Are there any winners?

As in ones that have been blown furthest offshore?

My wife likes her Gumotex Palava.

Seen a few in use on the Cam, look good, am tempted to get one..

The benefit of being able to put them in the boot of the car needs to be balanced against the fact that they have reduced performance. It is like trying a Brompton out – has it’s place, but is it what you want/need/best tool?
Even the best ones (such as that Gumotex above) are pigs to paddle IMO, compared to a modern kayak or canoe.
Paddle a couple, and compare against a kayak (some great sit-on-tops around now) and a canoe.

I have a ZPRO Tango TA300 which has been used for day trips for me and my partner down the river wye and paddling across lochs etc and it’s been great.
Handy to take on holidays as it doesn’t take up too much space in the car.

It’s just so my brother and his wife can gently paddle about. Nothing too epic.

We have a Sevylor Colorado.

We also were in inflateable boats when we canoed in Norway but I can’t remember right now what they were

I have a ZPro Tango 3 man blow up kayak and it’s great. Go to local lakes and regularly in the North Sea off the East Coast. Not been blown away yet and it’s huge inside. Tested it against sit on top plastic kayaks etc. during an open day event at our local lake and couldn’t tell any difference at all between them. When you have no clue, you are easily pleased I guess.

Would you recommend your Colorado? Are they easy to dry before storage?

Yes, I’d recommend it.

We also tested a Gumotex Palava before buying the Colorado. It was a slightly better to paddle but not enough to justify paying the extra for us as it was a lot more expensive.

Never had any issues drying it out. Although they’re fabric-y on top the bit that’s in contact with the water can just be wiped dry.

No no no.

These things are terrible. Would you ride an inflatable bicycle? even if it were sold as safer?

They’re wallowy, inefficient ungainly & rubbish. And are no cheaper or safer than a regular canoe, especially if you snag the material. And don’t even get me started on paddling in a strong wind in one of them.

I asked this at Rutland Water last year.
Was told they are for ‘very’ occasional users. If you want to use it more than twice a year, get a solid one. Others have pointed out the pitfalls above.
The only upside I can think of is the ease of storage and transport.

What are you thinking of doing?
I took a 2 hour lesson after not doing it for 20 years, and loved it, even on the flat calm Rutland Water. Unfortunately business for me took a large downturn last year, so I never got round to buying one, but I had intended to start on local rivers/canals, then try some of the Peak District rivers with a Club.
Alan.

I think inflatables have there place. For a lot of people storing and transporting a canoe is a right pain and if you’re just looking to float about a bit, look at the scenery and generally pass the time on a nice Summer day then they’re fine.

The only upside I can think of is the ease of storage and transport

And the stability and forgiving nature when running rapids*. When I bought my inflatable I as living in a flat so was the only realistic option. It’s even been taken on the plane to Mallorca. 6 people with 20kg luggage allowance covered two palavas and kit plus a few shorts/t-shirts/clean pants each 😆

I have a Gumotex Palava and a Mad River Explorer hard shell canoe. Both have their pros and cons. The palava is hard work on open water in a wind, but is a hoot on class 2 or 3 rivers. It’s like a narrow mini white water raft. The explorer is great for flat water touring but won’t fit in/on our camper so often don’t have it with us on holiday but do usually take the palava just in case we fancy a paddle.

* not all inflatables are created equal and not all suitable for such use.

My brother takes his motor home to France and a lot of the sites have lakes,so as I said nothing too taxing.

Bought one for messing about on the Lakes easy enough to transport/store and not a bad price from Gooutdoors!It is a Sevveloyor Hudson for 2 adults one child would think twice about going down rivers!
Ps my jacket is @ my feet

P5270925 by Richard Munro, on Flickr

P5270957 by Richard Munro, on Flickr

Inflatable on rapid = more competent than you thought at barreling down the middle and shouting ‘ye-hah!’. Exhibit A

IMGP3819 by matt_outandabout, on Flickr

Proper canoe on the same river – proper ye-hah, able to make turns, surf waves etc etc.
Exhibit B

Abernethy Ardeonaig by matt_outandabout, on Flickr
.
I repeat what I said earlier: if you have no storage, or want to be able to car-boot it, they are OK. If you want to paddle any distance, or expeditions, or down a river, they are poor.
.
Exhibit C

@ebygomm’s 3rd picture – looks a lot like a Gumotex Baraka to me. The Baraka is a 2 person boat made out of the same material as the Palava. Very robust & copes with grade 3 water. Ours is frequently chosen in preference to our royalex Canadian (MRC Legend) which is a lovely boat also.

May i reiterate; no more stable than a regular canoe.

They’ll breed bad habits, ie learn to edge in an inflatable! ?!

quite literally the ONLY benefit is storage but only just as a regular canoe will dry in minutes on the roof of a car and my kayak lives comfortably behind the sofa.
venture canoes do a very good range that start at £500+

We have one a 2 seater from ebay sorry I cannot remember the make but it is really well made in my opinion
We do not have a real canoe to compare it to but it is bloody good fun and thats all that matters 2 adults and 2 golden retreviers on board.
We even took it to the dordogne but when we got there we hired a canoe because we had a 10 mile paddle down stream and a bus ride back ( who the hell wants to paddle up stream)

marmotte you are right about ebygomms picture (its me in it 🙂

Those gumotex ones are nice.

if transport or storage was not an issue i would get this back from my parents in Denmark.

dk007 by msh_sco, on Flickr

bought it cheap and spend a summer restoring it, but its been left to dry out after i moved to the UK so is in need of repairs again 🙁

Better off buying those two and three part things we sell, google Point 65 Tequila, Martini and Mercury.