Trying something new : Aqua Glide Blackfoot XL inflatable kayak

Come share your backwater or even blue water success and help others learn more about fishing from a 'yak.
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nikbrewer
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Trying something new : Aqua Glide Blackfoot XL inflatable kayak

Post by nikbrewer » Wed Apr 12, 2017 12:21 am

Well, i just recieved one of these in the mail yesterday, so i have not had a chance to test it. Will do that Friday maybe.

Image

Bought this for several reasons.
1. Easy to transport and store. I dont have a truck any more, and my wifes car is the only one with a trailer hitch. I have a mazda5, which is a very small mini van. I could have used a roof rack to store a hard kayak, but i hope to keep this in the hatch and maybe hit a few small ponds on my way from work some days. We also do a lot of camping, and this will be easy to store in our 4x8 trailer we use to haul camping gear.

2. Ability to hold 2+ people. I have twin 3 1/2 year old girls. With this i can paddle with my wife, wife plus a kid, or me with both kids when we go camping. If it works well, we will order a second one so we can do 1 adult, 1 kid in each.

3. Hard bottom. This has a drop stitch floor, which inflated to be very hard and ridged. I inflated it to 6 psi last night, and it was as hard as a wood bottom. They say you can go to 12 psi, but not sure how i would ever pump it that full.

4. Scotty mount bases. Has 7 of them. I already bought a Dragonfly 4 DV ( 99$ on their site right now) and plan on building amount for it this weekend.


I know this wont be as good as a dedicated hard kayak, but at 40 lbs, its lighter than most 10' sit on tops, yet its almost 13' long, giving me more room. I will be using it on creeks, ponds, and very small lakes ( 100 acres or less).

I will post up some pics once i get it all set up

Brad in Texas
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Re: Trying something new : Aqua Glide Blackfoot XL inflatable kayak

Post by Brad in Texas » Wed Apr 12, 2017 11:25 pm

This looks great to me. With some of the new materials available now, these inflatables could actually really catch on.

Post back more info once you get it on the water!

Brad

rt dak
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Re: Trying something new : Aqua Glide Blackfoot XL inflatable kayak

Post by rt dak » Sun May 07, 2017 9:35 am

Interested to see what your thoughts are. I almost pulled the trigger on a kayak this past fall but not having a good place to store it when not in use caused me to back out. An inflatable may be my answer. 1/3 of the price isn't bad either. :lol:

nikbrewer
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Re: Trying something new : Aqua Glide Blackfoot XL inflatable kayak

Post by nikbrewer » Mon May 08, 2017 2:17 am

I am loving this kayak. WIll try to post up some pics later this week. We enjoyed it so much when camping a few weeks ago, we ordered another (slightly different model as my wife did not the the fishing items) so each up us can take one of our twin daughters.

Here are my observations about this kayak:

-Light, when fully inflated with seat in it, under 40 lbs, easy for me to carry
-Drop stitch floor is well worth it. I dont have the balance to stand in this, but having a rigid bottom makes it track way better, and just feel more solid when you are using it.
-It comes with an inflatable pad for under the seat to raise it 4-5" I find i dont use this much. I makes casting slightly easier, out i find paddling up that high more difficult.
-So far i have not used any of the scotty mounts, although i have a fish finder i plan on mounting up in a week or so
-There is a removable fin on the back, and a small skeg in the front. This boat has a 700 lbs weight limit. I notice when i am in the boat alone, the front skeg is not really in the water, making it dog walk a little when i paddle. When i have more weight in the front, it tracks better

I would say if you never need to carry a second person, a kid or dog, there is a smaller version http://www.airkayaks.com/aquaglide-blac ... ing-kayak/ that i think would be a better choice. I got this as myself, wife, and 1 kid fit in it, and if its just me and a kid, its perfect.

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