We bought our Stearns inflatable kayaks about 10 years ago. They have been wonderful except for the removable seat cushions which have busted a few times, but Stearns was always very willing to ship us a new one. We own 3 and all are still going strong. We use them in the San Juan Islands, on lakes and fairly easy rivers. We are terrible about drying them off after floating, but so far, and 10 years later, we still love using them. They are so comfortable!

Customer Service

Stearns has been great to replace any parts we had problems with.

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We also bought a couple regular hard kayaks, after we bought a cabin on the river, and enjoy not having to take the time to blow them up, just put in, but sometimes we still use the inflatables there because they are much more comfortable.

While working as a yacht engineer in Alaska I needed a means of escape and excercise when the owner was not around. As storage was at a premium I had chosen to go for an inflatable and stumbled across the Stearn Kayak in a Mall near Juneau. The kayak and folding paddle were duly purchased and at the first opportunity I made my escape. Well all I can say is that this is a fantastic bit of kit for what I needed it to do. It is hand portable, easy and quick to inflate, a hoot to mess around on (we even tried to roll it but as you can imagine it I was met with an early rather cold dunking ;-) and for exploring small rivers and inlets it is ideal. I spent many evenings gently bobbing in the quite bays of the inside passage watching the wild life on the shore. It enabled me to get nice and close to the seals and otters that frequent the bays. Due to its light weight it was easy to throw over the side and drop down into it from the boarding ladder. Exiting was a simple matter too with no assistance required. I found the construction to be suprisingly rugged and my only gripe is that the splash deck zipper tended to let in a bit of water but a small neoprene flap would rectify this. (or a sponge when your butt starts to feel damp). It's not a white water performance kayak and does not pretend to be. For flat calm water paddling and easy storage I can't fault the little flubber. Highly recommneded

Customer Service

Never needed.

We have the Stearns Cordova inflatable made for West Marine. Very easy to blow up and deflate. Not heavy.

I think the reviews above are pretty much on the mark with a few cautions. We are trailer sailors and tow a Hunter 26 ft sailboat to inland and coastal waters. The first review is a little more negative than it should be because the author misses the point - if you want a kayak for running rapids and dragging over rocks, get a hard shell kayak and pay a lot more. For small trailer boat sailors I think it's just the thing -- easy to tow and store inflated or packed. We don't use ours much - only for long trips where hauling our Walker 8 dingy would be a pain.

Check out this link for more on our experience with pictures: http://h260.com/kayak/kayak.html

Once you are in the inflatable kayak it you can really scoot fast in very, very skinny water - when we were in Florida we paddled in depths less than 6 inches for several hours no trouble. The cautions about not leaving it in the sun for long periods or dragging it over sharp rocks apply. Although I've done it, hauling a couple of cases of beverages and groceries back to the boat in two kayaks can be a challenge. Any kayak has limitations -- especially getting in and out from a boat - we have the sugar scoop stern so it's easier than others with higher stern freeboard.

It is a little hard getting all the water out but I've solved that with a shop vac and towel. I pull the insert out which allows easy access to all the nooks and crannies with a vacuum wand and towel. Mold has never been a problem but I don't live in a hot, humid climate. I leave them out for a day after drying them off good. Learning to pack them back in the bag takes a couple of tries until you get the technique down. I've found the shop vac a great aid in getting all the air out, then they fold and pack nicely.

I like the way they paddle in calm water & have taken them on a couple of easy river runs -- down stream they are great, but because of the flat shape and short skeg it's a little harder going against the current, but very doable. For me the biggest advantage is I can sit in it for an unlimited time. We've rented hard shell kayaks and canoes and after an hour or so my butt goes numb.

I'd say one of the biggest advantages is you don't have a lot invested for something that gets only occasional use. A hard shell kayak for use on a small boat in my view is much more difficult. The inflatable is very easy to handle and store - They tow well, but I usually stow them on the boat. The handle looks very durable, but its sewn on, I don't want to chance ripping it.

One one more thing, I think someone that weighs more than 250lbs probably needs to look elswhere - I'm 200lbs and don't have a problem, but I have a friend that tried it out, and he sort of bent it in the middle....:)

All in all, the inflatable is my choice for small boat trips to inland waters but I'd want a real kayak for open water or rapids. Of course, the ideal is a Avon dingy with a 10hp OB but I don't have a spare $10,000 laying around for this purpose...

I bought a used Stearns Cordova from my brother. He only used it for a couple of weeks before he came to his senses and got a real kayak. As far as inflatables go I hear this one is good, but that is not saying much. Inflatables are a flawed concept and there are a lot of misconceptions about how convenient they are.

#1 Misconception: They are easy to store.
Reality: They are a storage nightmare. It is true that in an ideal world they can be folded up and put in their nice little storage bag, but in the real world you have to consider the moisture in the kayak. You will NEVER be able to totally hand dry it and if you put the wet kayak in the bag it will turn into mold central! Have fun the next time you go kayaking in your smelly mold bucket! If you want to try to minimize the mold, you need to lay the kayak out and try to air it out. Any space savings are gone! Beware that no matter how you store it, you will have mold issues. The only thing you can do is try to minimize it.

#2 Misconception: They are light and easy to carry. Not true. Including the pump, they are as heavy as a real kayak (especially if it is wet, add about 15 lbs) and awkward. Don’t plan on carrying this thing for any long distance, IE you won’t be backpacking through any woods with it.

#3 Misconception: They perform similarly to a real kayak.
Reality: Not true at all. They are much, much, much slower. They are stable, but so is any other short, fat stubby kayak. They are also not anymore “buoyant” than a regular kayaks despite the fact they inflate like a raft. Most kayaks have storage chambers that seal and become water proof, making them just as “buoyant” as any inflatable. Not sure buoyant is the proper term to use, but I have heard other use it in this regard. I think it is more accurate to say “resistant to sinking if capsized”!

While this is not a misconception, it is worth mentioning. The cargo/storage areas in these boats are extremely limited compared to real kayaks. I can’t fit enough gear on it to last me for a weekend camping trip and I don’t bring a lot of stuff.

You should think twice about buying any inflatable. Rent a real kayak and see if you like it. If you find that you love the sport, then buy a real one and make it fit in your apartment/house. I have a friend with a tiny studio and he hangs is from the ceiling. If you are hell-bent on an inflatable, the Stearns Cordova is probably the way to go.

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never used

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real kayaks

For reasons of storage, transportation, budget, and kayaking ability, my girlfriend and I decided to get inflatable kayaks. After a lot of research and price comparisons, we decided to go with the Stearns Cordova. I have never kayaked before, and after taking the Cordova out for the first time today, I’m pretty happy with the purchase. The best I found was four hundred bucks shipped from Dunhams Sports online.

The kayak’s construction seems durable and heavy duty, but I personally wouldn’t risk taking it on any sort of rapids, but it did come with a nice patch kit. On the bottom, it has long rigid rubber strips and one small fin (about the size of my hand) to improve tracking. The seat is somewhat hard to position under yourself at first, but it is comfortable and secure once you get situated. The storage compartment in the rear is really nice to have and easily fits a cooler or large hand pump. In my opinion, it’s the main reason to buy the Cordova over the Spree model. There are also several pockets on the spray deck (flap above your legs), but that part of the boat tends to get really wet from drips off of the paddle, and enough weight in the pockets would make the flap sag into your legs. The spray deck zips out, which is nice for getting in and out or for making room to bend your knees when taking a break. There are adjustable foot rests, which are basically two straps with plastic-reinforced foam cylinders on them. They have at least 6 adjustment positions. I’m 6’1” with long legs, and I had enough leg room. The whole kayak folds up easily into its impressively small bag, which is still large enough that you don’t have to fold it perfectly. After doing it a couple times, I expect that unpacking/inflation will take me about 7 minutes and deflation/re-packing will take me about 3 minutes per kayak.

The instructions for the kayak aren’t that great, so pumping it up was somewhat frustrating the first time, since it has three kinds of valves. There is a floor chamber, a chamber that fills the seating area, and a chamber that fills the tips. For these chambers, I use a Coleman electric pump that runs off of the car cigarette outlet to get about 80% inflation and then top them off with a hand pump (looks like a thick yellow bike pump). Just get whatever pumps have the most fittings, and if they don’t fit all the valves perfectly, you may be able to cut them or line them up the best you can (the valves are one-way and the pressure is somewhat low, so a super-tight seal isn’t as critical as I would have thought). I found the hand-pump necessary to achieve the final pressure, and I can bring it in the storage compartment for adjustments/emergencies. There are four smaller chambers that go around the seat and along the spray deck to stiffen it. In one of the kayaks I got, the chambers were twisted within the cover, which was frustrating but not terribly difficult to notice and fix. I just partially deflated it, flipped it over, and pulled the cover by the rubber fin on the bottom. Instructions of how to troubleshoot this problem would have been nice.

Performance is where I’m probably least qualified to make a judgment, since I’ve only used the kayak once and had never kayaked before, but perhaps you are in the same situation. We both found it hard to hold a really straight line, but I think that may be the case for kayaking in general. It did get easier as we practiced. The kayak did not seem to pull to a preferred side. As a beginner, the kayak seemed quite stable, but I could definitely flip it over if I leaned far enough. The ride was enjoyable and relaxed. Overall, I have found it a convenient, inexpensive way for me to get out on the lake and not have to deal with transporting and storing a rigid boat.

This is my third season with this kayak and I take it down the Rogue 2+ times a week. I love just keeping it in my car at the ready. It performs like a champ, but I do alot of bailing - it catches everthing! The keel tends to hang up in riffles, but the nimbleness more than makes up for it. My family have all bought their own.

Customer Service

Never needed it.

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seyvlor's "orange torpedo" and a handful of other tahitis

I have had my Stearns Kayak for about two years. It is an excellent buy. It folds down into a duffel bag about the size of a single load of laundry so I keep it in the trunk of the car at all times in case I come across a lake or river. It takes about 15 minutes to unfold and inflate. It is very well built- I have treated it pretty harshly and I have not had a single problem with it. It has a wide flat bottom so it is very stable and very easy to use- my 10 yr old daughter loves it. I think it is best for lakes, bays, and relatively calm rivers. I have taken it into whitewater, but because it is so wide and it has a small fin coming out the bottom, it gets stuck on rocks and narrow channels. In addition, because it is so low and not self bailing, it also takes on a lot of water. The only minor criticism I have is that it is hard to get it completely dry. It has lots of nooks and crannies on the interior that you have to reach in with a sponge to get the water out. I recommend this Kayak for just about everyone, with the exception of someone who wants a more high performance whitewater inflatable.

Customer Service

I have not had to call customer service.

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Sevylor Tahiti, Aire Lynx, various professional outfitter inflatables (I rent when I need to go through more serious whitewater)

This is an outstanding inflatable for the money. From running class III/IV rapids in the back woods of Maine to paddling in and out of the coves of Nantucket this boat has peformed near flawlessly. The compact size, durability, and price are hard to beat. It tracks phenomenally well for an inflatable, and it runs white water like a champ (although this model is not self bailing so it does take in water). It''s also comfortable enough for a long day of fishing. To top it all off, I can easily fit three of the ik116''s into the trunk of my civic. I do have two very slight gripes. First, the protective outer cover is difficult to dry. Since this cover makes the boat more rigid, durable and easier to navigate, I dont mind if the boat stays damp a little longer. Second, you must be careful not to over inflate the boat. Like all infaltables, you must take hot and cold air temps into consideration while inflating. If you over inflate, you might burst the seams and the yak will lose its rigidity. I suggest pumping the boat to "tennis ball hard" firmness...keep in mind that air expands in hotter temps. These are minor qualms. I truly think you''d be hard pressed to find a better boat for the money.

Customer Service

The outer fabric seam did split on one my yaks (probablly do to user error-over inflation) and upon e-mailing Stearns they promptly REPLACED my yak. Outstanding customer service

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multiple hard and inflatble yaks (walden, harmony, soar, sea eagle...)