Advanced Elements AdvancedFrame Convertible Inflatable Kayak

Comments about Advanced Elements AdvancedFrame Convertible Inflatable Kayak:

I've only had it out once so far so I can't comment on durability, but in every other regard this is a great boat! A little heavy for one person, but lighter than most 15-ft hardshells and easy to maneuver with two. Easy and fast to inflate...probably under 8 minutes first go. We paddled with two people, and the boat gave surprisingly good performance for tracking and speed, even without the optional rigid bar. Very stable as well at 32" wide. We were on flat to choppy/windy waters on the Puget Sound. Some inevitable splashing into the boat with the open deck, so can't wait to try it with the single-person convertible deck.

Easy to deflate and stow back in the bag as well, although as others have commented it is difficult to get dry without completely disassembling the tubes from the outer nylon shell. That one small complaint aside, I can't wait to keep this stowed in the back of my car (about the size of a small climbing crash pad when packed) this summer and get out on the water that much more often for it!

Comments about Advanced Elements AdvancedFrame Convertible Inflatable Kayak:

Sure it's a hassle drying it out after you use it, but other than that I couldn't be happier! After 100+ miles of the Russian River, many tranquil days on Tomales Bay and Drakes Estero, Lake Tahoe during both summer and winter and pushing its limits on the intense rapids of the Truckee River, I can say these are tough boats that should last a long time if properly cared for.

Comments about Advanced Elements AdvancedFrame Convertible Inflatable Kayak:

Compact, folds easily to get into bag. Fits in the back of a SUV or car with large trunk easily. Takes about 3 minutes to pump up and into the water. Easy to deflate with the pump also. Very sturdy, have gotten out of it in the middle of the lake and back in without worry of it tipping over. Looks very nice. Fits 2 people very comfortably. Only tiny drawback is it is hard to get it completey dry on the inside. We let it sit on patio when we get home until completely dry before storing away in the bag.

Comments about Advanced Elements AdvancedFrame Convertible Inflatable Kayak:

Returned it after one week, testing it twice. It feels like it never fully gets inflated—this may just be the nature of inflatable kayaks. The valves are counterintuitive too: it took me about an hour to figure out that they must be set in the "deflate" position in order to inflate. With two people (6'2 160lbs, and 5'10 190), seemed like about max capacity. It sagged in the middle, took on a bunch of water. It's very difficult to haul after you've been in it, because of how floppy it is.

Comments about Advanced Elements AdvancedFrame Convertible Inflatable Kayak:

We haven't had this kayak for long, but got it after using a similar one in Lake Superior after being dropped off from a motor boat to explore sea caves. So, I know this kayak can handle Lake Superior, and getting scraped up inside of sea caves. We've used it on the Chain of Lakes in the Twin Cities, and will use it on the Mississippi and other rivers and lakes. It'll be easy to take traveling. We use a manual inflation pump. It is too heavy for me to carry by myself, so my spouse has been the one to carry it. I had hoped to kayak alone with it, but I don't know that I'll be able to do so.

Comments about Advanced Elements AdvancedFrame Convertible Inflatable Kayak:

We are very pleased with this boat and it delivered on everything we expected. We did borderline obsessive research before finally settling on this kayak. We have a Advanced Elements Lagoon 1 which is their lower end rec kayak and were happy with its construction and ease of use, so we finally settled on this one. We liked the versatility of it and it's ability to do just about anything that we want to. Plus the large amount of accessories and a large community helps too.
We purchased this kayak and promptly took it out to Chincoteague island on the eastern shore for some testing. We used in in sheltered waters in an inter-coastal waterway and in narrow channels in marshes and were impressed with it's performance. It tracks strait even without the backbone which we couldn't get in time for this trip but have since purchased. We had it set up as a single person and had some gear in it as well. It was still easy enough for a 140lb woman to paddle in both light wind and winding channels without any trouble. Set up and take down was easy and the instructions are nice, they actually have a diagram of how to fold it up as well. The dual action pump makes deflation easy and is a worthy accessory.
About performance. It performs like you would expect it too, it is an inflatable kayak and won't beat a sea kayak in a race or have perfect tracking but for an inflatable kayak does a really good job. It is a wonderfully stable boat and does not feel like it will ever flip and even it does it's inflatable so it will float upside down.
It is a little heavy to carry around, but so are most 15' boats. And the fact that we didn't have to get a roof rack is awesome!
Bottom line, this is a great boat for anyone who doesn't want a roof rack or does a lot of traveling and want's a good sturdy, do anything kayak.

Comments about Advanced Elements AdvancedFrame Convertible Inflatable Kayak:

This is the best inflatable kayak out there for your money. It can handle a little bit of waves, but it works best in calm water. The backbone accessory sold separately improves its performance significantly so I would recommend that as well. It is wider than a hardshell kayak so it is stable but for long long trips, it might tire a paddler with smaller frame. I have not used this as a solo kayak because I have a hard time lugging 50 lbs plus accessory to the beach. The setup, however, goes a lot faster with two people. After each use, I take the kayak apart in the front yard and give everything a good rinse through. It takes me about 45 minutes. You don't have to be that thorough but since I paddle in salt water, I want to keep salt from corroding it. Check out the manufacturer website. It has a great forum and you can get more info on maintenance. The bottom line is that an inflatable kayak won't perform as well as a hard shell but I think if you are going compare this to other inflatables, this is as good as it gets.

Comments about Advanced Elements AdvancedFrame Convertible Inflatable Kayak:

I bought this kayak for a Caribbean trip that I just got back from. I was gone for 45 days, I paddled 28 of those days, visited 8 countries or territories and the USVI. I paddled either all the way or partially around 8 islands, some times the Atlantic swells were more than I wanted to tackle, so I did not paddle all the way around some islands. I did not use the spray skirt or the backbone. I found the kayak very handy, I had way less trouble packing it back up (when I removed the floor mattress) than what other reviews indicated. It usually cost about $100 to fly to the next island. I was in big seas and high winds (up to 20 foot seas and 25-30 MPH winds). I live in an RV/toyhauler, and do not have room for a hard kayak or canoe. This product works great for my lifestyle. On a sidenote, I can run my own shuttles carrying the kayak on my BMW motorcycle!

Comments about Advanced Elements AdvancedFrame Convertible Inflatable Kayak:

After owning a Necky Manitou tandem for two years we decided to look for a Yak we could pack into the RV as mounting a rigid Yak on an RV is a BIG pain unless you tow something to mount it on. After reading the reviews it looked like the AE Convertible was a contender. [...] We bought the boat with the back bone option.No doubt that this Yak and it's siblings are the best of the inflatables. Our reaction to the experience is based on an apples and oranges comparison to a rigid Yak but that considered there are several things that would greatly improve this good product and make it better.Build of the boat and the componentsMy first impression was very positive. The decking is rock solid double stitched, thick walls, good looking and performing valves (although confusing) and a bright color for visibility on the water.-Now the reality--First set up was in the back yard and was relatively easy but found that installing the optional back bone conflicted with the inflatable floor, we had to curl up the ends to make the floor fit.-The main valves are confusing as they have an inflate and deflate setting and have to be set in the deflate position to inflate or air will not pass into the chamber(what???).-The carry bag is JUST big enough but only zippered 1/2 way down the sides so re-inserting the Yak is not easy. It would be a lot better if the zips went to the bottom of the bag allowing it to open like a suitcase.-Once it was all put together it looked and, in our opinion, it's missing a main and very important component, a top deck! These are listed as options but paddling the Yak w/out a deck is not advised for 3 big reasons: 1) you get very wet (least important) 2) the boat spreads open wider than is comfortable as you have to paddle around the sides and 3) the zipper for attaching the deck sits in the outer edge where your arm passes on each stroke with teeth standing up like saw teeth. Both my wife and I hit them several times while paddling, OK so buy one of the decks when you buy the boat but why not simply supply one AE? Or at least something to fill the open zipper teeth with a material bridge in the center of the cockpit to hold the sides of the boat together. [...]-I did buy the optional back bone, another option that should be standard for an IK unless you like the folding feel of an inflatable and even poorer tracking. After an hour of sitting on the padded 1" rod it got very uncomfortable, (like sleeping on a fold out sofa). By simply adding some padding to the seat you'd never feel a thing and you'd have the badly needed rigidity the back bone gives.-The seats, well if they were any thinner - - -. AE will sell you a "quality" air seat that probably is nice.-The inflatable floor, it's low end air mattress quality. AE will sell you an optional "quality" drop stitch floor for another up-charge (am I feelin nickel and dimed here? Not at what they charge for these "options")The rideOK, it is an inflatable but I have to wonder;-Tracking is almost there, better than I expected. There are chines and a skag welded to the hull but the chines are only 14" long. The yaks got to fold to get into the bag but making the chines full length of the boat may be the answer to the poor tracking and the weathercocking.SummaryOur first (and maybe our last) outing was just OK. we did not expect it to have the tracking and glide our Necky has but due to the factors mentioned I consider this boat an unfinished product. You can, at your expense, make it a lot better buy adding the things AE should build into the boat in the first place and some things AE needs to consider improving in the design would make this yak a much better boat.I would recommend this boat to a friend with BIG qualifications and add that you almost have to add several expensive options to make it work.

Comments about Advanced Elements AdvancedFrame Convertible Inflatable Kayak:

Ordered the Advanced Elements AirFrame Convertible. Ordered the drop stitch floor, just cuz, and the spray deck for two. Ordered several other accessories and such. Lots of money invested. Were we nervous? Yes. We ordered all that based on others reviews. A little risky. Were also interested in the Sea Eagle 385 but no reviews whatsoever from consumers. ?. Who needs that? Let me tell you we shopped this to DEATH. This is the best there is considering wt., capacity, width (do you really think you'll be comfortable paddling a 38" kayak), and price. Although don't be misled. If you get all the goodies not included with the boat (like pump and paddles for starters, $250.00 right there), you'll go by $1000.00 at a dead run.Took it out on a lake. Had a lovely time. Came back nice and dry. Tracks well, doesn't blow around. Nice. Got a compliment on it. So we're one for one.I would like to tell you a few things I wish I knew going in:Airkayak is the outlet for Advanced Element products as far as we know. they're customer service is unbelievable. Here in Central Florida it is next to impossible to find an air gauge for an inflatable kayak. Order it on the pump from Advanced Elements.During inflation make sure you are reading the gauge right. The black lines are usually Bars and it is the pink inner lines which are PSI. There are two tubes they call the main chambers that go all the way around the kayak. These are the biggest to pump up and are no problem at all. About Thirty five pumps in each with a double action hand pump. You have to be careful because the two tubes share the same pocket and have to be pumped up equally. The valves are a breeze. Don't worry about that. No need for a car 12V pump. After the main chambers you have the floor which is much easier and then all the little stuff to pump up which is just a few pumps each. The whole process is very quick.The spray decks zip on from the rear.We received no manual with our boat, the drop stitch floor needs a separate adapter and no literature or repair kit came with it. So we had to print a manual online at AE and find out the PSI of the floor which is 7.It is a little heavy, but like someone else said in a review, that's a good thing. You don't want a light weight. We bought a Coleman Canoe/Kayak transporter to take it down to the lake or river. Works great. Hard shells are heavier by the way.Carlisle Rodeo paddles from Dick's Sporting Goods work great. 230cm. Fiberglass, light, larger paddle on the end. Two piece though.Ordered the second foot rest for the front seat. My wife says it's great. Like that little anchor AE sells. If you see a turtle swimming or something you want to watch, just drop anchor and pull yourself back to observe.After you take it out of the water, just prop it up a little, wipe down the outside with a towel, remove the spray deck and seats, deflate (use your pump to aid in deflation), fold and stow. When folding make sure you keep the straight line straight. Folds real nice that way.That's all I got for now. Remember, with gas prices on the rise, and renting a kayak at $20.00 a pop at least (and you have to be back at a certain time which ruins the whole experience), your saving a lot of money. The best things in life are