An inflatable kayak

Who would have guessed that something like an inflatable kayak could be so much fun?

What we were paddling was the Quest 2-person inflatable kayak from Dick's Sporting Goods. It's rated up to 335 pounds and will easily hold one adult and two or three small children. There are only two inflatable seats in the kayak but, once removed, the kids can more easily flop from one end to the other.

When we were actually trying to paddle around the lake I found the kayak a bit too wide to use the paddles efficiently but I never felt under-geared for the trip.

The kayak has several separate air chambers so even one bad chamber doesn't necessarily leave you in the water. As a matter of fact, there were chambers in the bottom (clear so you can see into the water,) one in each gunwale, one at the front, one at the back, and each seat had three chambers. That's 11 pockets of air to keep you afloat.

We turned the kayak over and spent some time under it too. There is easily enough air space to use the kayak inverted as shelter against the wind should it turn cold. You can either use the ropes along the front and back to hang on or, as we found, you can just slide your hands up into the open area at the front or back of the kayak to remain completely protected.

A word of caution: Don't carry sharp items on an inflatable kayak.

The kayak is made of some very thick material but I still don't think it would hold up to a poorly placed key or rescue knife. The box did contain a patch kit though so a repair could be done if required.

Thanks for reading,


B