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I'm poor but I'd like to get into kayaking. I have some calm protected bays and inlets, as well as bigger sounds and bays, pretty close to me. I was thinking about the Intex Challenger K1 or K2. Thoughts? http://www.kayakerguide.com/intex-challenger-k1/ I also wondered... A one man is $90 and a two man is $110. I'm not entirely sure the girlfriend is gonna get into it. Is it possible to kayak the two man kayak by myself?
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May 24, 2017 04:35
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 03:26 |
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Awesome. I read a couple of reviews saying they're great for the money but I am an easily duped newbie so I'm glad that the hive mind approves. PS I looked into it a bit more and I found out that the seats on the 2 person version can basically be placed anywhere, and it's not that long a kayak, so definitely possible to kayak solo in the 2 person version.
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May 25, 2017 03:39
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Hi, it's me, the guy who is apparently an Intex viral marketing mole. So, I ordered the Challenger K2 but Amazon shipped me the Explorer K2 instead. The price is more or less the same but do you think I should keep it or demand a return? If they're more or less a similar product, I would be inclined to keep it because I'd like to start tooling around in it...
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May 31, 2017 22:10
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Okay, I looked into it a bit (including looking at kayarchy) and I decided to indeed return the Explorer K2 for the Challenger K2 - the big issue was that the Explorer was too stubby/short. Even the Challenger K2 is on the short end even as a one person kayak. This means, however, that I have to live another week as a kayak-less subhuman.  That Challenger K1 looks pretty rad. I'm pretty stoked to try my kayak out when it arrives. ONE MORE WEEK!
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Jun 2, 2017 17:05
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Do NOT wear a rental wetsuit without underwear. I used to work at a dive shop and ... well I'm just gonna leave it there.
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Jun 3, 2017 03:27
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IMO it's worth getting the Challenger K2 instead of the Challenger K1. It gives you the option of bringing a second person, or some gear. The seats attach by velcro, so you can easily just have one seat. It was pretty easy and stable to paddle my Challenger K2 by myself.
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Jun 12, 2017 06:14
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The Challenger K1 is rated to 220 lb. The Challenger K2 is rated to 400 lb. They'd probably be able to support a bit more weight but personally I wouldn't want to push the weight limits on something that keeps me afloat.
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Jun 12, 2017 17:23
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I've taken out my Challenger K2 a few times now, with a bunch of different friends. I asked the more experienced paddlers for their feedback. They were all pretty impressed by the stability and speed of the kayak, given that it's a fairly inexpensive inflatable. We managed to go a fair distance out and hit some small waves on purpose to see how the craft fared - it was pretty stable. A few complaints: 1) When used as a two-person kayak, it's a bit short. The two paddles tend to clash a bit, which is a bit annoying. I kinda solved this by putting the front seat very far forward, but I (5'10" dude) was a bit cramped. 2) No rudder, although the skeg did keep the kayak reasonable straight. 3) Not possible to put a skirt on. I also used it as a 1 person kayak by installing only one seat. It seemed a bit on the long side but it worked pretty well. If anything, it was a bit easier to handle when paddling solo.  For me, the coolest thing is that I was able to transport it by bike! Although I've only gone short-ish distances with it so far (about 30 minutes by bike)., I think it works fine on my cyclocross/light touring bike and I'd feel comfortable going longer distances with it to get to other areas. The main problem is that the bag it came with is not really durable, so I'm looking into getting a sturdier but still lightweight duffle bag. All packed up and ready to go:  Inflated and ready to paddle, next to the bike for comparison (actually, I inflated it about 70% just to wash it off): 
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Jun 15, 2017 18:00
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omnibobb posted:Im about 275 and got the K2 for just me. It's nice for paddling around the shore of the lake and I can lay down in it and chill (6 foot 2), but I wouldn't want to take it out further than a couple hundred of feet where the real boats are. Can I ask you why you wouldn't take it more than a couple of hundred feet out? I'm a total noob at kayaking so I'm just wondering what makes this not suitable for going out a bit further. I've seen plenty of $700+ inflatable kayaks advertised at local kayak stores as seaworthy.
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Jun 19, 2017 22:56
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 03:26 |
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Update on my Intex Challenger K1 (I have a K2 but I bought a K1 as well): I took my little CAD$86 (US$69) kayak out on a trip to Indian Arm, a well known local paddling spot. My friend had an Advanced Elements AdvancedFrame kayak, which is also inflatable, but better constructed and also much more expensive (US$399 + US$75 for the backbone). It was my first overnight kayak trip so I stupidly overpacked, but everything fit. There was a generous amount of space behind my seat and also a large cargo net and space above the front of the boat, although that area had a tendency to pool water. I had about 30 lb of gear, including food and water. We covered 18km (11 miles) in about 4.5 hours, which I thought was pretty good considering that we were going at a very leisurely pace, paddling on and off as we went and trying to spot seals and jellyfish as well, and taking a long lunch break and a break to check out a power station. We did encounter some headwind on the way back, but our kayaks seemed to perform alright regardless - it did add about a half hour to our journey, however. I wish my friend and I had tried switching kayaks for a bit but we didn't get around to doing that. I was a bit faster than her, although I'm not sure how much of that was because I was a stronger paddler. I'm going to try another trip soonish with a lot less gear, but overall I'm pretty pleased with the kayak's performance.
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Aug 27, 2017 17:27
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