Advanced Elements AdvancedFrame Convertible Inflatable Kayak

I bought a Convertible last year and used it twice, once on a lake and once on a river trip. It paddles fast and tracks straight and has plenty of leg and storage room with just me in it. The back seat was a little hard to recline in during lazy stretches of river but I got fairly comfortable. My chief complaints are the weight, around 60lbs, and the need to pull the floor out and the shell off to get it dried properly and then put it back together and deflate and fold it. But it's obviously a serious, heavy duty piece of equipment that should prove very durable and enjoyable if I don't throw out my back lugging it down to the water.

Edit--Two years and a dozen trips later and I'm still happy with this kayak. It's comfort and stability compared to canoes I float with make river trips doubly enjoyable as I fish out the gear floating downstream and ask how cold the water is while people right their canoes.

On a sandy shore I once removed the spreader bag and seats... Read more

We just purchased this kayak plus accessories and went on several paddles (river, large lakes, small lakes) in the Eastern Sierra. Here's a little review of each part we got (minus PFDs and paddles):

*The boat is great -- comfortable, sturdy, handled well, pretty easy to set up. It was a pain to clean at the end of our trip mostly because it's hard to dry it out well without fully disassembling it more than you otherwise ever have to. It would be more convenient to have a solid kayak for ease of getting going, but this one fits in the back of our subaru, in our garage, etc. It seems more versatile than other more raft-like inflatable kayaks which seem more appropriate to rivers (but I don't really know).

*The pump -- we got the Advanced Elements hand pump with gauge. The gauge was very useful for determining how much air to put in since it's not always intuitive. The dual-action hand pump is pretty fast and effective. We ended up replacing it because after... Read more

This kayak is the best of both worlds- storable and usable. Yes, it is a bit heavy at 56lbs, but tracks well, is faster than you expect, and is a really good boat. Spent a week on Frenchman's bay in Maine in it and it handles wind, chop, and tides, and tracks very well. Not as knife cutting as a hardshell, but unless you're on a weeklong, open water, island hopping paddle, you won't notice. Extremely durable. Landed on beaches of mussel shells and rock weed and not a scratch.

Everyone came up to it skeptical and to a person walked away, if not impressed, then accepting that it is an actual kayak, not a pool toy. A few asked me if it was a Klepper until they got right up to it.

If you can't store a hardshell or want an extra kayak that you can throw in the trunk for friends, this is a great boat. For the extra fee you can also check it as luggage if you want to paddle in far off locales.

Time to inflate: 35 minutes the first time, 20 every time... Read more