This is my third AE kayak (have the AdvancedFrame 10.5 solo & StraitEdge2 tandem) and after a 1 hour paddle, will probably be my favorite. The workmanship and high quality materials are top notch. I'm a decent sized guy at 6-2/215 and it fits very well. This kayak will work great for someone up to 6-6 or so due to it's large capacity and plenty of legroom. Tracking: very good.Stability: excellent. Speed: very good. Has a huge weight capacity of 450lbs so you can load it up with camping gear. Advanced Elements has some of the best kayaks in the market...regardless of price, and excellent customer service who will answer your questions immediately. Advanced Elements Advanced Frame Expedition Inflatable Kayak
I've done a lot of small boating like canoes and rowboats, but never kayaking before. I received my kayak yesterday and stared it all day until the air pump arrived today. Just for practice, I inflated it on my deck. Once I figured out how the spring valves and the twist valves work, I didn't have any problem. Be aware that not all pumps have the proper adapters for spring valves, especially those made by Sevlor and some other companies, so I would recommend only Advanced Elements pumps for this boat. Although the kayak is advertised to have 9 air bladders, only three of them are critical...the first and second side bladders, and the floor bladder. The first side bladder valve is outside the kayak and very obvious, however, the second valve is inside the kayak and I couldn't find it until I inflated the first bladder. These three critical bladders are the only ones that require any significant inflation effort, although that wasn't really much at all. I am 62 years old with lower back problems, and didn't have any trouble doing it. The other 6 non-critical bladders each require less than one stroke of the Advanced Elements pump to get to 1 psi. I found that the twist valves are tricky because starting to pump air into them tends to make them close unexpectantly and causes the pump to resist. I found that opening the twist valves only slightly, rather than full open, prevents this problem.
The only problem I had in deflating the kayak was in not being able to count to nine. Once I learned that, the kayak folded up neatly and fit into the canvas bag.
Tomorrow or soon after, depending on weather I'm going to take the kayak out for a spin on the Potomac
Like I promised, I took the kayak out on the Potomac River for a little over an hour today in 91 degree heat. Where I went, the Potomac is about a mile wide and very smooth. The kayak tracks very well and makes great speed. I tried to find some sports boats with big wakes, but there wern't any today. I guess the only problem I had was preparing the kayak in the heat. I had some trouble with the twist valves which caused me to spend a lot of time in the hot sun sweating bullets. I think that 6 of the 9 bladders could be inflated by mouth easier than by using a pump because the pump requires less than one stroke before the pressures reaches 1 psi. My 110 lb wife also tried it out and didn't have any trouble but says she wants to order the shorter version. So far, I'm really glad I got this product and can't wait to take it on a more turbulent river with rapids.
I took my kayak out on the Potomac today for three hours in 93+ degrees heat. The worst part was setting it up and packing it in the heat. Out on the water, it was wonderful. Several people at the marina asked my why I would want an inflatable when rigid kayaks are much less trouble. I just told them that when I travel by car, I don't want to have a boat on the roof of my car. It doesn't always make a great impression with business clients.
My wife got her 10.5 foot kayak today and we set it up on our porch. What a difference in weight! The actual differance may not look like much, but the smaller one sure feels a lot lighter when you carry it. However, I noted that the smaller kayak does not have anywhere near the internal storage room that the Expedition has.
Also, I've established a method of getting the kayaks back into the bag which works well for me. First, fold the kayak normally and place it so that part to go in the bottom of the bag is up. Then pull the bag down over the kayak as far as you can. Then flip the bag and kayak over and pull the cover up to its maximum extent. Then here's the real secret...put the bag on its side and kneel on it. You will find that the zipper closes fairly easily.
So far I've only done still-water kayaking (not counting boat wakes). I plan to take my Expedition on a river trip with class 1 to 3 rapids in the near future. I've done class 1 to 4 in rafts, so it should be interesting to see how it works in a kayak.
Since the above, I've been on the Potomac several times in various locations in this kayak...but not whitewater yet. Since the top fabric is definitely not waterproof, I suggest using a heavy application of Scotch Guard on it...that worked for me. However even the Scotch Guard will not prevent water from coming through the zippers. I encountered some rough water last week which broke over the bow quite frequently. No water came through the Scotch Guarded fabric, but I had a waterproof pack fastened in the front bungee area which created a depression. Obviously, the water tended to pool there and came right through the zipper onto my legs. It was not a big problem, but it was cold and uncomfortable. In spite of the 18-inch waves and 2-foot swells, I never had any feeling that the kayak might flip over, even when I was sideways to the waves.
I've also done some rigid kayaking recently and one big difference I've noticed is that my inflatable kayak has a much narrower cockpit because of the air bladders on either side. So if you've got a wide bottom, or simply like to twist around in the cockpit to access the rear storage area, you may want to stick to rigid kayaks. - Boat - Inflatable Kayak - Kayaks - Advanced Elements'
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