Intex Challenger K1

Intex Challenger K1 – Great to start with but failed on 4th outing. Hole on seam, repaired it and hole appeared in another seam, a real shame it's a good design and my girlfriend loved it, but construction is poor. Show details

Not Happy. Product has failed – Have purchased 3 of these kayaks. All have developed a hole in the same spot on the seam near the rear. They are not capable of being patched. Our third kayak lasted only 20 minutes before it started to deflate. We followed the exact instructions being careful not to over inflate. Had used the first 2 kayaks about 4 or 5 times without issues. In… Read more

March one got hole on the seam. We purchased a replacement thinking we must have caused the issue. Then today in July we went out with the kayaks on a nice lake and both ended up with holes in the exact same seam location. Would not recommend based on our experience.

Good value, well made but…… – Seems to be well made, the valves are well protected and the kayak is easily inflated. Tracks very well considering the length of the craft. However the seat back does not give sufficient support and I found even a brief paddle caused quite a lot of lower back pain. I purchased an inflatable kayak seat ( about $10) which I now put behind the back… Read more

rest and this certainly has made a massive improvement. I was very surprised as to how good the paddle is, quite a big blade given it has to fit in the bag. However it came without a fin and I am trying to follow up with the local agent to get one as the box arrived perfectly intact so I can only presume that something went wrong in China.

GR8 FUN – Want to go crocodile or shark hunting in it? No.. not suitable. Want to shoot some grade 3 rapids in it? No... not suitable. Want to have some awesome fun with the family on some calm water.. look no further. For about $100 (on special) this thing is great. Cheap enough to buy the whole family one. Inflates in minutes, can pick it up with almost 1… Read more

finger and very stable on the water. Seat is a little uncomfortable for an adult and for safety reasons I would not fully extend my legs into it, but as a 185cm adult I coped. Quite a robust construction for a pvc boat. For an afternoon of fun, this is the way to go.

great fun but backrest inadequate – The backrest didn't properly support my back so I quickly got lower back strain trying to keep torso upright. After many hours research and design I made a proper backrest and now enjoy extended relaxing paddling. Otherwise well constructed, incl excellent strong paddle. Kayak has two separate inflated envelopes and my first use was inadvertently… Read more ·  1

with the bottom one uninflated so I was naievely sitting in a couple of inches of water, but still had fun paddling around, blissfully unaware of my error. I guess this means you can still get to safety if the bottom is punctured. I can pack the whole 12kg rig, including new backrest, into a suitcase for overseas use, hopefully. I mostly use in freshwater - use at the beach means difficulty keeping sand and saltwater out of one's car. Overall, for the casual user, good fun one can transport inside one's car.

Update: I have since taken this to Britain and had a great time paddling on the Thames and found a waterside pub for lunch, and later explored the Basingstoke canal. Paddling the fjords was aborted when a foul up meant my luggage disappeared at Dusseldorf airport. Last year I explored NZ, incl Milford Sound. Kayak packs into hire car so you can explore anywhere you want, when you want. I was prepared to forfeit the kayak at airport bio-customs, particularly NZ, but I clean and dry it and declare it and so far, so good at all borders.

Pretty Smooth Kayak for an inflatable – I thought buying an inflatable would be easier to maintain, handle, store and less problems on my back. I took a chance after hearing great reviews from a friend. After doing my own research I went online and bought this. I found the instructions online easy to understand and whilst unpacking I was sure to do everything right so I don't create… Read more

puncture marks. However the material used on this kayak is top-grade and gives me peace of mind once on water.

I really loved how everything was provided to you including puncture repairs and call-centre number. I liked the look and feel once on water and am still to take this out to sea however I have no doubt it will hold.

Yes, I would recommend this 1 Person Kayak as a hobby adventurer but not as a sport. I'm sure there are better one's out there but if you just want to enjoy the Summer then K1 Kayak is for you.

Heaps of fun! – I bought two of these a few months ago and finally got around to trying them last weekend, so this is not a long-term review - I don't know how well they will last. We tried one on my girlfriend's dam first of all because we didn't want to look like idiots in public and we really had no clue even about how to get into a kayak. We had so much… Read more

fun that the next day we went out on the river Tambo - at a quiet stretch.

Inflating the kayak takes a few minutes. It's about 60 strokes with the pump for each of the two air compartments. Then another few minutes to inflate and fit the seat and footrest. Then you're ready to go.

Launching a kayak is not always easy (google it) but we didn't have any serious problems either in the dam or on the river. To get out of them is a bit harder, but I just aimed it at the bank of the dam or river and paddled until it ran aground. When I checked underneath there were no scratches or any other marks under the front end from this harsh treatment.

Problems? Well, it's hard to fold them to get them back into the bags, but it can be done and it's a lot easier if they are warm - they are horrible to fold if they are cold.

Major problem!! I'm short in the legs and big in the shoulders so I'm top heavy. When I first tried the kayak with the seat inflated as per instructions I was so unstable that I nearly fell in every time I moved. It was awful and I thought I wouldn't be able to use it at all. When I tried it with the seat bottom uninflated, it was fine - no problem at all.

Bottom line? Lot's of fun, but if I had a bigger car and a roof rack, I'd prefer rigid kayaks probably.

PS

Service and price from Harvey Norman online was excellent as usual.