INTEX Challenger Inflatable Kayak Series: Includes Deluxe 86in Kayak Paddles and High-Output Pump – SuperStrong PVC – Adjustable Seat with Backrest – Removable Skeg – Cargo Storage Net

----I purchased the Intek Challenger K1 to try kayaking and see if I enjoyed it enough to warrant spending $500-$600 on a solid-shell vessel. I spent the first few weeks paddling around a small lake behind my home and had no complaints. The Challenger is easy to inflate, easy to deflate, and fitting it back inside the carrying bag was easy as well. I would recommend purchasing a higher quality paddle because the one that comes with the Challenger is a bit short and not very durable. After approximately three weeks of use my paddle cracked, but since the packaged deal was so cheap I didn’t mind purchasing a new one. ----After about two months of paddling around in small bodies of water, some friends of mine and I decided to go on an 11 mile trip down a popular local creek that we heard was ideal for inner-tubing and kayaking. In hindsight, that decision turned out to be one of the worst we had ever made. Our trip took place in early May, 2011, and just two weeks prior much of our area was devastated by tornados. The creek was low, so we all drug out kayaks through ankle-deep water for the first half-mile. Once the water deepened a little bit we were kayaking like some pros, but at around the three mile mark we encountered some trees that had fallen across the creek. I was particularly nervous since my kayak was the only inflatable of the bunch, but I threw it on top of the pile of trees, climbed up beside it, threw it down into the water, and began cruising again. Less than 5 minutes after our first climb over trees, we encountered several more fallen trees. Again, I threw my Challenger on top of the pile of trees, climbed up beside it, threw it down into the water, climbed in, and paddled on. We all kept telling ourselves that we had to have gone through the worst of it, but the fallen trees we kept coming up on proved us wrong. The estimated three-hour casual kayaking trip we planned turned into 8 hours of tossing or pulling kayaks on top of tree piles (most of which were 10-12 feet high), dragging kayaks through shallow water, and navigating around all of the household items (lawn mowers, refrigerators, etc.) the tornados had dropped in the creek. About four hours into the trip I was hoping that my Challenger would get a hole in it so that I would have had a good excuse to scale the wall of the creek, walk to the nearest road, and call someone to come pick me up. Unfortunately, none of the abuse my Challenger received that day fazed it….not one single hole! ----After the “trauma” of that trip I decided kayaking was not for me and I draped my Challenger over a fence in my yard to dry. The kayak remained on top of that fence in blistering heat, rain, and cold for the next 9 months. In early 2012, I finally removed the Challenger from my fence, folded it up, put it in its bag, and stuck it in my shed. Recently I decided to give kayaking another try so I broke out the old Challenger and pumped it up to see if its time on the fence had damaged it. The Challenger pumped up as easy as the day I bought it, and it did not have a single leak. ----Overall, I would say that the Intek Challenger K1 Kayak is a great product and ideal for beginners or those who have to walk long distances to get to where they are going to be paddling. The kayak, paddle, and pump are relatively lightweight and easy to carry in the included case. As I said before, I would recommend purchasing a separate paddle since the one that comes in the kit is not the best quality. The Challenger does not glide through the water like most high-dollar solid-shell kayaks, but it easy to paddle and steer. If you are like I once was and want to try kayaking without investing a lot of money, the Intel Challenger K1 is what you need.

Let’s be honest here why buy an expensive fishing float when you can have this I get it’s nice to have your feet in the water but all the time? Nah you can miss me with that. This kayak has met all my expectations in terms of ultra light fishing. I’m an experienced angler but not an experienced kayaker or anything to do with the water. To be honest this is the first time I ever used a kayak! So pros of this kayak First off it breaks down and builds up super fast 5 ten mins each time. Comfortable it’s an inflatable kayak under 100 bucks all these people complain about back support baffle me lol I I’m a short guy 5’6” That being said my legs fit inside the kayak be it a bit tight that’s only when I’m paddling about. When I’m casting and relaxing feet out and over the sides relaxing! Really fun since it is inflatable if you wanted to just sit and relax fell the motion of the waves you totally can. Stability Don’t blame your lack of balance for the kayaks stability I think I have great balance and reaction times Sometimes I would get scared when I would turn to grab a rod and the kayak would tip but that’s my fault for not balancing out correctly. Other times I would make an erratic motion and I would be tipped of balance a bit but like I said it all my fault lol. Haven’t taken a dip yet hahah. Can you stand on it? I mean sure if you wanna feel like Jesus for a second and possible be a fish the next. I’m sure you can I tried a for a second but thought “Do I really wanna be in the lake?” So I sat back down. Maneuverability? This thing can get going Can turn easy Can stop easy Just up to you on how you control it this being my first ever watercraft experience I Had no problems learning the ways of paddling and learning how to move around in the water. Okay...... for fishing this craft is great I think it’s better than a tube at least you can stay dry ish with water just splashing a bit on you taking a fishing vest back pack everything fit up front on the netting putting some weight down on the front while you can paddle comfortably. Folding net on my side bait and small tackle box in front of me while I fish. Heaven guys heaven. I was able to store rods with out rigging on the sides with the little ropes. Everything is a very durable vinyl so everything has playroom I was able to also store rods standing up right behind my seat! As long as you are careful with your hooks and anything sharp you will be fine you are sitting above the water though so you will be kicked around a lot more by the wind. It doest have an anchor so at times I would be concentrating rigging up a rod and I would look up an see I got really close to shore lol I was out for seven hours on the water and noting was deflated considering hard kayaks are a pain to store and fishing floats are situational this this is a little beast. Also you can store the pump and any nonessential in the back You don’t need an electric pump the pump supplied got me going in five mins an electric pump is probably an extra hassle. Broke down in 5 mins cleans up and tossed it in the back of my trunk off to the next lake. So much fun. Good luck my fellow anglers be safe tight lines! And for my fellow kayakers be safe too!

Fantastic product. Inflates quickly with the included 2-way pump from two ports (1 then 2). Everything packs neatly inside a carrying bag. I’ve taken it on the lake twice and it is very durable and stable. There were only two minor issues. 1- the zipper on the storage back was already disconnecting from the bag before I even unpacked it. 2- deflation isn’t the easiest lakeside. There’s no way to suction the air out so you basically have to roll it up with the valves fully open and sit on it until it’s compressed enough to put back in the bag. Overall, it’s comfortable (I’m 6’ 160lbs), doesn’t leak, fits in my trunk and gives me a good reason to go to the lake.

Update: I purchased this in 2015, it is now 2018 and absolutely nothing has failed on this thing despite my rough treatment. No holes/tears/etc. I think this is such an amazing deal that you'd be crazy not to buy it even if its just to try once to see if you like being on the water in something small. I also purchased a hard shell kayak this year, but I will still be using the k1 a lot when I don't want to mess with the larger/heaver/harder to transport one. I'm upping my rating to five stars. I can't think of many things that have been as useful and fun as this purchase for such little money. Older review with a few notes added: I ordered two of them last year and I'm just now putting them to use. I don't feel right giving it a "perfect" five star rating, but it has exceeded my expectations quite a bit. I've been fishing on rough'ish water, it's been windy as heck. Wind will definitely blow you around (along with the current), but it is entirely manageable as long as you don't go out in anything too harsh. It was a 10mph wind day with gusts up to 20. The gusts were almost more than I could handle in it. If it were sustained, I'm not sure I could have paddled against it very well. (compared to a hard shell, this might be the biggest con of an inflatable. Although, so far, I did not like 10-20mph winds one bit in the hard shell either) It's extremely durable. Since it was too windy for my anchor to serve its purpose I just paddled myself on to the bank to stick myself. The banks all had sticks/branches poking out of them, and I was sitting there with slight waves and wind rubbing me right against them. Not a mark, scratch or hole to speak of. I can't imagine daring an inflatable craft to pop/puncture much more than this. In between the extreme gusts, or when I was in locations that sheltered me from them, or the days the wind was calm, paddling was a breeze. It shocked me. I was able to go straight and move along at a good rate with little effort. I was expecting it to exhaust me but every trip I've taken has been from sunrise until 2pm or later and I never felt tired. Well, except for once. I paddled out to an open area when the wind decided to go nuts. After paddling back and regretting my life decisions everything was good again. I landed a pretty good catfish, 2' give or take an inch. (my only catch so far. I suck at fishing) I was worried about reeling in a decent sized fish but I didn't have any problems, and I didn't even have a net. A fish that has more fight could quickly become a handful on this, I'm sure. I imagine it could survive a few glancing blows from fins/hooks though. If you use it for fishing, definitely bring a net and think ahead about what you will do with the fish after you catch it. Speaking of, you can store quite a bit of gear on this thing. I went out with two poles, a tackle box, a soft sided cooler (no idea what size, plenty of space for a 12 pack and snacks), a floating net to put my catch in, anchor...not sure what else. I was fully loaded but never felt like I was at this things limits, or that it made it hard to handle. I do wish they put a net on the back like they did the front, though. I never felt remotely concerned about tipping. I imagine I could stand up in it, but I haven't been that brave yet. It's cold. I hate cold. I'd hate being cold and wet even more. (I did eventually stand up in it. In some ways it felt steadier than my hard shell kayaks, as far as tipping. It was mostly the weird squishiness where your feet are and getting used to that) So my (probably) minor nitpicks would be: It's not the easiest thing to deflate. I was going to find a pump that also vacuums but it has one way valves. I'm not sure if I can find something to fit in the hole once the one way valve is unscrewed. It does unscrew in two parts though, that is neat. It takes longer to put back up than set up, but it still isn't terrible. The paddle doesn't give me warm and fuzzy feelings. It hasn't broken on me, and I imagine it'll last as long as I don't get carried away trying to really muscle through the water but I don't feel very confident about it. I'll purchase a backup soon. (nearly 3 full years and it never broke. For the price, and it coming ready to use, I do not feel like this paddle is a "bad deal" one bit. I feel like it shouldn't be nitpicked as hard with that considered. Just don't abuse it) I wish the back had a net like the front to better store gear with. I dislike the way the backrest is made. It serves its purpose but I'm debating making a solid seat to put in it. I was considering this a trial to see if I'd like to purchase a "real"/hard shell kayak, but after using it for a handful of fishing trips, I'm not sure I have any desire to spend 5-10x the money to do the same activity with maybe a few minor perks (rod holders etc) given by hard shells. Even if these do break in some form or another, as long as they make it through 2+ seasons, I'll probably just purchase another and consider myself coming out ahead. (I did end up purchasing a hard shell but my k1's will still see a lot of use. There are things I like about them more than my much more expensive hard shell)

I have to hard sit in kayaks and then I wanted to try this and I figured it would not be a huge loss if I didn’t like it since the price is low. BLEW MY MIND! So comfortable to ride in. Comes with a paddle and easy to travel with without having to tie things down and spend a lot of time loading and unloading. Super easy and quick to blow up. No issues with water. Was able to sit and lay in different positions which helped me stay comfortable. Great length and where I’m from, there are a lot of alligators and even though they don’t bother you, I sit higher in this one than my other two and feel safer. Would be very difficult to flip over. I highly recommend this to anyone whether they are just starting out or they having been kayaking for years. The price is great for those starting out who aren’t sure if it’s for them or not. Also great for those of us with sore muscles that can’t sit in the same position for too long. Extremely versatile with positioning.

Love love love this kayak!!! Pros: Super affordable! For the price of one hard kayak, we got at least two kayaks. My wife and I decided we would never tandem kayak again, especially because we can afford not to! Inflates in under 10 minutes. No joke. Easy to inflate. Inflatable seat. Awesome. We did a 6 hour river float, and my butt felt fine. Friends in regular kayaks had major butt soreness. Space in back for storage. Space in front for storage (like a small cooler). Net on the front for storage. More durable than you would think. The material is a heavy duty PVC you would see in inflatable pools, which makes sense because that is also what the company makes. We kayak mainly in rivers, and I cringe every time I hit a branch or scrap on the bottom. However, two years, and about 10-15 trips (I don't go often) and we have zero holes/leaks. It comes with leak kits, but unnecessary yet. Fast. For the effort, you move much faster than a regular kayak because you sit on top of the water instead of in the water. Easy portage. We hit impassable downed trees and had to portage. Light enough to easily pick up and move. On another such instance, we got out on top of the tree and just lifted the kayaks over to get back in on the other side. Curious looks and questions. Always. Every outing has at least one to two people asking what it is and if it's inflatable. Fits easily in the trunk. It's heavy (two-hand heavy for normal people), but takes up the space of a big suitcase. Great for cars or a small Jeep. Cons: No drink holder. However, if you put it on the front, you can pull the net over it, and it will stay. Necessity is the mother of invention. One of the oars broke. However, it was easily fixed with some duct tape. It is not pretty, but still functions fine. For space the oars are in thirds. It was inevitable that it would break. When you row, the front of the boat will drift back and forth. You sit on top of the water, so you row right, drift left, etc. Don't lose the fin on the bottom!!!!! Our friends lost it (but found it). Apparently with no fin, you don't go very far. Just in circles. Here is the biggest con: Drying these things to put them away is a bitch. No easy way to do it because of all the creases. Can you get it pretty dry before you put it away? Yes, if you can leave it for days. If you are patient with a towel, it will get mostly dry. You will never get it fully dry. It will smell moldy eventually. Oh well. It's a boat. It is not a strong smell on the water. The bags are flimsy. It feels like they are going to pull apart (haven't yet though). It will probably rip (the bag; ours did) at some point. Duct tape fixed that too. Getting it back in the bag is tough. Fold it in thirds and roll it up. That works well. When it is rolled up, sit on it for a couple minutes. Put it in the bag (alone), then sit on the bag. Once it is deflated enough, put everything else back in on top. If it is cold out, it is possible, but really tough. Not a product issue, just the physics/chemistry of the material. No avoiding it. Overall: Fantastic. Worth the super cheap price. We bought some, and friends immediately brought some. We ended up with a fleet of inflatable kayaks going down the river. What you gain with cost and ease of transport, you lose with drying time and putting it back in the bag. The cost and transport are worth it. Price goes up closer to summer, and drops in the winter. In winter: 80 bucks. In summer 100. As expected. If you are even partially inclined, it is worth it. If and when we need new kayaks, we will just buy new of these ones. No desire to upgrade to "regular" kayaks.

I would like to update my review and complain that I lost my skeg 2 miles out on my last trip. Just like a lot of other reviewers this is a very poor design. This Kayak can hardly be steered without a skeg. It took me forever to paddle back. I bought a Quik Pak Kayak to replace this piece of crap! Original review: I just spent 8 hours on my new Kayak and had a blast. However there are some gripes.I'm 6"1 180 lbs and have been in hard Kayaks quite a bit. I can't say that this Kayak is roomy, but it wasn't uncomfortable. I spent as I mentioned earlier 8 hours in it and traveled about 10 miles. First off this Kayak is extremely stable in the water. I bought mine when the price went down to $69.00 and was the last one in stock. I Felt like I got a great deal. I set it up at home to see how simple it was and was impressed it only took me 5 minutes the first time. I never bothered with the included paddles. I purchased some more expensive ones after reading reviews. I launched at a creek and let the current carry me through a very wide river (miles from side to side), and drifted out in to a bay with depths well over 25 feet, which connected with the Atlantic Ocean. While I was in the creek 18 mph winds kept blowing me in to the shore as I attempted to fish. It was extremely frustrating when I tried to bait my line. Lesson learned buy a Kayak anchor. I thought the Kayak tracks pretty well even compared to hard Kayaks. if there is some current or wind you will drift when you stop paddling. It also felt like it took more effort to paddle at the same speeds I was used to in a traditional hard Kayak. My second frustration came when my back support to my seat deflated. It was not a puncture it's just the way the valve sits it's very easy to pop it open and leaning against the seat forces all the air out. My back started hurting after a while, eventually I was able to position myself to blow air in to it. 30 minutes later I had the same issue. I'm going to be looking for a new seat. With 18 mph winds, some current, and waves up to 2 feet high I had no fear of capsizing. I did take some water, but that is to be expected. Because the Kayak is so light I almost go flipped a few times when I turned my side to the wind. Once I realized I could not fight against the current of the tide going out and 18 mph winds I had no choice but to paddle to shore and drag it a few miles. I had no problems with the skeg coming off towing it from both ends. Quite a bit of that was through quicksand like mud up to 4 feet deep that sucked up and swallowed my water shoes for all eternity. What really aggravated me was the wind kept yanking the Kayak and dumping all my fishing gear. A few times I dragged it to shore and to my horror the wind sent it rolling down the shore spilling all my fishing gear again. It flipped and rolled over the fish hook on my fishing pole multiple times. I had a knife and hooks and no puncture. I was impressed how well it stood up. Putting it away required me using a towel to dry it and still ended up with a reasonable amount of water in my trunk even after dumping it multiple times. I didn't bother putting it back in the bag. A few people parked next to my car were very curious about the Kayak and asked a lot of questions. Lessons learned if you are fishing buy an anchor, this is not a good Kayak for windy days, it's hard to paddle against even a light current, even with me being extremely athletic. Buy a replacement seat. It's more sturdy than a pool toy don't be afraid to fish in it. It has very good buoancy even on some rough water. The skeg stays on securely just take your time and make sure you are putting it on correctly. Why would you rush to put anything together when you are risking your safety on it anyways? Bring a towel to dry it.Be prepared to put a little more work in your paddling compared to a hard kayak.A few reviews commented how the balance seemed uneven I noticed this on the side the wind was blowing on. Again not a very good Kayak for windy days. For the money I am satisfied with my purchase.

Heads Up: I purchased this kayak a few months ago, and have used it less than 5 times. Pros: -Purchase Price: Needless to say, this is a cheap boat. -Storage: I live in a small apartment and this allows me to have a kayak that I can store in a closet or under the bed. -Transportation: Even the paddle breaks down into small pieces, meaning packing this into my small sedan is not challenging. It fits easily in the trunk or back seat when packed down. -The storage bag is large enough that it is not terribly challenging to repack the kayak into the bag. -Inflation is quick and easy. Getting it in the water takes maybe ten minutes. Cons: -Paddling effort: This thing handles nothing like a normal kayak on the water, and I would be hesitant to take it out on any large bodies of water or in busy waterways. On a calm weekday, when boat traffic is low, I can maneuver it on my local, low flow river. But it takes a lot more effort to move it than the hard kayaks at the rental. But were I up against a strong current, a lot of wake or wave action, or a good wind, I think I'd be stuck, fast. -Steering: This kayak turns with each stroke of your paddle, so you move in a sort of accidental serpentine. This means the already slower speed you can move the kayak is not being used efficiently. If you are paddling with a friend in a higher end inflatable or traditional kayak, you're going to have a hard time staying together. -Speeds: They're slower. My local waters have ducks and geese, and I paddled past some parent ducks who didn't appreciate my presence. I was not able to pick up speed and move away quickly, which took me by surprise. -Weather: Waterfronts tend to be windy, and wind makes this very hard to operate. -Confidence: Even a small wave reminds you that you're effectively sitting in an air mattress on the water, and it doesn't give you a solid feeling. There are two inflatable chambers in this kayak- effectively the floor, and the sides/top. If either of these become punctured or begin to leak air, you're going to go down fast. My local kayak-friendly waters are not open to swimmers, and so there are few places where it would be safe to bail out. This means I paddle with my mind focused on, where am I going if I have an emergency? -This is more minor, but the storage bag feels a bit cheap, and I get the feeling it won't hold up to a lot of transporting the kayak to and from the water. A few things to consider that are, in my opinion, neutral: -You should never pack the kayak away wet. I share this because you do need to have a plan for how you're going to get an inflatable item completely dry before packing in. Are you going to let it air dry by the boat launch, or are you going to deflate and pack into your car, take it home, and then reinflate it to dry? Keep in mind that this takes some extra time either way you do it, so having a plan is a great idea. If you take a towel for the kayak with you to the water, you can dry off a lot of the water so that it air dries quicker, but keep in mind that the interior of the kayak will collect water and is poorly exposed to the air. Reinflating at home and setting it up in front of a fan will probably help it last longer. If you're planning to air dry by the water front, have a plan for how you won't lose it to the wind. -Folding the kayak is not intuitive. If I could go back, I'd take better note of how it was packed originally to try to replicate it, for neater packing. -I'm short (5'2"), and this kayak has too much legroom. In a normal kayak, there's something to brace your feet against, and this helps you paddle efficiently. I haven't tried a lot of adjustments of the seat, so take this with a grain of salt. As I continue to use it, perhaps I'll find an easy solution. But so far, the space in the front of the kayak is too open for my tastes. -I wish it had a cup holder. Not worth calling a con, but its a bit of a pain to have my water bottle floating aimlessly in the kayak with me. Main Takeaways: For me, I was not in a position to buy a normal kayak, store it somewhere, and install transportation hardware on my older car. But if you have a place to store a hard kayak, its definitely the better choice. If you don't have the money to shell out on a better inflatable, and you don't have the space for a traditional kayak, and don't mind going slowly, only boating on perfect weather days, and avoiding busy days and times, then sure, buy this kayak. I'm not disappointed that I did, but I'm not impressed with its performance at all. For the price of roughly three rental days, however, I can justify the spend. If your idea of "kayaking" is less about paddling and more about sitting on the water and enjoy the weather and the water, you could probably be satisfied with this boat. If you like to paddle and move, you're probably going to be unhappy with the purchase. I fall into the latter category, so I've had to adjust my expectations. Finally, please have a life jacket when paddling a boat that could easily be in a sinking situation. Even if you're a great swimmer, you could be hard to see from a boat- and the life vest can help prevent an accident.

Avevo letto sia recensioni positive, che recensioni negative in proposito ed ero titubante, ma visto il prezzo basso e l'ottima politica di reso di amazon gli ho dato una possibilità. Ne sono rimasto piacevolmente colpito, è di buona qualità, bello da vedere e funzionale. L'ho testato in mare in una giornata che allinizio era ventosa , ma verso la fine del giro si è trasformata in calma quasi piatta e quindi ho potuto vedere come si comporta il kayak in entrambe le condizioni. Con vento mi ha stupito per come nonostante si faccia più fatica fisica comunque è governabile grazie alla pinna e con onde sui 30 cm si mantiene stabile sia che si prendano di lato che di fronte, non ho mai avuto la sensazione di stare per ribaltarmi. Senza vento si fatica molto meno ma comunque di più rispetto ad un kayak solido, però visto che l'acquisto era per divertimi ma comuque facendo esercizio non lo considero un punto negativo anzi. Nel complesso è divertente, molto comodo da trasportare, velocissimo da gonfiare ( a 10 minuti dall'arrivo in spiaggia ero in acqua) , e ci si naviga bene. Rimane molto comoda la retina anteriore che ha tenuto ben saldo uno zaino con l'indispensabile per l'uscita e è molto capiente la parte interna dietro il sedile per riporre la pompa sacca e una borsa stagna. Unica cosa negativa : questo kayak è fornito con una pompa che NON ha la funzione di sgnofiaggio, e quindi a fine giro non si riesce a togliere tutta l'aria e a piegare benissimo il kayak e occorre lottare un pò per fare entrare tutto nella borsa. Per questo motivo consiglio l'acquisto contemporaneo di una pompa che fa sia gonfiaggio che sgonfiaggio, e qua su amazon sempre della intex ce ne è una a circa 12 euro che ha ottime recensioni. Aggiungio un suggerimento: Molti nelle recensioni negative si lamentavano di avere perso la pinna in acqua, e nonostate a me sia sembrato efficente il sistema di bloccaggio, per non correre il rischio consiglio di sacrificare una classica molletta per appendere il bucato e usarne metà per fare da cuneo che si incastra perfettamente sul meccanismo della pinna e ne rende impossibile il distacco.

This is am amazing Kayak, nice and stable in the water and moves well in the water. When I first pumped it up i couldn't believe how quick it was, it was done I'm minutes. Me and my friend both got one and have enjoyed out selfs and are very pleased with this perches. We have been in calm water and choppy sea. In the choppy conditions it handled well and we could manoeuvre well. There was a slight rip current, nothing big and the kayak was fine we easily got back to the shore. If your looking for a kayak for a bit of fun this summer and don't have much space to store one I would recommend this one. Handles just like a normal kayak and you can store it a lot easer and transport it too. We just through ours in the boot and away we go. No need for a roof rack. When it come to deflating it, it's quick and easy and come with a bag that can easily fit everything thing into after use. This is a must have!

Just what I was after. Puts together very quick, without issue, pumps up very quickly and packs away just as easy. Not built for speed, but once you get your rhythm, moves through the water very well. I love it! Will take it camping all the time.

The kayak had a small hole makes it gradually deflating

After an hour out on the lake with 2 of these, I have to say it was a great experience. For the price (2 of these combined are cheaper then a cheap solid kayak), it seems like a no-brainer. They are very light - when still in the bag, I can easily carry one in each hand, and even carry both in the same hand (though that tested my grip strength, I couldn't do it over a long distance). They very easily inflated using the included pump. Once out on the water, you don't feel like you are moving very fast, but then you can look and realize you have covered a rather large distance. I never once felt unstable or likely to tip. There were large boats making occasional waves on the lake while I was out, and those waves can make it more difficult to paddle, but nothing major. I don't really have anything negative to say. Deflating is a bit more work than inflating, but the way the valves are designed makes it quite easy - you basically just open the valve and it deflates itself. I probably didn't do the best job getting 100% of the air out - maybe 95%, but I still managed to cram it into the bag (with help... imagine trying to zip up a dress for someone that might not fit them as well as it used to ;-)). But it still fit, and I'd bet I could do better with a little practice. Full disclosure is that I've never owned any kayak besides this, but I'd bet that the typical process of hauling a kayak to it's destination & back is just as much work. Would I recommend this if you have waterfront property where you can permanently store a solid kayak? Maybe not, though for the price, I still think you could do worse. But if you want something portable that you can easily transport and have a good time paddling around a lake? I would entirely recommend this based on my initial experience. Last notes, based on things I had read in previous reviews: - People mention not being able to detach the skeg. I tested this when I first slid it on, and it detached easily. After using the kayak, I found it was more locked into place - I think the pressure exerted on it just jams the plastic together. All you need to do is take something short & hard (like a piece of wood or a pipe) and give it a good whack in the direction to slide it out. Once that jam releases, you can slide it out easily. - People also say to not pump up the seat, as it raises you up too high and makes you less stable. Based on this, I chose to not pump the seat bottom at all. It was perfectly comfy this way, but I found that my inner hand wanted to brush against the side of the kayak while paddling. I think I would have preferred being a little more raised up. That said, I am pretty short. Just something to keep in mind - I will definitely try pumping the seat next time.