Underpinning all the performance related criteria is probably the most important attribute of all – construction. We don’t expect to remain bone dry, but we don’t want to look like a drowned rat when we get back to shore either, which is why during testing we keep an eye on how dry the kayak remains when it’s being paddled, which usually comes down to a few factors like the placement of bilge holes and the height of the cockpit walls for keeping out waves.
Initially, it’s all about controllability? Is it stable and able to track well in the water, keeping to the line we want it to go in no matter how hard we’re paddling or how hard the wind’s blowing?
We’ve been writing about and reviewing inflatable kayaks for a couple of years now and so we are pretty clear on what to look for when we step aboard. And while we eagerly await the invention of an inflatable super yacht, we have been distracted this summer by our testing of inflatable kayaks. Inflatables have come a long way since we first ventured into the sea with a flimsy dinghy that only lasted a couple of waves before it sprung a leak and looked like it was trying to eat us alive.
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