I already have a Sea Eagle 370, and wanted something that was much lighter and less hassle to get out spontaneously for a paddle. After a load of browsing, I settled on the one person Sevylor Sea Blade, although it only seems to be available new in Australia these days.
The quality of build seemed really good, and put my Sea Eagle to shame.
Inflating it is easy, though the pressure gauge was a faff and lost air. The pressure is SO low (0.6bar) that I doubt if the gauge can read that accurately at that level anyway.
Despite being well within the described weight range, when I got on board, there was a distinct bend in the middle. I got out again and added more air, so it was definitely a bit more rigid. However, a similar bend still developed.
I found it EXTREMELY unstable, and couldn't get my feet onto the foot rest, without a LOT of wobble. When I then started paddling it was very unnerving.
In the end, I put my feet either side of the front and that seemed to stabilise the craft, probably by increasing the weight distribution sideways.
However this wasn't satisfactory. When I next got a chance, I tried the Sea Blade again. Exactly the same problem.
Two friends then tried it. One was almost the same weight as me and he had exactly the same trouble too. The other was tall but much lighter. She found the Sea Blade worked perfectly.
I'm guessing that this is the issue - the weight specification is far too high and as a result the Sea Blade feels terrible for larger folk and gets bad reviews. Give it to a kid and they will be fine.
I've gone back to my Sea Eagle, and it consistently gives great results.
