two buckle straps and I tightened mine to make it near straight back sitting. After an hour or so, it was slightly uncomfortable. You might have to play with a few adjustments, aftermarket accessories if you want to go on a long trip. As someone else mentioned, the rear seat touches the back ring of the kayak, so the person in the back seat is likely getting more support and is likely more comfortable. Of course, this is a bit of nitpick. Any kayak, no matter whether hardshell or inflatable requires fiddling around with the seat to make it work best for you.

NOTE: I had read a few comments on how the instructions on how exactly to inflate the kayak are a bit unclear. I concur with those comments. So, the pump connects with the spring loaded air valves. What the instruction booklet does not make clear is that the central portion within the spring loaded air valves can be pushed with a finger and that you can actually turn it with a finger without grabbing it. No seriously, just push the central portion of the valve down and then just using pressure and friction, try to turn it left or right. It will turn. So, this central position has two positions, down and up. When the valve is up, you can pump air in and when you detach the pump, the kayak will hold air. If the valve is in down position, you can pump air, but as soon as you remove the pump, it immediately starts losing air. So lesson: when filling it up, keep the value in the up position and when you want to deflate, push the valve down and twist it with your fingertip till it gets stuck in the down position and it will let the air out.

NOTE: Note the way the kayak is folded when you first take it out of the carrying case. If you don't, you might struggle quite a bit to put the kayak back in its case. For reference, this is how I fold it: The back side of the kayak folds a small fold, then the just folded portion is folded again over itself. Next, approach the kayak from the other edge. Fold the other edge on the main body. Now take the newly folded section and fold it over the rear side. Not sure if that helps, but that is the way I do it.

Now for the Cons:

- When the broadside is facing wind, the kayak feels a teeny bit tippy. I have heard that this is more common with inflatable kayaks. Even hardshells have it, but inflatables have it a bit more

- No footrest. Coming from whitewater, this was a bit of a shocker. In white water kayaking, your lower body is completely locked win the kayak. You are pressing a footrest with your foot and your knees are under extended portion of the kayak that covers your knees. Effectively, the point is to make sure that your lower body and the kayak behave as one unit, so you can control the kayak with purely your lower body. This kayak has no footrest. In fact there is quite a bit of space in front of your legs. I guess for flat water, it felt just fine, although if I want to take this in moving water, I would probably stuff something in front of my feet to have something to push on. There are no knee braces, but I guess if you buy the extra shell, you might have something like it.

- Water - Some water got in while paddling. Probably less than a cup or two but it did. This is not the kayak's fault. The kayak is open top so of course some water will splash in. I used the white water paddle with my kayak (they are a bit shorter and have wider blades) and no water splashed onto my wife. I read another reviewer's comment saying that it splashed water on the person in the rear, but I did not experience any such thing.

- Drying - Now, this was a chore. With my hardshells, I just lift them on my shoulder and twist and turn till I let all the water out and then I just have them sit in the garage while they dry out. The fabric at the top, although nylong, is a woven nylon fabric which gives it great strength but also makes it retain some water. So after I brought it home, I had to use a sponge to take out all excess water. The fabric at the top and around the tubing was wet, so I let a pedstal fan blow on it all night and it was dry in the morning. I have seen comments saying that they leave it outside for a while in the sun and it dries up. I leave in Pacific Northwest and this is not really an option for me most of the year. I guess this is the cost I will have to pay to get the flexibility of an inflatable.

I MUST really really complain about the carrying case again (by the way, the fabric of the case seems waterproof and is pretty solid). The issue is not just with this kayak but pretty much anything that comes with a case. The manufacturers try to save on the material to the degree that both taking the kayak out of the bag and putting it back in is a frikkin pain in the butt. I work up a small amount of sweat pushing it back in into the carrying case. I mean SERIOUSLY! I just paid $650+Tax for a kayak. If they would have taken care of making a case that was a few inches longer, I could actually have put the kayak back in easily. As is, it is like wrestling with a gator. It takes me and my wife both about 2-3 minutes pushing and shoving and pulling the case up to get it in.

Final observation: I am a big complainer when I don't like something, so please don't read the above comments as if I am trying to dissuade you from purchasing the kayak. This is an absolutely fantastic kayak. I love it and would not trade it for anything. The construction is rock solid. The fabric used is both aesthetically pleasing as as pretty strong. The canvas at the bottom inspires confidence. The fact that they thought over and have two tubes with separate valves that by themselves can keep the kayak afloat - so that in case one of the tubes fails, you can still get back is a testament to the marvelous engineering the folks at Advanced Elements did.

Overall, buy without hesitation but be ready to struggle with the wretched case.

I looked at a lot of kayaks before buying this one and am very happy with my purchase. I had some experience in a hard shell kayak, but they were all out of my price range (especially the tandems). I wanted a kayak that would allow me to paddle solo or with a another person, I wanted a kayak that tracked well, and I wanted something that would break down in fit in the back of my car. This kayak is all those things.

Obviously the biggest drawback to this kayak is having to assemble and disassemble after every use (and every time you clean it). It only takes 5-10 minutes to inflate (even with a cheap hand pump) and even less to deflate. Taking it apart and cleaning it after every use has been the only downside. I mainly kayak in the ocean and also live in the Pacific Northwest, so I need to make sure everything is clean and dry when I pack it up.

It is important to fully inflate all chambers for ideal performance, but you dont want to over inflate or you might damage the kayak. This is why I ordered the Advanced Frame Dual Action Pump with Pressure Gauge, however, cheaper pumps work too. When I've gone solo in this kayak I noticed it sags a bit in the center (to be expected for an inflatable) and the sides of the fabric bow out and can start to collect water. I'm sure with the addition of a spray deck and the backbone this wont be an issue anymore.

I noticed a lot of people complaining about how heavy this kayak is and it is heavy (around 55 pounds) but it is just as heavy as a most hard shell kayaks. Another thing people said in reviews is that they were unable to get the kayak back in the duffel bag. I got mine back in just fine, all you have to do is make sure you get all the air out first.

To sum things up, the Advanced Elements AdvancedFrame Convertable Kayak is an awesome kayak. It is ideal for people who dont want to spend the big bucks on a hard shell kayak and want something that they can fold up and stick in a duffel bag, while still getting the performance you would expect from a hard shell kayak.

Pros:

Great price for a convertible kayak

Can easily fit in the backseat of your car

Made from high quality materials

Great tracking, cuts right through the water

Very stable on the water, even in choppy and windy conditions.

Cons:

Inflating, deflating, and cleanup can be a chore

Spray decks and backbone needed for best performance (but not required)

So I have had this boat for a little over 2 years now and have had some great experiences. First of all this is high quality boat and is built really well. There is plenty of space for 2 people or even 1 person and two kids or dogs etc. It tracks really well and is a pleasure to paddle on the water.

Pluses

- great amount of space if your taking multiple people - not a problem to paddle alone but there may be better options

- design with outer shell seems perfect for durability - no problems at all to report

- paddles really well and tracks well

- setup is fairly easy - after the first time setup shouldn't take more than 10-15 minutes

- storage is great as it fits into a large bag

Drawbacks

- weight - even though fairly easy to store its pretty heavy to heft around

- drying it out after use is the only reason I cannot give five stars. A certain amount of water gets into the kayak and based on the design its very difficult to dry out unless you remove the inner part and dry seperate - once you do this putting everything back together is definitely a pain.

In conclusion I can highly recommend this boat but just be aware that even though setup is a breeze that drying out and preparing for storage is a bit of a project.

I never bought a kayak before because they take up too much storage space and too much room to crate around, especially if you already have a camper or a boat. A friend had this model and I took a ride in it. I was impressed with the portability, ease of set up and handling on the water. I bought my own and have used it several times on flat lakes and class II rapids. It's excellent and durable. I hit submerged rocks and trees and boat sustained zero damage. Advanced Elements website has a forum with a wealth of information that I found very helpful. Yesterday I had two people walk up to ma at the launch and ask about the boat. I pointed at two other groups trying to cram and tie down all their hardside kayaks while I simply deflated, folded and threw in the trunk! The other advantage is it's much more comfortable to ride in for hours because there are no hard edges to rub against.

******UPDATE August 2013************

I still love this thing for all the reasons I've said. No comparison to the hassle with hard-sides.

I bought the backbone which I have used a few times. I would say that if you are in deep water or are carrying a lot of gear or weight it may be worthwhile. I'm 170 lbs. and my wife I'm guessing is about 130. We do a LOT of shallow water kayaking in tributaries in our area. The beauty of this thing is if the rear person arches their back up onto the rear and you do not have the back bone in, you can go over almost ANY shallow water hazards. The back bone can actually make the bottom more prone to damage, but I have not had ANY significant damage to the hull.

Other thing I cheeped out on to begin with was I had a 12v pump I used instead of theirs. I finally sprung for the Advanced pump WITH air gauge and found that taking the bladders to the optimum max pressure worked SO much better. I was always afraid of over-inflating, but with their pump and the quick disconnects with the air gauge marked for optimum pressure, it's WAY better . . . buy it.

If you can spare the coin, you won't regret it:)

If it was not for the great customer service provided by Matt at Advanced Elements I would have returned this. Here's the story. There are MANY warnings about "do not over inflate" and only fill to 2PSI So, because there is no gauge built into the boat nor did either of my pumps have one, I had to guess at what 2PSI should be and I filled it to where I was comfortable and took it for a test drive and it was awful. At 210lbs solo, it was bowing badly in the middle and did not maneuver well at all. Also, with two people carrying it, it would bend in the middle so I was beginning to think that I was going to have to spend another $200+ for the rigid floor (which I still believe should be included). I was ready to box it up and send it back but figured I would wait to see if A.E. would reply to my email and they did quite promptly!

Because the spring valves were new to me I was inflating improperly and after some experimenting and Matt's help, I discovered that I could fill the spring valves in the inflate position but I found it was much easier and faster to leave in the deflate position, fill, pull the hose and quickly turn the valve back to inflate, reconnect the hose and top it off with air.

Also, this tip from Matt was perfect and saved the day ... " If you are inflating it using a pump without a gauge you can test it to see if you have the correct pressure by picking the kayak up by the carrying handle at one end and giving it a good up and down shake. If there is any bending occurring in the middle, go ahead and give the main chambers a few more pumps"

After doing this, we could carry it without it bending in the middle. It also maneuvers much better and I think we are happy with it .... will update after we do some more kayaking here in Florida, we just arrived and have not had a chance to test further but I'm confident we will like it.

We bought this instead of trying to take our two rigid yaks down in the Motor Home or using all the space in the back of the tow vehicle. The bag fits nicely in the back seat of the Pick up truck or just about anywhere you want to store it. We paid close attention on how to fold it and had no troubles getting it back in the bag!

UPDATE 12/23/19: Did some kayaking with the alligators in Florida .... love it, proper inflating was key!

Very Happy.

Overall we both love it.

Almost every time we go out, someone stops by to comment.

Looks sharp.

easy to set up

easy to take down

easy to transport.

Really great quality.

Extremely stable.

Roomy

paddle holders

We tried the backbone and don't feel it's necessary, plus it adds about 10 minutes to set up.

Get long paddles. I'm 5'11 and a 240mm is good. wife is 5'6 and uses a 230mm up front.

the zip on cover is high quality, fits great and it's fairly easy to put on. Probably best for colder weather although it does give the rear paddler a nice deck.

on that subject..

You need something like a 15x15 elastic net over the thwart in the rear (see pic, it's half filled) because there's no place to put a bag that's easy to get in, except between your legs, or a good place to stash a water bottle.

Get the advance elements hand pump for sure and a cordless electric one if you can, the air chambers are pretty big.

We just fold it up after we use it and set it on top of the bag to get it home, then pump it partly up to wash off and let dry, then fold it and bag it for the next trip.

Even tho it's lightweight, wheels are helpful and there's a good place on the rear deck to show it.

Definitely no regerts with this purchase.

I just bought this kayak with the backbone and the double deck. I used it for the first time in a calm lake. I have to say I was very impress with the performance. It moved fast. This is the first time I use a kayak, but based on the hard shell kayaks we saw in the lake ours was keeping the same speed. You can turn directions very easily. I used very cheap paddles and the kayak was still quit fast. I figure if I use better paddle the speed will increase. This kayak is well made. It is hard to tell from the picture, but the top of the kayak has fabric. It's a very good looking kayak. My husband wanted a hard shell kayak, but we don't have a rack on our car. At the end of our trip we saw a couple with hard shell kayaks that ended their trip at the same time than us. We deflated and folded the kayak, put the backbone and the deck in their pouch, placed everything in the trunk of the car and the couple was still trying to place their kayaks on the roof of their car. We passed by them and waved them goodbye LOL! I'll be taking the kayak to a bit aggressive river in 3 weeks and I will report back. The only bad thing is that you have to buy the backbone and deck separately which hike the price around $750. The backbone will give more speed and the deck will make the kayak more firm. With the deck, the water still spray few drops here and there, but nothing that bother me in a hot day.

When I first received and unpacked this boat I was quite impressed with the design and quality. However, once I inflated it I noticed that there was a lot of slack in the fabric deck on the right side. Looking closer and per the manufacturers advice, I removed the tube to see what was going on. Measuring it, I found that the circumference of the tube on the right side was significantly smaller than that on the left - in some places as much as 7 cm smaller. While the kayak would float and basically worked fine, it didn't look right, being visibly smaller on the right side. Given the price, I wasn't satisfied with this.

I informed Advanced Elements, and they sent me a replacement tube, concluding that there was a manufacturing defect. However, the new tube had the exact same problem - it was skinnier on the right side than on the left! At this point I decided to return the boat for a refund - too much trouble to deal with it any more. I haven't yet decided which boat to buy instead.

This boat has a lot of potential, but based on my experience some of the parts may have manufacturing defects. If the one you purchase has this problem, and you bought by mail order, it's going to be a headache either way - waiting for a replacement part which may also be defective, or returning a package that weighs in at 60 pounds.

Dopo aver letto queste recensioni e raccolto il parere di altri su siti specializzati ed essermi recato dal "noto" negozio di sport, ho acquistato QUESTO Kayak!

Che dire, è stata una rivelazione.

Già maneggiandolo si vede la differenza abissale con gli altri, i materiali sono di un altro livello.

Si monta e si smonta in un attimo, i manuali sono in italiano ed è scritto TUTTO quel che c'è da sapere.

La chiglia rigida grazie ai profili di alluminio frontale e posteriore fanno si che tagli l'acqua in modo spettacolare, è incredibile quanto veloce possa andare pagaiando senza troppo sforzo.

E' davvero una lippa...va velocissimo!

Ci siamo divertiti davvero....non è il solito canotto travestito da Kayak!

Il trasporto senza carrello è possibile con facilità in 2 persone, l'anno prossimo compro il carrellino ed anche questa è risolta!

Se poi gli mettete il backbone si irrigidisce a tal punto che sembra davvero un kayak RIGIDO!

Secondo me un accessorio che val la pena è il doppio ponte che chiude sulle cerniere il kayak, per 2 motivi: il primo è che si "eliminano" le cerniere che servono x fissarlo a questo che se non si sta attenti possono graffiare, il secondo è che lo irrigidiscono lateralmente nel senso che non tende più in alcun modo ad aprirsi di lato quando si sale, non che sia Molto avvertibile ma c'è il problema, tanto è vero che il cuscino che è fissato con 2 "strappi" laterali tende ad uscire specie quando non è ben a pressione!

Cmq rimane un prodotto pazzesco, vale quel che costa.

Infatti ho potuto notare che anche con mare mosso NON si è MAI cappottato..peraltro impegnandoci per fare questa prova, non siamo riusciti in alcun modo a farlo girare....dunque è stabile, MOLTO STABILE!

L'unica cosa a cui dovete stare MOLTO attenti è la "pinna" di deriva posteriore che è in gomma dura e che inevitabilmente quando il kayak non è in acqua ma è poggiato sul duro tende a piegarsi a destra o a sinistra a seconda che il kayak sia riverso verso dx o sx.....perfettamente al centro non rimane....bisogna solo prestarci attenzione.....

Ecco se la pinna fosse estraibile sarebbe davvero MOLTO MEGLIO! Ma è così!

Okkio perchè è in gomma e tende a deformarsi.

Basta farci l'kkio quando lo si poggia sul duro.

Un consiglio, prendete anche la sua pompa con il manometro perchè è troppo pratico ed occhio alla conversione ATM e PSI del manometro....OKKIO che 1 ATM del manuale sono circa 2 PSI del manometro....

La pompa ha gli attacchi proprietari del kayak ed inoltre consente di gonfiarlo esattamente come è richiesto dal manuale nè più nè meno, molto importante visto che se esagerate si deforma....IRREPARABILMENTE

Dunque o avete un manometro o, come me, fate lo sforzo di tenere un altro gonfiatore....

Ultima nota, per lavarlo si smonta totalmente nelle sue 3 parti e lo potete lavare bene comodamente anche in una vasca...

Io vi consiglio COMUNQUE di smontarlo e lavarlo bene perchè dopo una sacco di tempo con la pompa dell'acqua, ho notato che c'era ancora sale tra la camera vera e propria e la prima protezione, quella con la cerniera

Questo è MOLTO importante se lo userete come me in mare e pensate di usarlo anche l'anno successivo....

Al lago credo sia una figata assurda visto che non c'è manco questo problema ed io lo trasporto comodamente con la sua sacca completo di TUTTO....questa sarà una prossima prova.

Buon divertimento.

Dieses Kajak ist durch seine Bauweise ein super Alternative zu einem Feststoff Kajak. Es hat einen festen Bug und schneidet so gut durch das Wasser, im Gegensatz zu anderen aufblasbaren Kajaks die sich manchmal eher wie eine Luftmatratze auf dem Wasser verhalten. Unten hat es vorn eine und hinten zwei Finnen, was den Geradeauslauf verbessert. Der Aufbau ist nach den ersten Versuchen ca. in 30-40 Minuten erledigt.

Man kann es zu zweit oder auch allein gut fahren und hat auch zu zweit genug Beinfreiheit.(bin 1,85 groß) Ich habe noch zusätzlich 2 Abdeckungen für Single und Double erworben, so bleiben mitgeführte Sachen einigermaßen trocken und man schaufelt nicht so viel Wasser ins Boot. Zudem möchte ich für dieses Boot eine Backbonestange empfehlen, diese erhöht die Stabilität, verbessert den Geradeauslauf und man ist damit schneller.

Die Sitze sind sehr bequem und man sitzt auch nicht direkt auf dem Wasser sondern auf einer Art Polster-Luftmatratze.

Der Abbau des Bootes dauert so ca. 30 Minuten und man sollte aber eine Möglichkeit haben das Boot nach der Benutzung zu trocknen, bevor man es wieder zusammenlegt. Wenn man es vor dem trocknen gut auswischt und dann gut auslegt, ist das Boot nach ein paar Stunden wieder trocken.

Nach nun 5 Ausfahrten kann ich eine unbedingte Kaufempfehlung dafür aussprechen. Es ist wirklich seinen Preis wert.

Kajak recibido dentro del plazo previsto. Calidad de materiales excelente. Inflado en casa siguiendo las instrucciones del fabricante. Ahora toca probarlo 😀

Can't recommend this Kayak enough. Great 😊

Très stable. Se met en œuvre facilement, avec l'habitude 20 mn avant pareil pour ranger sur gravier ou surface sans sable. Avec sable beaucoup plus long si on veut bien entretenir son matériel. Manque cruel de "repose pied" pour bien se bloquer.