help needed on inflatable canoe/kayak

[luke_s]

Hi Luckylee,
all I can add, is don't go for the cheaper Sevylor Riviera. I had one of these, used it three times and hated it. It doesn't track in anything near to a straight line, and is really as cheap as it looks. The Sevylor brand, however is a good one, I now have a Sevylor Colarado, and love it!

 

[oldtimer]

After doing research on this site and hinting heavily, I got a Sevylor Colorado for my 70th birthday present. It's great on the local rivers and I can get its in my van easily when I go down to the Med. My grandson is dying to have a go but is not allowed to until we get a life-jacket ( anyone know where I can get kids' life- jackets cheap or second hand?) I'm very happy with the quality. I picked up mine at a discount. If you go for one- haggle.

 

[Partickpebbles]

Are these any good then? Thinking about it....

 

[Shewie]

My grandson is dying to have a go but is not allowed to until we get a life-jacket ( anyone know where I can get kids' life- jackets cheap or second hand?) I'm very happy with the quality. I picked up mine at a discount. If you go for one- haggle.

Try asking on Song Of The Paddle forum, I expect there might be some which the kids have outgrown

 

[treefrog]

My grandson is dying to have a go but is not allowed to until we get a life-jacket ( anyone know where I can get kids' life- jackets cheap or second hand?)

I would go with a new one unless you know how it has been stored and know the foam hasn't degraded over time.

Lomo do kit at a good price. http://www.ewetsuits.com/acatalog/impact-vests-life-jackets-bouyancy-aids.html

 

[Partickpebbles]

i was looking at...

http://cpc.farnell.com/sevylor/204709/sevylor-boat-tahiti-k109hf/dp/LH01510

Thoughts??

 

[jackcbr]

I would go with a new one unless you know how it has been stored and know the foam hasn't degraded over time.

Lomo do kit at a good price. http://www.ewetsuits.com/acatalog/impact-vests-life-jackets-bouyancy-aids.html

Second vote for Lomo. Really good quality stuff at a great price. All my sailing kit is from them and I'm more than happy with it.

 

[tenderfoot]

decathlon sports do a good selection of bouyancy aids/life jackets in kids sizes at reasonable prices if theres not one near you try online.

 

[GazTee]

i was looking at...

http://cpc.farnell.com/sevylor/204709/sevylor-boat-tahiti-k109hf/dp/LH01510

Thoughts??

From personal experience I wouldn't both with one of these, I'd look at the Zpro Tango elsewhere on this thread, if you really want an inflatable. My wife bought me one of the smaller two man Tahitis a couple of years ago and while the build quality is decent enough I think there are few serious drawbacks. There are the usual tracking problems. I bought the skeg for mine, which improved the tracking but thats relative: it improved from none whatsoever to barely manageable. I think the tahitis a more a river boat, I've been using my on the sea, which is fine so long as its not too windy and there's little tide running, otherwise its all over the place. True enough inflating it and deflating it can seem a bit of a faff, but thats the trade off for easy storage and transportation. I'd definitely get an electric pump though. The biggest issue with these is the seats. They're inflatable and just wedge between the side tubes. As a result they provide almost no support at all which can be really tiring after about half an hour of even gentle padding. The type of seats on the Zpro are more like those you find on plastic kayaks. I'm actually considering the Zpro as a replacement as I don't have the room for a plastic one.