Explorer Inflatable Boat Series: Dual Air Chambers – Welded Oar Locks – Grab Handles – Bow Rope – Sporty Design

I ordered this boat for my family to enjoy during a day trip to our local State Park/Beach (Wiggins Pass). My husband asked me to find something that he could take our kids out on, especially our three year old, because often times the kids just want to be in the water the entire time. He really did not want to have to stand and wade the entire day. I tinkered around between the one, two, and three person boat as I was not sure which way to go with it. I was a little worried to buy the three person first because I wanted to make sure it was a quality inflatable. I went ahead anyway since the price point is excellent. We had some friends meet us at the beach with their kids, too. They had just purchased a little inflatable boat as well, so we were all excited to play around with them. Funny, by the time we were setting up, my friend was asking where I purchased this one, and kept commenting through the day about how great a deal it was! He spent about $60 getting his on the water and still doesn't have a pump for it; he actually borrowed ours from this set to inflate his! Lol. He will be buying one of these, and I will be buying more of these. The day we went the water was exceptionally choppy for us. The boat inflated well, and the paddles held up great. My husband and friend also noted how great the rings were for additional security on the paddles. The weight limits were correct, and this held up fantastic in the water-even with the crazy waves! Everyone enjoyed this so much! We deflated and packed up without issue. This is such a great deal for a quality inflatable boat. We are going to be ordering more and taking these out on the river for some trips, and I'm sure we will be using this a TON more at the beach! Fantastic, well-made, quality, full-set at an excellent price point!

I got this boat not knowing what to expect, and i hoped i could get at least one use out of it. I did, and the boat is still intact. when i opened the box, i was surprised at how much was in the box (instructions, the boat, oars, the pump, a rope to tie to the front of the boat and even a repair patch. It took about 10 or 15 minuets to inflate the boat, and then i was ready to go out on the lake. It was a little difficult to get in, but once i was in the boat it was like a super comfortable folding chair, only better. (One quick suggestion: when you get into the boat, sit with your back to the front of the boat, it is more easy to control and stays much more level with the water. Also, this is really a one adult comfortable fit boat.) another suggestion is that you put a large amount of sunscreen or a towel over your legs and knees, since these parts of the body are getting direct sunlight.) The boat is easy to control once you get the hang of it. The oarlocks are awesome, because you don't have to hold onto the oars constantly. Another suggestion: when you use the oars, you will pull on them if you sit the way i did as suggested above, use the oars one at a time, and alternate between the two. This way the boat is much easier to control especially when you are new to it, then when you are more experienced try using them at the same time. the weakest part of the oar is the center connecting piece. i cracked mine on both oars but both are still fully functional. For the price, this is an epic deal. once I got good at it, i could go slightly slower than my grandparent's $200 kayak that hurts your butt after 30 minuets of rowing. This boat takes some practice and some shoulder strength, but it is super fun on the water. I have rowed more than a mile in it.

Drawbacks? Sure. As many reviewers have pointed out this is no cigar boat. Or kayak, as far as that goes. It won't get you anywhere fast. Everything, and I mean everything, will scoot right by you. And even before you hit the drink you're going to be spending upwards of fifteen minuets or so just inflating this. And that goes for deflating this crazy little Looney Tunes raft when you're done, too. Does that also mean that you’ll also notice its neon orange sides tend to sag a bit over the course of, say, a hour of two afloat? Yup, it does indeed. In other words, forget about setting sail for the, say, the Vineyard in this. More of a lazy ol’ river kind of raft, in that respect. And, yes, it is made of nothing but vinyl. And glue. So, yeah, one good poke and . . . But, c'mon. For the money, this is a much better value than it's often given credit for. Seriously. You might even say with just the slightest attitude adjustment every one of these drawbacks turns into good thing. Opportunities, even. That business of having to laboriously inflate the whole bulging bag of air, for instance. (Yeah, that's all it is. Just a big ol' bag of air. But so is it's nearest relation: that big black inner tube so crucial to coursing through the fizzing froth of any wild, wild river you like.) If you didn't have to blow it up, you wouldn't be able to hump it down to you're favorite body of water. Ugh-ugh. You'd need a car, people. With a rack, for godsake. Or a truck. Because, like it or not, even a small kayak weighs a ton. You did know that, didn’t you? And that fifteen minuets you're going to spend pumping? Ever heard of being in the moment? That’s a really good thing, believe me. Same goes for the speed. Or rather lack of it, as far as, you know . . . getting anywhere in this baby goes. As I said to a kid in a motor boat one day (offered to get me something that'd go a "a lot faster.") It's the journey, not the destination, buddy. And if there's anything messing around in the Explorer 200 shows you, it's that. Say hello to that turtle getting a little sun over there. Sit back and watch that Great Blue Heron flap by just overhead. The one paying you so little mind you'd swear it'd mistaken your bizarre little bubble of air for nothing but the world’s most morbidly obese muskrat. Revel in the sensation of really being in the flow for once. But if you really must put a move on--and you got those oars--by all means, row away. Like many reviewers, I too was very skeptical about them. But, surprise, surprise! The darned things actually work. So I wouldn't assume that you've gotta order a kayak paddle to get anywhere in one of these things. Yeah, yeah, I know at least one reviewer swears that's what did the trick for him. Me, not so much. Kayaks are much narrower, after all. So, in my experience, getting a proper stroke with one of those was next impossible. And that's without even mentioning all the water that every one of those--painfully awkward strokes--shed. And I mean on me, rather than where it should have been going. Back into the river it’d come form. But those foolish little plastic oars? Do exactly what they're designed to do. And I mean with surprising efficiency at that. Little bit of a learning curve, if you haven't had much experience with rowboats. But with practice you'll soon get the hang of it. Quick tip. After having tried this from either end, I found it's probably best to stick to conventional rowboat protocol and row with you're back to the bow. Yeah, facing AWAY from the direction in which you’re traveling. Much better power that way. Save the stern first stuff for navigating around rocks. And bridge piers. Or that big ol' bass boat. You know the one. The one with just about nothing on it but a couple of barstools and an engine the size of a small SUV. Finally, as far as it’s being vinyl goes. Again, stronger stuff than it’s often been given credit for here. Yes, over the course of the summer I did have one puncture, for which, I might add, that patch so easily mistaken for nothing but a small extraneous piece of paper and hence completely overlooked is of no value whatsoever. But that’s it. Just one. And that was easily handled by a proper “inflatable patch,” as they’re known in the trade, apparently. Just slap one on and you’ll be good to go. Does that mean the ship is going down if you run into anything? Nope. To go through this stuff it’s gotta be good and sharp and it’s gotta strike head-on. Not at an angle. Ran aground in some rocky shallows today and just reached down and pushed it through. Rubbing, you see. Not really a problem with this. Not something I’d want to make a habit of, mind you. Going over a bunch of goopy wet rocks like that. But just goes to show: in that regard at least, it’s actually pretty tough. So all and all, super fun for next to nothing. Could anyone ask for more?

I bought a couple of these for some entry-level fatbike pack rafting with a friend. The raft rolls up into about the size of a small tent or sleeping bag, and is easily strapped down to a cargo rack. When inflated, it's big enough for one person to sit in, and a 40-lb fatbike can be set on top of your feet without falling off or tipping the raft. I even strapped it down using the oar anchors and the anchor at the front. We took them down the proverbial "lazy river" and had lots of trouble navigating with the oars (although we had never rowed before). We quickly reassembled the oars into makeshift kayak paddles and it was much more manageable. Even pleasant! One raft got a hole after running over a piece of concrete at the shore, so be careful. The included patch did an ok job, but get some Coghlan's Airstop if you really need it to hold air. We then took them out to open water on a large lake. The waves and boat wakes were over a foot tall for most of it, but even with a bike on the top of each raft, we didn't have stability issues. Just turn into any big waves and it's surprisingly stable. However, the oars are not heavy duty enough to be doing lots of paddling, and you can't put a lot of power through them. Both of our paddles were showing stress marks and bending after pushing out from the beach and paddling for a few miles on the open water. The air pumps work well but take a while- we counted about 650 pumps for the raft. They will also double as bilge pumps if you get water inside! Overall, we determined these "toy" rafts were not well suited to open water, but usable in a pinch. These rafts are a great value but best suited to a river, pool or other calm water conditions. They work well with a steady river current as well, so you don't have to paddle for propulsion. If you're going to be paddling them, think about getting a "real" kayak paddle, and definitely carry a bottle of PVC sealant if you're going to be near pointy underwater objects!

Great boat

We purchased an Explorer 300 last summer for a camping trip, and unfortunately ours arrived punctured and we didn't realize it until we were at the lake shore trying to inflate it and not getting anywhere. Fortunately we had a patch to apply to test the boat, and it did work ok, so questionable manufacturer quality assurance issues aside, the bulk of my review is based on our experience with the boat on the water. The included pump is pretty anemic; you'll want to invest in a rechargeable electric pump like those from Etekcity, also available on Amazon for around $30. Once you get it inflated, it is pretty sturdy and durable. As with any inflatable, I wouldn't risk putting it up against sharp rocks or aquatic obstacles, but for tooling around on the open water it's fine. It is tight for two grown adults; don't expect you'll both be able to stretch out your legs and have ample room, because you won't. You'll likely need to keep your legs bent most of the time, which starts feeling confined after a while. The oar locks are janky. I tried using them and they were just annoying to use, so you're better off just using the oars like a canoe rather than a rowboat or dinghy. There is no rope around the raft itself, so your options for carrying it while inflated are limited - either hoist it over your head and do your best to keep it balanced (good luck), or ask somebody to help you carry it. The absence of this line also makes it hard to get in and out of the boat. The sides are also a bit big which makes getting in/out in the water a bit of a challenge, but it is doable - conversely, this boat is VERY stable on the water because of that same feature, so that's big plus. The oars themselves are nothing special, but they do the minimum of getting you moving. They felt too short for me, and at times I used driftwood to paddle instead of the oars, and at times it seemed like the driftwood did a better job. Overall, the boat is OK. I think getting a brand new boat out of the box with a puncture (probably from the oars getting jammed into the box by somebody packing it) really left a bad taste in my mouth, and the janky oar locks made paddling around a pain. So for these reasons we returned the Explorer 300 for a refund -- unfortunately there are no free returns or exchanges, so we went out of pocket on the return shipping, which stinks when you get a defective raft out of the box. So this might work for you, it is stable and good for a couple kids, or one adult and one kid, but tight for two average sized-adults.

Got these to pack family and camping equipment to an island park. Works great. Also fun in pool.

I was looking for an inflatable boat to pack in to a remote mountain lake. Literally the only way to cross the lake is by boat, unless you have 700' of rope to rappel. This boat weighs only 10 lbs with the oars and pump, and fit easily into my standard size back pack (like one your high schooler would use for school books). The pump it comes with is ok, but I happen to have a larger one made by Intex for blowing up their mattresses (the Double Quick III S) that is light, and pumps up the boat at least twice as fast. The hike in was a grueling 3.5 miles each way with 1500' of elevation change, boulder hopping, and minor cliff climbing, and the boat never felt too heavy to carry. I did blow it up the day before leaving just to make sure, but it held air great. The plastic actually felt thicker and more durable than I expected, and withstood bumping against some rocks and twigs without a problem. The 300 has good room for 2 people, even adults, but I wouldn't put 3 adults in it for too long. 3 kids are fine. The paddles worked well enough. They break down to fit in the shipping box, and so also fit into my backpack with the zipper closed. For what I needed I am very pleased, and the kids and I had a great time on it (see the pics!)