Last weekend was paddlefest. Paddlefest is when Full Spectrum Tours brings out kayaks for a free test day on Lake Pend Orielle. At least it’s free until you buy one.Brenton and I have been dreaming of buying a kayak for about a year and a half. We had thought about it and debated it, and came to the conclusion that a hard body kayak just wasn’t quite what we wanted. We wanted a kayak that we could pack in and out to remote alpine lakes and that we could easily carry in the car. After a lot of consideration, we decided to hold out for a folding kayak like the ones offered by Folbot. But the price for a folding kayak starts out at about $2000 so that wasn’t going to happen any time soon.

We walked down the beach admiring the various kayaks that were available to be tested. There were probably 70 different kayaks of various brands and styles for us to try out. We didn’t test nearly all of the. At the end of the row was a kayak that made me stop and look again.

I have never really been impressed with inflatable kayaks. They all look like beach toys to me, but when I saw the Advanced Elements Advanced Frame Convertible I knew I was looking at the solution to our kayak problem.

Here’s the stats about this little beauty:

SPECIFICATIONS:

Length: 15’

Width: 32”

Weight: 56 lbs (25 kg)

MaxWt.: 550 lbs (249 kg)

Color: Red/Gray

The bottom is made out of the same PVC tarpulin that is used to make white water rafts. There are 6 air chambers. The two main chambers both go all the way around the kayak so you would stay afloat even if one of them punctures. The main air chambers are protected by three layers so a puncture is pretty unlikely. The seats clip in. There are three sets of clips so you can convert it from a tandem to a single kayak. Set up and take down took us about 10 minutes a piece on the first try. I’m sure we will only get faster too (in comparison, my friends with solid body kayaks say it takes them about 15 minutes to get the kayak on and off their roof racks). And I can fit the kayak, paddles, and PFDs all in the truck of our car along with two sleeping bags and a cooler. That’s some sweet stuff. We’ve been out 3 times since we bought it. I would buy it all over again.