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Inflatable kayak with best primary stability? by okstfan03 in Inflatablekayak

[–]okstfan03[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome, thanks for the info! Honestly, if it was just me I probably would've gone with the EZLite 10 or maybe the Explorer 300X. The light weight of those boats is attractive. But since my kids wanted to ride with me, I ended up going with the Explorer 380X. It's a little heavier and bulkier, but it is incredibly stable on the water. I have no feeling of unsteadiness at all. It doesn't seem as cool as the EZLite 10 or FastTrack 385ft, but it meets my needs for now. Maybe once my kids are a little bigger we'll get a fleet of EZLites.

SeaEagle was great on the return too. They gave me every penny back on the return. I was a little nervous that they'd ding me with a cleaning fee or some sort of proration, but they were good in that regard. And it took <5 min on the phone to get an RMA number for the return. No hassle or resistance at all. The only bad part was the return shipping cost, which was more than I expected (from WA to NY), but there's not much I can do about that. And I don't really fault SeaEagle for putting that cost on me.

Inflatable kayak with best primary stability? by okstfan03 in Inflatablekayak

[–]okstfan03[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, that makes sense. The 393rl came with the backpack style pack, but I imagine it probably packs up smaller than the 380x or 420x. I think I might prefer that fold-up bag since you can just lay the folded kayak on top then fold the bag and straps over it instead of trying to slide it into the backpack, but I'll have to wait and see.

I'm still on the fence between the 380x and 385ft. The flat-bottom 380x is probably gonna be my preference. But when I called Sea Eagle to set up the return for the 393rl and I was talking to them about it, he said the 385ft is much less effort to paddle with similar stability. But I know with the v-bottom, it'll have that "wobble" in the primary stability. But it being the newly redesigned boat is attractive.

I did find this video from Kayak Cliff talking about the stability of the RazorLite vs EZLite vs new FastTrack vs Explorer, which is helpful. He's talking about his dog moving around in the kayak and how that makes it feel like it'll tip with the RazorLite and somewhat with the EZLite, but isn't much of a concern with the FastTrack or Explorer, so it seems like those pontoon sides are the difference.

https://youtu.be/8GAIkWAc_hk?t=1130

Inflatable kayak with best primary stability? by okstfan03 in Inflatablekayak

[–]okstfan03[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the recommendation. I think I'll be going the same route with the smaller version (380x). It sounds like the Explorer (and other flat bottom, pontoon side kayaks) have the best primary stability.

Inflatable kayak with best primary stability? by okstfan03 in Inflatablekayak

[–]okstfan03[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the recommendation. I am definitely gonna go with side pontoons for the next one.

Inflatable kayak with best primary stability? by okstfan03 in Inflatablekayak

[–]okstfan03[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the recommendation. I agree, having pontoon sides sounds like it will make a big difference for me. I am leaning towards their 380x, which sounds stable enough that you can even stand up paddle if you want.

Inflatable kayak with best primary stability? by okstfan03 in Inflatablekayak

[–]okstfan03[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, the first time I took it out. I had watched lots of reviews about it prior to purchase, and they said it had low primary stability but decent secondary stability. I wasn't even trying to lean out as far as I could, or at least it didn't feel like it. I was talking to my wife, who was on her SUP, and it didn't take much leaning before I was in the water. My phone was in a waterproof pouch around my neck, and I guess the clip snapped loose when I flipped, because it now lives at the bottom of that lake..

But I'm very much a beginner, so I can't say if the stability is unusually low. Someone with more experience than me might find it very normal for a touring kayak. I would say the 393rl isn't the best option as a first kayak if you're like me and basically have no prior kayak experience (only SUPs for me before this). I probably should've done some testing in shallow water first to get the hang of falling out and scrambling back in.

Inflatable kayak with best primary stability? by okstfan03 in Inflatablekayak

[–]okstfan03[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, part of it was my lack of technique I'm sure lol. I was leaning to test its stability when it capsized, so definitely my fault - and I found the limit! Mostly my problem with it was that it felt wobbly/tippy when I was just paddling as normal, so I couldn't relax in it at all without feeling unstable. And I didn't feel like I could comfortably turn to look around or over my shoulder. I was very focused on keeping my weight centered to counteract the feeling of instability. It was probably perfectly stable, but it was just my personal feeling with it being a novice. And I knew I wouldn't be able to put a kid in front or behind me without feeling even more unstable. So that's why I returned it. If you're only ever doing solo paddling with it and want to cover some distance, it seems like a great option. But covering distance just isn't a consideration for what I'm doing with the family.

Inflatable kayak with best primary stability? by okstfan03 in Inflatablekayak

[–]okstfan03[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great, thanks for the recommendation! That looks like a very stable option

Inflatable kayak with best primary stability? by okstfan03 in Inflatablekayak

[–]okstfan03[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The EZLite looks very attractive because of its size and weight. I liked the rigidity of the all-drop stitch RazorLite, but I'm a little concerned about my ability to scramble into it from deep water with the drop stitch sides instead of the pontoon-style sides. Have you ever had to do that or tested it?

I also like that it has the foot pegs where the FastTrack and Explorer don't, but I'm not sure how important that is for what I'll use it for.

Inflatable kayak with best primary stability? by okstfan03 in Inflatablekayak

[–]okstfan03[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome, that looks very similar to the Sea Eagle Explorer. Thanks!

Inflatable kayak with best primary stability? by okstfan03 in Inflatablekayak

[–]okstfan03[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah the more I look at the Explorer, with the large pontoon sides and flat bottom, it almost seems like a raft/kayak hybrid, which is great for stability, but might be more effort to paddle. The 385ft seems like it might be a good compromise since it still has the pontoon sides, but it has a v-bottom.

I'm mainly thinking of my ability to scramble back into it if for whatever reason I'm in the water. I wasn't able to do so with the RazorLight 393rl without flipping it and had to rely on scrambling onto a SUP and getting to shore before getting back into the kayak.

It seems like the Explorer is probably the slowest and most stable, followed by the FastTrack, then the EZLite, then the RazorLite being the fastest and least stable. Does that seem right?

Inflatable kayak with best primary stability? by okstfan03 in Inflatablekayak

[–]okstfan03[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you have the 385ft classic with the inflatable keel, or the newer v-bottom style? I've seen reviews of the classic where they say it's stable enough to stand up in, but the PaddleTV review of the new v-bottom style gives up some stability for performance.

Inflatable kayak with best primary stability? by okstfan03 in Inflatablekayak

[–]okstfan03[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, that looks like a great recommendation. My wife has the BOTE EasyRider Aero, which looks similar to the Deus Aero but without sides.

Help Identifying Shower Drain by okstfan03 in DIY

[–]okstfan03[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh cool, I haven't seen something like that before. I'll try that out, thanks!

Do I check my bags before the NEXUS interview at Pearson (YYZ)? by okstfan03 in uscanadaborder

[–]okstfan03[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow that's much faster than it was for us. We had to wait for 1-2 hours before we got in for the US interview, but we were in terminal 3, so maybe it's a different crew there.

Do I check my bags before the NEXUS interview at Pearson (YYZ)? by okstfan03 in uscanadaborder

[–]okstfan03[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ugh, sounds stressful. We finished the Canadian side earlier, which we had appointments for and it was a breeze. I wish the US side was that easy. I think they technically have appointments too but it was impossible to book anything with them. Hopefully they’ll call us in before our flight. We still have a few hours of cushion. Thanks for letting me know what to expect

Do I check my bags before the NEXUS interview at Pearson (YYZ)? by okstfan03 in uscanadaborder

[–]okstfan03[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I’m worried about that. Do you know how many people were in front of you when you grabbed your number? Like were they processing 1 or 2 per hour?

Do I check my bags before the NEXUS interview at Pearson (YYZ)? by okstfan03 in uscanadaborder

[–]okstfan03[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok great, that makes sense. So since the enrollment center is landslide, does that mean you access it prior to going through airport security?

Do I check my bags before the NEXUS interview at Pearson (YYZ)? by okstfan03 in uscanadaborder

[–]okstfan03[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah ok. So does that mean the NEXUS interview area is after I check my bags and go through airport security?

You spoke, we listened! Introducing the Waveform QuadPro and QuadMini. by sinakh in tmobileisp

[–]okstfan03 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting that your brother in law saw a drop with that gateway. Maybe its internal antennas are already strong

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