Review Detail

I never took inflatables seriously until I saw this one. I live in a tiny apartment in the city and have no room for a hard-sided boat so the inflatable Straitedge Angler was just what I needed.

The construction of the boat is extremely sturdy, it seems like it will prove durable here on the very rocky James River. The actual air bladders are contained inside the heavy duty PVC exterior shell so there are several layers of material to protect from punctures. The boat is really easy to assemble, I've now done it four times at the boat launch without holding up traffic.

It handles great in the water in all conditions and that's what makes this craft special. I've launched it in the surf from the beach, paddled against the current on wide open flat river water, and floated several miles down the James. It handles rapids with no problems, it is responsive and easy to steer through currents. I've taken it through Pony Pasture and Choo Choo rapids on the James at 6 feet if you know those (class I and II) and it was really fun. The self-bailing ports work great and the design of the boat keeps you above the water that comes aboard in the rapids. The seat is awesome, easily the most comfortable seat I've ever used in a kayak or canoe.

The fishing accessories are great, you get two rod holders and the bar with the boat, the rest is up to you. I've caught a few little stripers and smallmouth on my Straitedge Angler, need to spend more time fishing in it!

Ultimately time will tell how durable the boat is, I would expect the softer vinyl parts like the scupper plugs and seat inflater to fail first. Drying the boat after use isn't too bad, you just unzip the pockets, take the air bladders out and hang everything up to dry.

Overall this boat is AWESOME and if you live in an apartment and don't have a way of transporting hardside boats around you should consider this one a top option. The value for the price is extremely high as the boat performs as well as a comparable hardside sit on top kayak.