AirFrame

Pros: Stable, fast, "transportable", fast to inflate, low costs, fun, good quality.
Cons: Hard to empty for water/dirt, not that long.
Other issues:
You need to buy a bigger bag for transport.
It takes a few times to learn how to inflate this correctly.
The valves is a bit tricky.
Great kayak...

Two complaints. You have to be very careful to evenly position everything when you inflate, or the kayak will be slightly lopsided and track to one side. The other problem is the front zipper stops short as it meets the cockpit and water leaks in through the small gap. Otherwise great boats.

I teased them about the minor valves and they asked, "Do you have the blue valves or the orange valves?" It turns out that they figured out that the blue valves were a problem and replaced them with a valve that stays in the pump fitting without having to be held there. They gave me the new type valves, which replace the old blue ones.

The point is, A) they don't use the old valves any more and B) these guys really understand customer satisfaction. Very impressive.

My biggest concern was that I'm too big for this boat, I'm 6'2" and 230 lbs. No problem. It's not roomy, but it is comfortable and feels very stable.

It handles well, it's easy to get to a reasonable speed and keep it there. Mine seems to want to track to the left, but that may be my deficient paddling technique, or maybe I need to re-adjust the floor a bit (it may be crooked). It does seem to have a "speed limit" where I can paddle as hard as I want and not go much faster. I suppose that has as much to do with the length of the boat as anything else.

My only complaint is to the rocket scientists who designed the valves that inflate the floor, risers and combing. The valves require that you have either a foot pump or three hands. The floor is not a big deal, it's large enough so that you can over inflate a bit and close off the valve without losing too much air. The other four chambers are another problem. They are so small that by the time you've managed to twist the valve shut, the chamber has deflated. Inflating the main chambers and the floor takes me no more than 10 minutes. The combing and risers take another ten and I usually give up out of frustration! What were you guys thinking?

Over all, I'm very happy with this kayak. The best part is that I can fit it in the back of my car and take it anywhere. It takes 20 minutes to set up (less if I remember to bring the battery pump - my solution to the poorly designed minor valves) and 15 to break down.

Having said all that I have decided that I'm hooked on kayaking and wanted a different boat. I've ordered a new Feathercraft Wisper which I demoed earlier this week and will review after I get the boat. There were three primary reasons for the change:

1. Comfort - While the Airframe is fine for a short period of time it just doesn't work for me for a 3 or 4 hour paddle. My feet get uncomfortable trying to change the leg position and hold it in place. I think you might be able to help this problem by putting some sort of a stuffed dry bag in the bow to give you something to brace against but I haven't tried that yet. In addition I personally end up leaning back in the kayak, again this may be my fault because I need to tension the seat more but I find it difficult to be in a upright or slightly forward position.

2. Glide- Well this one is tough and I don't think it is the fault of the Airframe I think it's just one of the characteristics of an inflatable boat. It isn't all that fast and there just isn't much glide to the boat, again not a problem for short outings but I now believe I'll be doing full day trips in the not to distant future so my needs have changed.

3. Responsiveness - A hard quality to quantify but since I've been testing other boats I've come to find that I like being able to edge a boat to assist in a turn. You can do a slight edge with the Airframe but it's hard to hold. This is both a good and bad thing, today with wind and white caps there was no sense at all that the boat was going to lean so it was very secure feeling which is nice.

Bottom line is I'm not getting rid of my Airframe but will keep both boats. I continue to believe in the positive characteristics I described earlier but wanted to make sure potential purchasers also had some additional data to include when they consider the purchase of this boat.

I used 1/2" PVC pipe (schedule 40). A rib is in two parts: One 4' section and a shorter section to complete length of floor. Cap one end of 4' rib and glue adapter to the other end. Attach this piece (4' section) to bottom of the floor. I attached mine with straps made from inflatable repair kit. The shorter piece gets caped at one end then inserts into adapter. The shorter piece does not get attached to floor -- so floor can fold and fit in large duffle bag. Attach two more ribs the same way. I found that my 3 ribs bulge out a bit of the bottom of the boat. But they act as a sort of keel.

The only down side of the boat for me is taking it all apart to dry out after using. So 9 out of 10.

Another item was getting the boat dry after use. I get as much water/moisture off the boat as possible, deflate the air chambers and remove the floor. I use a sponge to gather any water that has accumulated between the floor and the side air chambers and then I rub a thirsty terrycloth towel around the entire boat and pack it up. I have not had any problems with mold/mildew or stink on the boat.

As far as the handling of the boat is concerned, it’s great for what it is (an inflatable). I have paddled hard kayaks and they are faster and track better. However the AE airframe is a bit more stable and the fact that you can pack it up is great for people who live in tight spaces (myself included). I have added some simple things for safety and function. First, I added a deck line around the boat in case I make a wet exit, it will be much easier to grab a hold of the boat and I added a line to tie the boat to the dock if needed. These two additions cost less than $5.00. I also added shock cord to the D-rings on the stern (back) of the boat. This allows me to secure a paddle float and a hand bilge pump readily accessible if I need to make a wet entry.

One of the negative things about the boat is the storage. AE advertised that this boat has a lot of storage. I disagree (I am comparing it to the storage on a hard shell). To remedy this problem, I invested in a deck bag and so far I am able to bring everything that I need. The only negative that I have not found a fix for as yet is coming back to shore; with a hard shell I was always able to slide up on the shore and with the airframe, It seems that I can't quite make it up on the shore. I bottom out a bit and have to step into the water and pull the boat upon to shore. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

This review was based on paddling in the bays of San Diego. I will write again as I experience new adventures in my airframe. All in all, a really good kayak.

Here's the downside- 1. The two main air valves can be a major pain to access, especially the one that must be accessed through the holes in the fabric on the top rear. This can make preparation a time consuming and frustrating affair. 2. You tend to get some water inside the kayak when you use it, so you can't deflate it and pack it away. You need to deflate it and dry it out for a day or longer before you can fold it up. 3. The plastic skegs never actually straighten. They get folded over when the kayak is stored and always remain crooked. That said the skegs probably still help tracking a great deal.

As far as the water experience, the kayaks do give you confidence, stable, and can be paddled for many miles without too much effort.

In terms of speed, it is about the same as a hard shell with similar dimension. The set up is quick and simple. It takes me about 10-15 minutes to inflate and launch. One of my complaints is the twisted air valve, you need to hold on to your pump hose and the valve together while you pump with your other hand. Overall, I would say the quality of this kayak has exceeded my expectation. Few weeks ago, I went out on a recreational trip and other kayakers could not believe that I was using an inflatable kayak. After I did a demo on how to inflate and launch, they were so convinced that this kayak is better than a hard shell and they were ready to buy their own AE kayak. If you are recreational kayakers and looking for your first boat, you should seriously consider this AE kayak.

I had originally found this kayak very difficult to inflate unless you use a pump that can handle the military-style valves. I couldn't get a decent shape out of it until I picked up a Sevylor River Boat Pump model number RB2500 to help get this boat to the correct turgidity. With the Sevylor, this kayak is ready to float in literally less than 5 minutes. You don't risk overinflation nearly as much because the Sevylor was built for this kind of thing.

I haven't used it a lot, but so far it's a pretty amazing kayak considering it is an inflatable that packs up small enough to fit into something little larger than an overnight bag and weighs 35 lbs yet looks and behaves like a real kayak, not like other inflatables.

The boat itself has some key design elements that attract the mariner’s eye. She has a pretty sheer line, plenty of flare in the bow, and a form of tumblehome amidships. This has proven to answer well on the second and third trips taken on Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound.

In these trips, I encountered the wash of a high-speed ferry on sea trials after a breakdown, several Novi style lobster boats/ fishing draggers (who generate a huge displacement wake), and a variety of other smaller boat moving at high speed. In taking the Airframe in all states of wind and sea (head sea, beam sea, following sea), I found the flare to split open the waves, the tumblehome to deflect the waves, and the stern shape makes for a fun ride in a following sea. Confused mid afternoon wind against tide chop was no challenge at all. I was amazed at how dry this boat was in all of this.

Moreover, a couple of regular yard hands in Wickford (who would not normally even look at a kayak) stopped to ask questions about the Airframe and described her as “cool” (high praise from these guys). Coming up the Narrow River from Rhode Island Sound, one gent in a gorgeous wooden CLC kayak eyed the Airframe up and down and gave an appreciative smile and said she looked good.

I will admit to grousing a bit when first trying to line up "valve number one", but I managed to get over that. Also, a nice thirsty towel is needed under your legs when wearing shorts... it gets mighty warm on the backs of the legs under the deck.

I used a 2'x8' 3/8" thick plywood ACX panel. First I layed it over the bottom of the inflated boat and approximately traced the out line. (use the center line of the tubes) I used a circular saw at an angle to cut a bevel which I later radiused with a belt sander. The resulting shape was somewhat like a elongated diamond. I then sealed the floorboard with 3 or 4 coats of marine spar varnish. To use it, I put the board in the bottom of boat before inflation. Try to center it as close as possible. I begin inflating the donut tubes and slide the bow and stern sheets while partially inflated. The sheets should extend below the floorboard on either side. Center the inflatable floor on top, then inflate the tubes the rest of the way. Once inflated, the floorboard is wedged in place and will not move. I then inflate the floor(sits on top of the floorboard). The inflatable floor makes for a more comfortable seat than bare plywood.

We are very impressed with the ruggedness of these boats. The outer shell is very tough, top and bottom. The air tubes are all inside of heavy canvas shells. Between the water and the air is THREE layers. The outer shell, the cnavas tube covering and then the PVC air tubes. It would take a very serious collision to cause a puncture. The two main air tubes have good valves.

Attention to detail is the best I have seen on anything short of a Lexus, The designers of this boat get an A++ for materials, concepts and effort.

Then we paddled. I started out in a 20 MPH head wind. Good workout. Then we got into a Class 0 river, upstream. We had to give up sooner than ever before. We turned around. Back in the lake with a tail wind, my wife now paddling we agreed that these are not the boats we wanted. It tracked well. They are extremely comfortable. Terrific quality. But they are somewhat sluggish. I would compare them with under ten foot recreational kayaks, like an Otter. For some people I would highly recommend these boats. But we will return ours tomorrow. I am leaning toward roof racks for our WS Altos. I felt that the AirFrame would permit only about half of the paddles that we would do in our Altos. The AirFrames on the other hand would be much better for down river runs. We do many up and then back down stream Class 1/2 rivers so we don't need to car ferry.

Incidentally the AirtFrame is always described as 29 or 30 pounds. In the bag ours weigh 41 pounds. Not that light, not for backpacking and unwieldy for plane or bus travel.

Having only taken it out once (and only having used Kleppers before), I would say its disadvantages are:

1. The chief disadvantage as far as I can tell is the fact that it has so many layers that it's hard to dry out.
2. It also seemed very hard to row upstream against the Columbia (I haven't tried it with the plywood bottom).
3. Took me awhile to get it set up the first time. It was difficult to tell exactly how much air was enough (or too little) in the chambers. Hopefully that will be easier next time with a better pump!

Excellent quality for the price!

It looks like a hardshell kayak: I has D-rings on the bow and stern spray decks, and an inflatable coming, and will have a spray skirt avaliable next month. The aluminum stays and polyethylene sheets inserted into the bow and stern help the boat cut through the water. Performance was better than most inflatables. It tracked fairly straight, although the boat wiggled 5-10 degrees with each paddle stroke. There are small molded skegs under the bow and stern which helped the tracking. The boat turned easily without leaning. Cruising speed was where I was disappointed. I could not keep up with a sit-on-top and each paddle stroke felt like accelerating the boat. There was no perceptable glide and don't even think about paddling against the wind. Fortunately I found a fix: I made a plywood floorboard out of a 2x8 sheet of plywood. It made a night and day difference in the performance. Keeping up with hardshell yaks was not a problem, paddling no longer felt like a workout and the boat actually glided for more than a second before coming to a stop. Paddling into the wind was much easier. The wood floor also sat the paddler up higher and the boat felt tippier until you had the tubes half submerged.

Bottom line is that this is the best inflatable yak you can get for this price. It beats the Stearns(which cost more) hands down. I let someone who had the Stearns IK115 demo the Airframe and he was amazed at how much better the Airframe was. If you do use it on flatwater, a strongly suggest you make (not avaliable commercially) a plywood floorboard for it. It will double its performance (at least that's how it feels). I hope to try some class 2 rivers with it as soon as the spray skits are avaliable. Since I bought 2(one for my girlfriend), I'll be working on making a sailing cat frame for it.