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

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.

When this went on discount, I was over the moon! I had thought all summer about buying a kayak to spend some time out on the nearby lake, and this was perfect for a solo adventure. I'm about 5'2" and this was the perfect size for me. Not sure how Intex thinks this is a 2-person, unless those riders are both smaller kids. This boat wouldn't last a second out on the ocean, but for a tight budget and someone new to boating, it's a wonderful first step. Now, this boat isn't perfect, but here's some tips to help lengthen your use of this: - Inflation: Included with this boat is a small, manual hand pump, much like one would use for balloons. Let me put it simply...this pump is BAD. I'm not sure why Intex thinks this is a suitable pump, to be honest. I tried using it and it took me 45 minutes of continuous pumping to fully inflate it. Do yourself a favor and purchase a 12v electric pump for use with this, and you'll save a ton of time. Just make sure you buy one with an "inflatables" nozzle on it. Intex makes ones that work with your car's cigarette lighter and/or a standard outlet plugin, and it's great to have around for other floats, too! - Holes/Durability: Included with this is a small yellow square that looks like a sticker -- this is a patch, hold onto it! Once you receive your boat, inflate it right away to check for leaks. This also allows the vinyl to stretch before you hit the water. If you apply pressure and feel it losing air, don't trash it right away! If the hole is 1 inch or smaller in size, the included patch will work just fine. If it's more towards 4 inches, nab a Wet seal patch kit from your local brick & mortar -- they use these for pool liners, and a pack of 3 is usually in the $5 range. If your hole/damage is bigger than this, you'll likely need to reach out for a return/replacement. Intex warranties are usually 30 days (or nonexistant) for this boat, as its a cheaper item. - General usage: I used the included oars and kept them in the plastic holes on the sides, as instructed, and it just plain old did not work. The included oars are low-quality (to be expected from a $10 boat) but they CAN work. I ended up just rowing with them outside their instructed area. Happy boating, everyone!

The boat is great and the oars stay in place. My grands are using it in our pool and really enjoying it. My only complaint is the pump broke before we finished inflating it. We were able to use a small foot pump to finish the job.

Inflation is horrible.. I mean horrible. Use an electric inflation device and you're good to go in about a minute. I've so far only taken this out twice over 1 weekend and I will only go in water with no current, but... This is amazing for what it is!!!!!! Sitting is super super comfortable.. no one mentions that! The oars are good.. not great but good! I like to put them into one long oar more similar to a kayak oar than 2 little oars. It stayed inflated for 3 solid days until I deflated it. About that .. use a qtip for deflating. . It's a miracle. Be sure to cut off the cotton end... I didn't and now inside my float has a little cotton qtip piece. I also took an old hand towel along... Water from.paddling does get into the little boat, but an old little hand towel is the perfect way to get it out. 100 percent happy... Even if it only lasts a couple weekends, renting a kayaking can be expensive.. this has already paid for itself. I literally only ran into one person when using this and she came up excited to hear how the inflatable kayaks worked . So fun!!!

Great quality, only downfall is that it is quite heavy and doesn't have a carrying bag so its heavey and bulky to move from place to place

The boat was great, but the pump broke before I even finished pumping it up

With some new-found wealth I'd earned, I figured it was time to buy a boat -- nay, not one boat, but two! That said, my new-found wealth wasn't exactly massive, so I decided to buy two of these. I'm a 23 year-old guy living in Washington, DC. The girlfriend and I have been meaning to go boating on the Potomac for a while, so I figured we'd give it a whirl with these boats this past Saturday. Mind you, we're both average height and build and weight. These boats performed amazingly. We paddled back and forth from Rosslyn to Roosevelt Island and back and splashed around the river a good bit. They were durable enough for us to launch them from rocks along the bank, grind our way through really thick weeds, and drag them around on shore. They were light enough for us to portage by holding a boat with just one hand over our heads with no problem. They were sturdy enough for us to get in and out of the boats without tipping them once and turn around and change positions inside them. The paddles can be used as rowboat paddles or unscrewed and rescrewed into kayak paddles. We tried both without ever getting out of the water. They never leaked once and the only moisture in the bottom of the boats when we were done was what we'd dripped in there ourselves. I easily fit both of them after a little deflating into the back of my tiny '96 Corolla. For $21, these seriously cannot be beat. Anytime I saw someone ogling our classy boats while we were in them, I shouted, "Only $21 on Amazon!"

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 paid just £9.99 + free delivery for this little set. I was really, really pleased when it arrived. It came in a small box and was perfect for the hols. The boat was quite good quality for an inflatable and I was impressed how big it was when inflated. The oars were really good and came in small 30cm sections which makes them really easy to transport. They can be assembled as a kayak oar too which is a great little feature. The pump was also good quality. It's a 'double quick' hand pump. The kids really enjoyed using this set and will do so again next year. All in all: A very good buy, worth every penny!

Was fun...while it lasted. the seams ripped/split open though so I think best to lower kg limits..or use with 1 child at a time.

Cool boat, worth the money Used it for 2 years then it got torn. I don't use it

Excellent

La pompa gonfia male e non si sgonfia facilmente