Sports Beacon Inflatable Kayak with Hand Pump, Adjustable Paddle & Carry Bag - Ergonomic High-Back Seat with Storage Holder & Built-in Fishing Rod Holder - 450 lbs Max Weight Capacity

Love this inflatable kayak! I recently moved near the lake in my town so decided to buy one of the *cheap* inflatable kayaks on a whim, and unfortunately that thing barely even stayed afloat - completely unusable, or at least unenjoyable. After much frustration and research, I decided to upgrade and try out the HO Beacon and it was absolutely worth every dollar!! This thing is so sturdy and such high quality materials and design, it feels like a hardbody kayak. The inflation is easy and it packs down very small and very light, which is great for storage and makes it super portable. The carry bag makes traveling easy. Also setup and inflation is really fast and intuitive, especially after you’ve done it once. Overall 10 out of 10 - will follow up with more details as I put more use on it, but I have a feeling this thing is here to stay :)

First time inflating the kayak according to the directions, it blew out at the seam. Upon doing some additional research, I discovered this is a common issue with the brand and they do not take returns. Amazon however took care of us and refunded us the full cost. Thanks Amazon for looking out for your customers and please remove this brand from your online store

Wonderful, EASY to use, durable inflatable kayak!

Absolutely love this kiak. Holds 2 adult boys, doesn’t tip and ample room for storage. But I’ve bought 3 of them because 2 of them developed leaks. One in the inside seam and one in the outside seam. Hope I have better luck because all my grandchildren love it.

I picked this up to take with when traveling with the camper, but it adds too much weight for our single axle travel trailer. The storage compartment is just behind the front hitch and this extra 50 lbs is too much for long trips. If I’m going to pack 50 lbs of kayak, I’m better off putting my thermoformed kayak on the roof of the SUV vs. carrying 50 lbs of inflatable kayak in my already overloaded travel trailer.

I wasn’t too sure how this would be when I first ordered this. After receiving, assembling, and using it I love it. I had recently gotten rid of my hard kayak because I never had room to bring it on my camping trips. I wanted something that was easier to transport and store. This definitely fits the bill. It all packs up nice and neat in the storage bag it comes in. The bag is designed like a backpack to carry to and from the water for setup. It’s a little heavy and bulky to wear on your back, but it doesn’t bother me. Some people will love the exercise, others won’t. Either way it’s a nice compact way to store and transport your kayak and everything that comes with it. The included pump works great inflating this. The pump has a selector for high volume and high pressure. The high volume inflates on both strokes, while the high pressure inflates on the down stroke. This allows you to quickly fill the chambers then switch to high pressure to really make it rigid. There is a gauge on top of the pump so that you don’t over inflate the kayak. First you inflate the floor which is thick and durable. Once inflated the bottom is very similar to a stand up paddle board. It really gives the kayak its shape and keeps this inflatable rigid. Next you inflate each of the two sides. They are a different design and aren’t as stiff as the bottom but definitely give a solid shape to this. The outer cover is very durable. It will take normal wear and use on the waterfront or beach. There is a hard wear strip on the bottom to help prevent any major abrasion to the bottom of the cover. The fin snaps in easily. There are two water drain in the rear. The seat back and bottom have two integrated fishing pole holders on the back. The seat is easily placed in and adjusted. Velcro strips hold it where you put it. There are nylon straps that clip to stainless D rings to adjust your seat back to your desired recline position. There are bungees at the front and back to store your gear. Handles at each end make it easy to drag up the beach or make it simple for two people to carry. The blue pads on the sides are much softer than the heavy duty green nylon. This makes it a little easier to rest your arms on when paddling, otherwise the green nylon would cause abrasions on your skin if you were constantly hitting it. For an inflatable, it is really thought out and designed well. One or two try’s and you get the hang of folding it back up and packing it all away. There is a lot I’m missing here, but hit some major points. I’m considering getting another because it is so easy to transport in our camper. The entire thing will fit in the trunk of a tiny car with tons of room to spare. Set up time and takedown is relatively quick. No roof rack or tie downs required. Obviously you aren’t going to use this for extreme sports, but for most people this will be ideal. Definitely worth it.

Half way down the river and the seam ripped on the first use. Can’t return or get a replacement.

I've been kayaking for most of my life and have had all manner of kayaks from sit-in to sit-on-top hardshells, to inflatables and even a wooden one I built myself. Out of all of the kayaks I've owned and used, one of my favorites when it comes to portability has been my Advanced Elements Expedition Elite inflatable kayak. Prior to that one inflatables had been handy, but they lacked the structure and rigidity to be useful for traversing any kind of real distance as they lacked the drop-stitch flooring necessary for that, which is one of the features of this HO Sports Beacon kayak that makes it so good. The combination of the hull structure along with an attractive color scheme, high quality build, and a great feature set make this a great kayak for day trips and weekend kayak camping. Pros: + Three individual inflated structures, two sides and a base. + The base is built with drop stitch tech which makes it really solid and is the same principle used which makes possible inflatable SUP boards. + Paddle holders on both sides. + Strong bungee tie downs fore and aft for storing things on deck, plus covered behind the seat storage. + Comfortable protective layer at the abrasion area where your arms/paddle may rub the sides. + Hard plastic shell inside the nose to give it a sharper edge for cutting through the water. + Excellent integrated handles for carrying once inflated. + Comes with a fantastic, oversized backpack for storage and carrying the kayak. + Nice paddle with comfortable handles and drip rings. + Extremely good seat. Installs and adjusts easily, has included storage, and even has two fishing rod holders. + Double action pump is fast, though it is still some effort to inflate. + It's a small touch, but I'm a huge fan of the orange rudder. + Drain plugs inside are super helpful if you take on a lot of water riding through ocean waves as it will weigh so much just tipping it on its side will be virtually impossible. Cons: - Lighter weight tarpaulin skin than I would have preferred, say compared to one of my SUP boards for example, however it is still quite tough and puncture resistant and is more flexible. Time will tell how durable it is. - It can be a challenge to get it folded up tight enough to get fully back into the bag. - The same that all inflatables do, it will lose some air pressure after being put in colder water, and it will expand if left on land in the sun after coming out of the water. - This is trivial and less of a con so much as an annoyance, but they used standard Boston style valves on the sides which are low pressure 2psi, and a locking valve for the deck which can be 8-10psi. It just means switching the adaptor on your pump when you go between them, and since you partially inflate the sides, then the deck fully, then back to the sides, this can be irritating. To mitigate the issue of losing air pressure when putting the kayak (or any inflatable) into a body of water, the trick is to put it in the water and let it sit there for 15 minutes or so allowing the water to cool the air inside the kayak resulting in a lower pressure. Then pump it up to the desired pressure and use it. Overall, this is an extremely nice, good looking inflatable kayak with great accessories. It provides the portability benefits of an inflatable but manages to retain many features that make rigid kayaks successful. While the structure is great, if you're interested in doing really long paddles or touring you may want to consider a rigid kayak instead, but for day trip excursions or weekend kayak camping trips this will work perfectly.