Bill Tuthill wrote:
Bilbo wrote:
I am looking for a basic inflatable that I can use as a family
recreation type boat and:
1. Can carry 2 people

How much weight combined?

2. Will handle reasonably well in calm water or maybe a little bit of
chop. Bottom line: no whitewater action contemplated. Just maybe
some kayaking on the bay or lake / river.

NRS Bandit 2 would be my recommendation. The AIRE Tomcat 2 (made in China)
has PVC inner tubes, and PVC is not noted for longevity. If you were
planning to use the boat a lot in 1-2 years, Tomcat would be recommended.

If you're talking about 2 heavy people, the AIRE Lynx 2 is probably the
only IK with enough carrying capacity, but it costs $1265 and is optimized
for whitewater, not fla****er.


The Super Lynx is much better on flat water than either the Lynx or the
Tomcat and has more than adequete capacity for two heavy people, plus a
bit of gear. It's still my first choice for what he indicates his
interest are in paddling.

3. Is better than a pool toy
4. Can be stored compactly

Yup, $895 retail at http://nrsweb.com - but seek other advice.
Look at the Boat People website, especially the page on touring IKs:
http://theboatpeople.com/iks_touring.html
The Solar II might be suitable, $729.

I thought about a Solar myself, but since I do run whitewater in mine,
the non self bailing feature pushed me over to the Super Lynx. If I
wasn't going to use it on any whitewater, it would have been a serious
contenter.

If I just had the extra money to spend, I would love to pick up one of
the Innova decked sea kayaks.

Frankly I'm looking to spend as little as I can, but not buy junk.
Granted, I don't want to spend much because my demands on this kayak
will be pretty low, but I don't want something that will leak and fall
apart in two uses, either.

Nor do you want something that will deteriorate after 5 years in storage,
I'm assuming.