Stearns Inflatable Kayak (Guest Review)
by Bill Schultz

For a few years my wife and I have talked about getting some kayaks, but we didn't want to put them on top of one of our cars. This was a dilemma until, while visiting Sam's Club early last summer, we saw Stearns inflatable kayak. We looked it over and it looked durable and had all the “bells and whistles”. At $289 they seemed like something we wanted to try. I had seen the Stearns Inflatable Kayak a year earlier in the Eco Challenge on the Discovery Channel, always a demanding challenge.

We haven't been disappointed. Two of them fit in the hatch area of my wife's Mitsubishi Eclipse, even when they aren't stored in the duffle bag they come in. The aluminum paddles are easy to assemble and come in four pieces with a storage bag. The kayaks feature knuckle guards, Boston valve covers, abrasion runners front/rear, tracking fin, D-rings, gear deck, bungee cord, high strength zipper, spill guard, splash deck, molded handle front/rear, and map window/dry pocket.

We upgraded to the better pump that Stearns offers, allowing for faster inflation. That first time out it took us a little longer to inflate, but the second time it only took about five minutes each. When inflated they are very comfortable and offer great back support. I am 6' tall, with fairly long legs. I can fully extend my legs with the bottoms of my feet touching the end of the interior compartment.

The dimensions are 37” by 116” and the weight is 29 pounds. They are very easy to carry when inflated and two people can easily carry two with the molded handles. Now, for the important stuff. They are very easy to fish out of. The mess pockets can hold a fair amount of gear and there is enough room on the inside cavity for more. The few times I've fished out of one the splash guard has been a perfect platform to lay the rod and reel. With the splash guard open the rod and reel will fit in the inside compartment. I have never used a good hard shell kayak, or fished out of one, but I can't imagine it being much easier than these. I should also note that the these kayaks are very stable.

The first few times out we were on lakes, but the last time we used them last summer was on the Milwaukee River. We were on the river for four hours and I really thought we made a mistake and were damaging the kayaks because of all the rocks we were hitting and the gravel we were dragging the bottoms through. We hadn't realized how low the river was. To my surprise, when we checked, there was no damage and only a few marks on the bottom. No dings or cuts. This was impressive.

If you're looking for an inexpensive kayak with all the “bells and whistles”, but don't have the room to store one or don't want to put it on the top of your car, I would suggest you take a look at the Stearns Inflatable Kayak. For more information, go to www.stearnsinc.com. These are also sold in the Bass Pro Shops catalog for $299

Stearns Web Site