Intex Explorer K2 Kayak, 2-Person Inflatable Kayak Set with Aluminum Oars and High Output Air Pump

I lay the blame firmly at Amazon for making purchases like this too easy, but one day a few weeks back I was living my normal, non-watersport partaking life, the next day I had a two person kayak on my doorstep. I drive a Skoda Citigo (tiny!) so it had never crossed my mind that a kayak would be a practical purchase, but this one was inflatable, relatively cheap (£80) and had hundreds of excellent reviews. I’ve never stepped foot in a kayak, but this one would fit in my car, so…The River Avon is only a 10 minute drive away and in a lovely part of the world (Bradford-on-Avon) so we put the kayak, a couple of buoyancy aids and a dry bag in the boot (it all fit!) and headed over. Everything comes in a single –heavy- bag that feels like it will disintegrate at any minute. Included is the kayak, two sets of paddles, an excellent pump, two seats and a shark fin thing that is fun to hold in the water and scare your 4 year old child with. Within 15 minutes everything was assembled, inflated and ready to go, it’s incredibly easy to put together and basically fool proof. The main air compartments go up in no time with the included pump, but weirdly the tiny end pieces (which are not structurally critical) are a nightmare to inflate, they deflate quicker than it seems possible to inflate and shut the valve.I’m not sure if it was mentioned in the instructions (of course I’ve not read them) but there is what looks like another valve at the back at floor level, this is presumably to aid drainage once back on dry land. Yeah I didn’t plug that first time out, despite taking on water the kayak never felt unstable or at risk of sinking. Fool proof, eh? The kayak comfortably held several inches of water, me (6ft) and my 4 year old with plenty of room left for our things and the bag, pump etc. You could probably even stand up in it quite comfortably but I’m not about to try. It’s easy to steer and will move along at a pretty reasonable pace, I’ve been out in it on my own a few times as well and it’s perfectly usable as a one-person kayak.Deflation is easy, open the valves and it’s pretty much down in two minutes. Unlike every tent ever, it actually fits back in the bag without needing a PhD in origami as well, a huge bonus when you’ve had a long day on the water.We love it, a genuine bargain for what appears to be a very well made and thought out piece of kit.

I ordered this on a Sunday and it was due for delivery 8days later.....it arrived 3 days after purchase, result 👍👍.It comes very well packaged in a great box. It has a storage bag for transport. If folded correctly it goes into the bag quite easily.It is very easy to set up with 5 compartments requiring air, and they are clearly numbered to show which to inflate first. It comes with a 10cm strip of clear plastic that is your pressure gauge. At first I thought this was a gimmick but it works perfectly.The base and 2 sides are the big compartments requiring plenty of air. I already had an electric air bed inflating pump which plugs into car socket so I use this to do 90% of the inflating then attach the hand pump for 3 or 4 pumps up to full pressure. Very easy to inflate this way.Compartment 4 and 5 are on the ends of the kayak and I blow up these and the seats with my mouth. Very quick and easy.The kayak is quite light to carry to the water then I attach the skeg before setting in water, again this is simple.The kayak is very easy to paddle and really easy to manoeuvre in the water. It is surprisingly stable and copes with rougher water well. Getting in and out it stays very stable and doesn't rock or tip over (even though getting in/out can look particularly inelegant).With it being light and having a high front above the water line it can be pushed about by the wind a bit.....but is easily corrected while paddling.My wife and I bought this on a whim due to Covid-19 enforced staycation, but WOW what a whim. We have absolutely loved every minute out on it and its made a great staycation. Every trip we plan we get so excited, its such a relaxing and fun way to spend time together.We have had 1 trip in a sea Lough around some islands and 3 river trips so far.The kayak seems fairly robust but we are super careful to make sure we don't hit rocks or anything sharp just to make sure we never damage/puncture it.The oars come in sections for transport and easily click together. The only slight gripe is that at 2.18mtrs long we found some water easily dripped off them onto our legs and into the kayak.I remedied this by removing the center plastic joining section and getting a wooden brush/mop shaft and sanding it down to be a tight fit and hammering it into the oar shift and then covering in duck tape. With this section fitted my oars are now 2.4mtrs long and this makes a massive difference and now we rarely get water dripping on us.In conclusion.......don't waste time wondering......just buy this kayak and start having fun adventuring on the water.

Not owned anything like this before. My wife has a paddleboard which is a real work-out to pump up, but having bought Intex airbeds previously, I know the pump they supply is really good. It inflates both on pulling up and pushing down, and this pump was exactly the same.Taking inflatable/ foldable products out of their bags for the first time (tents, looking at you) is always worrying as you feel there's no way it'll go back in. But, Intex have you covered- the bag is very spacious so even after deflating it poorly, you can still get it in the bag (but best to deflate as well as you can). Tent manufacturers could take some notes here, they always provide bags that are just sightly too small!Easy to inflate, instructions are clear, and the fact it can hold 180KG/ 400lbs is great. There is nothing that is a pain with the inflation and clipping the seats in- 5 different things to pump up (2 seats, the floor, 2 sides) but it's so quick and easy. Even my 6 yr old was mucking in and making good progress.My only minor quibble is the the seats could use a bigger plug as they're not the easiest to deflate, as squeezing the nozzle to let the air out doesn't do the greatest job. Still, this isn't that big of a deal and frankly I'm nit-picking.In summary, at the price (£95 at time of writing), this is a solid, great fun and well made piece of kit. And the yellow/black looks great.