Aleut

Bought a used 2010 Aleut on New Years Day 2013. It was love at first paddle for me. Had previously owned & paddled a solo whitewater canoe. Had rented & borrowed a series of plastic, recreational kayaks. People often describe the Aleut as slow. That might be true but I must say that in comparison to those plastic, recreational kayaks my Aleut is faster & easier to handle. In addition it is lighter, quieter, more stable & overall a much more pleasant kayak to paddle.

To date I have used it mostly on flat water in our local lakes. Some of that was open water made choppy by wind & fast moving, boat traffic. My little Aleut handled beautifully in that. It also handles well on the slower moving rivers I've paddled. Have not tried on any fast water.

Mine did come with the old style seat which is basically just a foam pad attached to the floor of the kayak with velcro. The seat back is adjustable via wide, webbing strap. It is comfortable enough & works fine. However, this is a deep kayak & I am a very short person, 4'10". There is another type of seat which Folbot sells as an upgrade, an Airfom, that I think would be more comfortable for someone my size. Think that will be an Xmas gift to myself later this year.

In my rating I took off a point for the lack of foot pegs. That is something I really wish my boat had. If the system allowed 1/2 points I'd have deducted that for the seat. Since Folbot has a fix for that I left my rating at 9. I love everything else about my kayak. Plan to have it for many more years. It seems nearly perfect for my needs.

The Aleut is sometimes described in terms of its supposed limitations: slow, suitable only for day paddles on flat water, etc. For the record, I completed a 55 mile race in the Aleut in the same time my 18' Necky Arluk III required, and I crossed Japan's Inland Sea from Hiroshima to Shikoku in the same little Aleut. It's not perfect, but it certainly has served me well.

I am very disappointed in this boat. People claim they can assemble it in 10 minutes then why have I worked for 3 hours and still can't get it together? The instructions are so minimal that it is assembled by pure guesswork. In addition, I have had to force parts together where it is obviously putting stress on the materials. It is not a cheap boat. I wish I would have bought a more traditional kayak as there is no advantage if I need to spend my afternoon by the waters edge trying to make it fit together. I'd rather be on the water.

The Aleut offer exceptional value in meeting the needs that MOST paddlers have.It certainly meets mine. I will never take a three month paddling expedition or circumnavigate Lake Erie. All I want and need is a quality boat that will safely let me take my three hour excursions without much fuss .The Aleut does this very well. The Folbot corporate support system is without compare no matter how much you spend. If something breaks---they fix it with a grateful heart. They truly mean what they say about their warranty . For safety sake, the Aleut is rock solid and very versatile for fishing or puttering about. It always tracks like a train. Turning takes a little effort but I never zig-zag down the lake. My rudder has NEVER been out of its packing bag. My numerous paddling mistakes are readily forgiven by this design. Other boats are faster and more responsive but for my dollar ther is no better "Bang For My Buck". I would recomment it to anyone.

I bought my Aleut a few years ago and love every minute in it. It doesn't matter to me if it is a "slow" boat - I'm on the water to slowly go by the sights and enjoy the peacefulness. I have no desire to go any faster! :) It takes me about a half hour to set it up, but it's a good stretching time for my muscles. :) It is very stable and I feel very comfortable in it. I always get lots of comments from other boaters when I'm out on the water - and I've referred many people to the Folbot website and location in SC. I love being able to fold it all up and store it easily and also transport it easy. I usually get a lot of guys come up when I'm assembling it or disassembling it, as they seem to be quite fascinated with the engineering of the boat and how it's put together. :) I look forward to each minute I can go kayaking and exploring local spots. The kayak is made well, however, as the years go by, there are little "connector caps" that pop off - I guess they are glued on the various aluminum pieces. The caps hold the pins in place. So in time I may have to send back pieces of the kayak to Folbot for replacement of the caps. Customer service is excellent - either questions you submit by e-mail or by phone. They send out replacement pieces ASAP. They are very knowledgeable about their products.

Got a Blue expedition model year 2001 and must say I do love it. Particularly impresssed with the load capacity. Although Folbot says 250 lbs is the load capacity, I'm 215 and had at least 25 lbs of gear and the boat was not riding low in the water! Stability is excellent which is good since I fish from the yak. Only complaint is spray deck could be more waterproof and a little better quality. Great for recreational use, fishing and sailing. I plan to add a Kahuna for high performance workouts and the two will be the perfect combo.

The Aleut is probably the slowest folding kayak made- but it's also the least expensive, the quickest to assemble (I can do one in under 10 minutes), the most stable and the most used boat I've ever owned. It's a marvelous boat for beginners- it's just about untippable- and still faster than the majority of short "recreational" kayaks. I keep mine in my car almost all summer, just in case there's a chance I might be near water.

Very stable, comfortable, safe boat. Big waves, no problem. Easy to assemble. Not too fast, though. Great first boat. Easy to re-enter if you should decide to jump out and swim around for a while.