Wow! It has been a while since I posted an update but you know what? The time sounds about right since it’s mid summer and you all can benefit from exercising–especially in the form or canoeing or kayaking >:)
Today, I’m critiquing the Airhead Montana Performance kayak, another inflatable kayak with a terrible name (AHTK?) To be honest, right from the start, the Airhead one person kayak will run you around $220-$275 on average, making it not the most expensive option but also, not the least expensive option.
Is it worth your money, though? You decide. Let’s slice and dice this baby.
The Basics
This kayak is a one person seater with plenty of space coming in around 9 feet long. Its build is compact and lightweight, designed specifically for lakes and easy white water shenanigans. The build of its three chambers is lined with a strong 840 denier nylon. It also comes with 4 bottom fins making it easy to steer. As is typical, the Airhead Montana Performance kayak comes with ultra-violet and water resistant coatings.
The Meat Of the Airhead Montana One Seater
To be honest, this inflatable kayak has quite a few things going for it but there is a common complaint about it. Some folks seem to absolutely love the Airhead Montana while others wish they hadn’t purchased it.
Let’s start with the durable material. Even though I mentioned that you can go white water rafting on it, the kayak has been tested in medium waters and has performed well (read more Amazon reviews here).
One thing you can’t do is compare any inflatable kayak to a hard shelled kayak, neither when it comes to build nor speed… and well, nor trekking.
Even though this inflatable boat comes with 4 fins on the bottom, trekking seems to be an issue. Moving with the downstream, it seems to move well. However, going upstream or in slightly rough waters, the kayak has trouble being maneuvered and some reviewers have mentioned it to be a challenge to go in a straight line. Due to that, the speed is kind of slow or average at best.
To be fair, for the price point of around $240, this inflatable kayak will proudly take a few bruises without receiving much of any damage. Compared to a hard shell, the price is somewhere in the middle (not cheap nor expensive) and that reflects the quality of the product. It performs and is built better than the cheaper inflatable kayaks I have reviewed.
One major drawback with this product is that the valve isn’t tethered to the boat itself. There doesn’t seem to be any good reason for this. In fact, there is danger in losing the value as it needs to be removed in order for the kayak to be deflated.
Verdict
In Conclusion, the Airhead kayak can be used by a beginner or intermediate kayaker in mild waters and really, for recreational or exercise purpose and with the price, many folks will find this option appetizing.
