Folding Kayak
Looks like a good way to take your kayak and conserve room and weight. Foldingkayak
Forum Discussion
atreis,
There is a huge difference between inflatable and folding kayaks, particularly in terms of performance. I’ve owned both - an Advanced Elements inflatable and a Fujita folder and I’m an active kayaker on NorCal bays and ocean. An inflatable is great casual and inexpensive fun on calm and sheltered waters, no doubt about it. Since an inflatable is mostly air and sits more on than in the water you can expect to be blown about by a good stiff wind. Also you will find that the boat has very little glide between paddle strokes. This may or may not be an issue depending on what you want to do with the boat. A folder is a skin on frame boat, close cousin to the original and millennial design, that can be conveniently disassembled. While most have inflatable sponsons, their main purpose is to snug up the skin after the frame is assembled inside of it. The boat sits fully in the water and is much less affected by wind and wave and the improvement in glide is immediately apparent. On the flip side, a folder will take longer to assemble and will be more expensive. Both types of “bag boats” will need more care than a hardshell - a good rinse after being in seawater and a time and place to dry everything before putting it back in the bag for any length of time. The Fujita is currently strewn about my living room…
Check out foldingkayaks.org
There is a huge difference between inflatable and folding kayaks, particularly in terms of performance. I’ve owned both - an Advanced Elements inflatable and a Fujita folder and I’m an active kayaker on NorCal bays and ocean. An inflatable is great casual and inexpensive fun on calm and sheltered waters, no doubt about it. Since an inflatable is mostly air and sits more on than in the water you can expect to be blown about by a good stiff wind. Also you will find that the boat has very little glide between paddle strokes. This may or may not be an issue depending on what you want to do with the boat. A folder is a skin on frame boat, close cousin to the original and millennial design, that can be conveniently disassembled. While most have inflatable sponsons, their main purpose is to snug up the skin after the frame is assembled inside of it. The boat sits fully in the water and is much less affected by wind and wave and the improvement in glide is immediately apparent. On the flip side, a folder will take longer to assemble and will be more expensive. Both types of “bag boats” will need more care than a hardshell - a good rinse after being in seawater and a time and place to dry everything before putting it back in the bag for any length of time. The Fujita is currently strewn about my living room…
Check out foldingkayaks.org
