IK-140

I just inflated my 30+ year old s tear s kayak for the first time in 10 years. It’s still holding air and if it’s still good tomorrow I’m going to order an advanced elements stitched floor for it( to cure the shapeless bottom problem and use it for another thirty years. I’m blown away with the quality of this old boat.

I have had my IK-140 for at least 15 years and have used it every year. It's heavy but it's very durable. Best durable inflatable when Jeep camping. You performance get a hardshell FFS.

This is a well-made and very tough kayak. Should be excellent in fast water but sucks for lakes and slow moving rivers. Kind of like a floundering elephant that actually tracks straight. If you want a big tough steerable innertube, this is a good deal. Mine is going to the auction after one test drive.

I agree with what others have written. I've owned this kayak for a month now, and have nothing bad to report. This is my first kayak purchase (although I've rented or borrowed hard shell kayaks on occasion for many years), and I'm very happy.

Adding to what's already been written below:

1. Cabelas.com is selling the IK 140 for $320.
2. I have two young children, and the Kayak is great for touring around lakes with them. We could probably squeeze my wife in too, but that would be very tight. I'm thinking to buy another IK 140 (or maybe a hard shell single) so that we can all be out on the water safely and comfortably.
3. I can confirm that the kayak does track very well, and does not get blown off course in a 10 knot wind.
4. It is a bumpy in 2' waves.
5. The ride is damp, as a lot of paddle splash gets in the boat.
6. The boat is not as slow as I'd be led to believe. Then again, it does take constant work to stay moving. And in that 10 knot wind and choppy 2' waves, you get a real workout.
7. This boat is great fun, and well worth the money spent. Was camping this past weekend, and my friends, family and I had a great time.
8. The space savings from the ability to fold up the kayak is nice. But for car travel, there is still the life vests and paddles that now have to be stored. One attraction of the IK was no car rack...but now I feel the need for an above car rack to store the extra gear. Gear which may have fit in the hardshell.

The boat has done well in wind blown waves on the Intercoastal Waterway here in Florida. It is a little tight for two adults. The velcro storage nets are handy. Do bring a sponge since the water that comes in stays in. The seperate inflateable floor keeps you out of it for a while, but then impedes removing it. It seems to track fine - the manufacturer credits the fins. I have bottomed it out a few times and felt the fin on my rear, though by that point, it was super shallow and paddling had become polling. I like the lack of metal since I paddle a lot in saltwater. It helps to have a hook somewhere high at home and a ladder to hang it to rinse. Also, a place to dry it - a contast to the SOTs popular in my area which cleanup easier. It is nice to come out of the water, plop it into my pickup bed, and deflate it down to a pile of vinyl. It deflates quickly thanks to the way the boston valves unscrews. You have to inflate/deflate two boston valves and the floor. I have brought it on my small sailboat as a tender for shollow water exploration. A great value. I have stood-up and knelt in it to stretch my back. The back seat person could use a back-jack chair instead of leaning against the bulkhead as the manufacturer intended.