Advanced Elements AE1007-R AdvancedFrame Convertible Inflatable Kayak - 15' - Red

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.

What a great product! It's rigid, it's strong, it's durable, and it's easy to deflate and store when you are done using it. Also, we strapped it to the roof racks and it rode well, we suggest you flip it upside down for the best ride (as the fin in the back may scratch your roof). Happy we purchased this model!

Kayak was very stable and easily to inflate. Did not have any issues with the kayak “folding” when my wife and I were paddling around. Also found using the pump to suck the air back out made it possible to fold back up small enough to fit back in the bag. Reason for only 4 stars is the pump hose is weak and split on the second use. Tried to contact seller but Amazon customer service assistant is about useless. Would like to know how to replace hose with a better one.

I love this kayak! When I first heard of inflatable kayaks, I thought pool toy. This is so durable and so far from that! I read every description and review several times before purchasing. I wanted a kayak I could tote myself, and a tandem that maybe I could get my hubby in. My reluctant husband likes it too and feels 100 Percent comfortable and safe in it. It would be super hard to overturn. I have had kids get in and out of it in the water when using it to swim, etc... I can take it out by myself, but I have had a lot of fun taking out people who have never kayaked or are unsure! It is difficult for me to get out of a typical kayak due to an injury and I am not young, and I have to have someone help me get out. I get out of this on my own with no problem.At first, I did not get the Advanced Elements hand pump due to some bad reviews. I ordered another brand but the nozzle for the two main chambers didn't work well at all and the guage didn't work. I returned it and ordered the Advanced Elements pump. I wish it was a little bigger and more sturdy, but it too, was a dual action pump. The nozzles fit perfectly of course! The guage doesn't work, but I just read directions carefully and pumped it up. In a review, someone mentioned that they called Advanced Elements about the guage, and the company sent them a piece to make it work. I just didn't get around to that. I also order the electric one but someone said those take a long time to air the boat up. I can pump the kayak up with the dual action pump easily. I figure it just adds to the workout, and honestly doesn't take long to do, and I certainly don't have big muscles!I recommend watching videos about how to open and set it up as well as take it down and pack it. People mention it is heavy and difficult to put back in the bag. I watched the video over and over. I watched many videos, but my favorite was by Kayak Central. It is heavy for me to carry the bag, but I can do it. It doesn't take long to learn how to fold it up correctly and put it in the bag. It is helpful if my hubby helps me put it in the bag after I fold it up properly. Like many others have mentioned, when done, I dry it off some, and fold it up and put it in the back of my SUV, often putting it in without doing the final fold over of one side to the other. when home I clean and dry it off, letting it sit outside or in the garage to let it completely dry.I did get a dolly (kbxstart) to use when I am by myself or with a child to take it to the water/ramp works well. I highly recommend this kayak!

Boat design is a good balance between portability, ease of set up, storage, and ability to track on a steady course. Have used it 7 times in the last 2 months, mostly in the north and south SF Bay, with trips in Half Moon Bay and Tomales Bay too.Chose a tandem so I could introduce my partner to boating in a way that reduces her water anxiety yet is fun for me too, and it has been successful on both fronts.Beyond that, my biggest concern was the ability to track the boat on a course given the winds, tides, and wind chop that all of the places above see. *** Added a backbone kit, per other reviews, and that may have been the magic ingredient. *** Have not seen the need to add a rudder.Recommend getting a fold up cart which makes a world of difference in getting it to/from the put-in spot. Sufficiently comfortable for 2+ hour trips. Takes a full day to dry out before storage.