Sea Eagle Inflatable Kayak | RazorLite 473rl | Drop Stitch Tandem Kayak - Review
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- Опубліковано 9 сер 2020
- We have had our Sea Eagle 473rl Inflatable kayak for a few months now and have had plenty of time on the water. It has been a great boat so far and we wish we knew about it sooner. We are able to throw it in a small car and head out to the water without needing a big truck, trailer or roof mounting system. It does take 10 or so minutes to setup, but the convenience of the smaller package makes it well worth it. The drop stitch outer hulls blow up to 10psi and become very rigid. It is extremely easy to paddle and glides along in the water with its flat bottom. With the fin attached to the bottom it tracks incredibly straight (almost too straight).
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Sea Eagle 473rl Razorlite Inflatable Kayak - bit.ly/33ohcpH
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Kayaking Gear
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Electric Pump - amzn.to/3O27uyH
5l Dry Bag - amzn.to/2ZyDHqU
20L Dry Bag - amzn.to/32s9Emp
REI Hydro Flask - bit.ly/3KnxHYd
Hydro Flask - amzn.to/32sUAVL
Kayaking Safety Gear
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REI Men’s PFD - bit.ly/3An24tf
Men’s PFD - amzn.to/3Arbi7L
REI Women’s PFD - bit.ly/3TmB2dX
Women’s PFD - bit.ly/3mhHnH3
REI Water Safety Knife - bit.ly/3Tk2Qji
Water Safety Knife - amzn.to/3AxByx4
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Safety Whistle - amzn.to/35zsiuQ
Kayak Carts
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REI Kayak Cart - bit.ly/3cukRdZ
Kayak Cart (for V Bottom Hulls) - amzn.to/3it36ts
Kayak Cart (for Flat Hulls) - bit.ly/3bT9Uhz
#SeaEagle #kayak #Inflatable #473rl - Спорт
Let us know about your experiences with Sea Eagle or other inflatable boats. What model would you buy again?
We have had ours about 3 months. Really like it. I'm 75 so hauling it out of a trunk and around is a challenge but doable. I called Sea Eagle because I was having problems installing the rod for the flex brace foot pedals. They sent me a set of metal rods that were beveled on both ends. Made it much easier to install all the pedals. Yes, as the boat gets more flexible the foot braces are easier to install. They are no problems any more. I got a 2 stage hand pump with the boat . This makes inflating a lot easier. However I can only inflate to about 8 . I called Sea Eagle and said that 8-10 was good. So if that is all you can do that's ok. The sides and bottom are still plenty firm.The seats are comfortable but as the video states after about an hour or so they became a P.I.A :-). We bought some memory foam cushions that we sit on and made it much better. The down side is that you sit up a little higher. Makes the boat a little more tippier but its ok. As far as drying out, we wipe it down real well after we take it out of the water. When we get home we unroll it again and raise the rear end so any water caught between the side rails and bottom can drain and let it sit for a couple of hours. There is some water that we find but not a lot. If you are going to use this every weekend a little water in the boat wont be the end of the world. If you are going to store it away for a long period of time I'd make sure it got really dry before storage. One final word, the skeg allows you to steer straight but is a hindrance in shallow water. In a regular kayak where you can just glide over real shallow obstacles you have to be aware of the skeg is there. Would I buy it again, yes. She has some flaws but overall a great boat
Great information thank you! I will inquire about the beveled rods. It’s really only that front left one that gives us trouble but it can be a pain if the boat not warm and pliable. 😃
Thank you for this video. Thinking about getting one, and it looks like a good little boat
😀🚣
Thanks for your video, was a great guide for setting mine up. You’re right about the crazy almost impossible to install feet flex-braces, I dreaded every time I had to install them or remove them until I cut my hand doing it, contacted Sea Eagle and they recommended to cut each aluminum rod by half cm, did it and that fixed the problem. Besides that I enjoy the kayak, I got the electric pump which does the job in 5 min.
That’s good info on the rods as they really can be a pain to work with. Which pump did you end up going with?
@@ExploreTrekAdventure the one Sea Eagle provides, an Italian one
thank you for your advice
Excellent video, thank you.
😃
I've had one for a few years. Mine came with PVC pipe sections for the foot rests that have a short strap that goes through them. You connect the strap to the D rings on the side. It works and is pretty easy but bulkier to store. They switched to this at some point - maybe the new foot pedals are better. The other thing I've done is put colored cable ties on the seat clips and there d-rings they connect to. I use different colors. I was always getting the set up wrong the first time and having to redo it. Now its color coded. The cable ties are twisted off so they are neat and twisting them off (with pliers) avoids any sharp edges.
I like the idea of color coded sear clips! 😄
Switch out the PVC for a larger foam exercise roller.
...even the 1 person version is on the verge of manageability, regarding the fully stuffed backpack.
But it's OK, not that bad.
I even can it carry on my shoulders whilst cycling.
I just got one of these and struggliong to fold it back into the bag.
It took us a while to get the hang of it. Start by folding the boat smaller than you think it should. We start at the first logo.
It's interesting that it says 2 persons or 600 pounds. The sale paper I have says it holds 750 pounds. I wonder if they have made it bigger in 2024.
Thanks for sharing this video! Curious how long it takes to dry out this kayak and pack it down after a trip?
Was a little confused because it looks like you guys let it dry out a bit at the beginning of your trip? Perhaps because you had used it recently?
Just trying to gauge the timing as I’ve heard the other type of kayak with fabric covers take a heckuva long time to dry out and am trying to avoid that if at all possible lol!
The first part of the video was filmed after we had just finished a trip and we were unloading it to dry out. After each trip we usually give the boat a quick rinse to keep things clean. Magic erasers are amazing at cleaning the sides of the boat. The main part of the boat is easy to dry out with a few towels with one exception. The crease that is created where the drop stitch air chambers meet likes to retain water but there isn't much you can do about it. Hope that helps. :)
@@ExploreTrekAdventure
I would add that the big difference between the single skin kayaks, be they dropstitch or inflatable, is that putting them away when wet isn't going to damage them in the way the canvas skins can get damaged.
I took my dropstitch glider out and hosed it down in the garden and I wouldn't have dreamt of doing that with my Sevylor Hudson.
It cleans really easily too. I left it out ever night too.
My Hudson is just horrible to dry, even when it seemed dry on the outside, after undoing the zips on the chambers and putting my hand inside they were moist, slimy and smelly inside so I had to actually remove the air chambers to dry it completely which is a huge PITA.
It literally takes days to dry in my spare room and I have noticed that there are stains on the canvas from water.
If I do decide to get another kayak it will be a single skin one as I'm definitely selling the Hudson soon.
I'm looking at the Aqua marina Steam 412 which has a removable dropstitch floor but tubular sides which give it stability.
You lose some speed but I prefer to stay in the boat. ;-)
on the Razor Light single.... where are you storing your water bottle so that it is easily accessible and not just rolling around the bottom of the Kayak floor. Also for that matter, is there any type of bungee that can be used to hold items down?
We have 22oz hydroflasks and they fit perfectly in a little spot right behind the seat. The straps that hold the back of the seat make a spot that the water bottle can slide right in. There aren’t any bungees to hold items down but there is space for items in the very front and back. We use dry bags and and clip them to the seat mount rings.
That's proposing after watching video decided definitely hard sided kayak
Thanks for the great video? I have a 6 year old daughter and I'm considering purchasing one of these. Do you think it is stable enough or should I go with the Fast Track? Cheers!
If you are going to be in the boat with them it would be fine. We’ve seen a Fast Track on the water with a person standing up, I don’t think I’d do that in the Razor Lite. We’ve kayaked with one adult and a younger kid and it was fine.
@@ExploreTrekAdventure Thank you so much. I think I'll go for the Razor Lite :)
Good video, thanks. Is there likely to be room in front, middle or rear for 2 reasonably small dogs? I would say cocker spaniel size, but that might not help. It's difficult to tell how much space there is behind that rear seat or in front of the feet, or maybe between legs. I also wonder about the stability when trying to pull said dogs into the kayak.
Thanks! We are really loving the kayak. I would think there would be space in the front and middle between the legs. We actually had our 4 yr old nephew sit in the back section and he had enough room.
@@ExploreTrekAdventure OK thanks. Im toying with 2x 393 or the 473 length. How do you find paddling the 473 solo ? Im guessing it's less manoeuvrable and maybe gets caught by a cross wind more when there is only one person in it?
When the 473 has the fin in place it tracks extremely straight but it will catch the wind with the side walls. We haven’t tried paddling solo yet. I suppose it depends on the type of water you would be out on. If it is calm water I would think it would be fine.
@@ianwoodland6223 - check out David Wilson - He uses a skeg from his other Itwit - it's around 4" deep I think but it improves maneuverability.. www.davidwilsonoutandabout.co.uk/search/label/Kayak%20%26%20Kit%20Reviews
It looks like in this version that the D-rings were moved lower to make room for the footrests. Does that still allow it to install a seat for solo paddling?
Honestly we haven’t had the chance to try a solo paddle.
how is the stability... not planing on standing up, but I do need a kayak that will not easily tip over. I will be in mostly calm lakes and rivers..
It’s not the most stable boat out there but you trade a bit of stability for speed. We flipped in on purpose once and it didn’t take much effort. That being said I don’t have any worries about flipping it in calm water even when the other paddler is inexperienced.
@@ExploreTrekAdventure I see my question has been answered.
I think I'd trade speed for stability though.
I don't enjoy falling in much.
Get some wheels for it and u can transport it fully loaded with gear with 1 person, from car to water
That’s great advice. We ended up getting a kayak cart and it has worked really well so far.
Exactly , the wheels fold up and take up no room.
Buy again? You you mean if it gets popped or stolen?
No. More a question if we would make the same purchase decision or buy something else. Basically we are happy with our choice.
Does the bag and pump store well on the boat somewhere or do you have to leave them in the car?
You could store them in the very back of the boat but it would take up valuable cargo space. We just leave them in the car. 😀
This boat make by our factory (Woosung An Thuong Hoai Duc Ha Noi Viet Nam)
Very cool!
I drilled holes into the hole closest to the kayaker each side , for easy foot peg install ! Great kayak , but poor engineering on the foot pegs !
Did you make the main home bigger or did you add more holes to make it flexible?
Would you use this in gator country?
Honestly we don’t know much about paddling with gators. It would be interesting to see what happens when one of the three chambers on the boat deflates while in the water.
I have kayaked around them and they are pretty shy. They do make a fuss when startled, but they are trying to get away from you ASAP. Just don’t try to feed them.😂
Nice video. However, you are installing the foot braces the wrong way. I did the same mistake at first, quickly learned the right way, and since then it is super easy for me to install the foot braces and take it off.
We thought it was correct per the instructions but we can try the other way next time.
She makes it look like 150lbs!
😂
The foot brace mounting is completely stupid.
I’d like to see a video of deflating and fitting all that back in the backpack.
It is a nice kayak/canoe on the water
We agree. They need to rethink the medal rod idea a bit although we love the foot rests once they are together. We will film the process of putting it away next time we go out. 😀
Ever worrying about it getting popped?
We were concerned when we ordered it but after much use it is not something we are worried about. It has multiple layers and is very strong.