AdvancedFrame Inflatable Kayak with Bag and Pump

Really happy with it!For the price point, this is a very good kayak!When it is inflated it is very rigid, it is easy to handle, and very maneuverable.We are casual kayakers, usually traveling in an RV. The kayak fits in its own reasonably sized bag and stows easily. It weighs less than 30lbs.I like the highly visible color!It’s big enough to fit our medium sized dog in it too.Ample storage space for tackle, camera equipment, cooler, etc.So far, it’s been very durable too.We like it so much we bought a second one so we can go out together!

I have always enjoyed kayaking and have been paddling for over 5-6 years now. Every time there was weekend plan for a beach or a river or any water body, I'd spend a lot of time looking up places where you could rent a kayak without having to go through the trouble of lugging it on top of my car. I also hated the fact that most of nice little remote, but beautiful spots for kayaking had no kayak rentals for miles! Hence, the search of a kayak of my own began a few weeks back and because of all the obvious reasons (portability, performance vis-a-vis other inflatables, the whole hybrid factor, space constraint to store a hard-shell and of course, affordability) - I zeroed in on the AE AdvancedFrame Inflatable Kayak.I got a good deal on Amazon.com - the whole package, 96" paddles, kayaking friendly PFD (life vest), AE dual-action hand pump along with the kayak so it made sense. No backbone.Sure enough, the entire stuff reached within 3 days of my ordering it. I was tracking it online so I made sure I left work a tad earlier so I could take it out for a quick test-run in river close by. Reading from reviews online, it made sense to set up the whole thing within the apartment once - so I don't spend time figuring things out in the open. Definitely a good idea and I familiarized myself with the whole process in about 15-20 minutes. Instructions are pretty comprehensive and it comes all assembled, just lay it out and inflate! After this I deflated the kayak and hauled it to the river nearby and in set it up again in under 10 minutes. I chose a spot with at least a 1 ft depth to launch my kayak so I can take the whole rocks/tree branches thing out of the equation.This thing is really stable, sturdy and the paddling experience - at least in a mild river, was pretty close to a hard-shell. The seat (without any additional cushion) is comfortable (max. I tried till now is 2 hrs or so). The ease of maneuverability and tracking is quite decent. Once I got in to a rhythm, the kayak moved very effortlessly. Overall experience on the first time on water - extremely positive!After waiting it out due to really windy conditions, I decided to take the kayak out on the same river but on a different stretch of water slightly down stream. The first thing I noticed was the choppy waters due to the wind and the rocky bottom at the launch site. The last thing I wanted was to damage the kayak or the tracking fin because of the rocks but then I decided to wade a couple of meters towards slightly deeper water before getting in to the kayak. Again, the AE AdfancedFrame kayak performed well in very strong winds and choppy waters. Of course, had I been in a hard-shell, am sure paddling against the wind would have been relatively easier but honestly, I don't think that's a fair comparison. Still, I guess the loss of performance could not be more than 15-20% at the most. Considering that it is NOT a hard-shell, that is perfectly acceptable to me. Now as I was nearing the shore to exit the kayak, I ran over some very nasty rocks that I could literally feel them underneath. Expecting the worst, when I turned the kayak over - there was absolutely no damage barring a few tiny surface scratches - which even a hard-shell would have suffered had it run over those rocks. Nothing at all in terms of any damage, which speaks volumes of the quality of the construction I believe. I had loads of fun once again.Observations,1) Make sure you get long-ish length paddles (96" / 230 cms or more)2) Get a pump with a gauge to make sure you don't over inflate the kayak chambers3) While this kayak is pretty sturdy, why launch it in a place with sharp rocks etc?4) The area behind the seat is decent to store stuff but I can see the utility of a deck-bag5) The life vest (PFD) should allow good arm movement - greatly affects overall experienceThis seems like a very good buy based on the first 2 runs and I am now really looking forward to the summer :)

Nice looking but at a size rating of 300 lbs I was worried. Easy to use and set up. We returned to order same with rigid floor for my wife. Build quality excellent...I am looking at Expedition as better suited to my build. This one is light enough to be easily portable

I'll start off by mentioning that if you like to be active and don't mind inflating and deflating then this kayak will by fine for you. If you are a bit more the type that wants in and out of the water with almost no effort then you will probably be unhappy. I happen to own two of these kayaks, the larger Convertible, and the AirFusion and love them. I've read all sorts of reviews on this kayak and here are some common issues:-Can't put it back in the bag? Here is the secret. You have to get as much air as possible out of the kayak. If you don't bother to do so you will not be able to store it properly. This is logical but most people that complain about this seem like they just want to fold it up and put it away.-Sand on the kayak exterior? Use a tarp. I lay out a tarp to inflate and deflate my kayak, I don't want to get mud all over it.-It sags in the middle: when inflated it should feel solid, sometimes the air inside the kayak will contract and cause it to become a bit deflated after a while. Simply top off once again and you should be fine the rest of the day. Also this kayak can hold 300 lbs total, I've read 350 somewhere. If you fear for your safety then you're too heavy and need one of the larger versions.-Someone went thru 2 of these yaks, I'm not sure how. They must've been knock off kayaks or the person may have been a bit too reckless with it. If the case is that the kayaks indeed were defective then contact Advanced Elements. They also have an active website where customers and staff can communicate any concerns in the forums.-I highly recommend an electric pump that plugs into your car. I have pumped this kayak manually many times, setup is about 10 to 15 minutes. However using the pump will greatly reduce your setup time. The electric pump will fill up the most volume in under a minute but you need need to top it off with the manual pump.Now the cons and pros.Cons:-needs to be inflated and deflated with each use (obvious)-drying takes a bit of effort but this should vary on your temperature. I live in the desert so it's not an issue to me. It dries overnight in the garage just leaving the carrying case unzipped.-It does let water in but it seems is mostly from the pladdle and whenever you exit and re-enter the kayak.-some people complained about the tracking, it tracks very nice but make sure the aluminum inserts are centered properly. Rarely an issue unless they somehow shift.Pros:-store it properly in the bag and you can store it safely inside your car. I don't have to worry that it'll get stolen from the bed of my truck if I stop for lunch or fuel. I also don't worry that could get blown off the roof of my vehicle or put up with extra drag on the freeway. At home it stores out of the way.-not much room behind the seat except for a small cooler or gallon of water but plenty of room on top of where the legs go and also can strap more gear on the back. Some people don't seem to use the back for gear. It only has D-rings back there so I use the carrying case as a cargo bag and secure it with a bungee.-as far as esthetics go it looks more beautiful in person than it does in the picures.-speed: I would say it is good. I haven't been on a hard shell so I can't compare it to one but it is definitely not slow so I will limit myself to say the speed is good..-tracking: it tracks nicely. I don't have issues going straight. Sometimes you need to compensate with an extra stroke on one side but I consider that to be natural since the breeze and waves will throw you off course depending on conditions.That's all I can think off for now. Now why did I gave it 4 stars? Well if I had given it 5, people would think my review is biased and I was being a fanboy. Plus even though I'm happy with this kayak I will allow a one star cushion for whatever issues other people may encounter. Personally I'm very pleased with this kayak, don't plan on getting rid of it and I know if I ever encounter a problem with it, Advanced Elements will stand behind their products and work with you to solve it. Now for those wondering about the backbone for THIS kayak.. Honestly I can't tell a difference in the speed with and without the backbone. With tracking it does improves it a little bit but I don't use the backbone because it adds to the setup time and feel the difference is subtle. It may however help you if you are heavy and are worried about the kayak sagging. I emphasized this kayak because the backbone may do more good in the case of the longer kayaks.