Sea Eagle 473rl Inflatable Kayaks and Canoe Reviews
3 Discount Packages available. starting at $1,499
The all up weight of the Sea Eagle pack for my fine kayak/canoe including paddles is 58lbs.and looks somewhat intimidating. But it becomes easier to pack with each use. It can be carried solo and.....it is air transportable!
show full review ▼Love Sea Eagle. We live full time in a motorhome & have limited room to carry toys, so we investigated inflatable kayaks as a space saver. Have owned the FastTrack product for years and loved it's stability and durability. In Feb 2017, we switched to the Razor Lite. The change was exactly as Sea Eagle staff represented. The Razor Lite is faster than the Fast Track, tracks and handles similar to a long hardbody kayak and best suited for flat (or relatively flat) water. It is not as stable as the FastTrack (which was exactly as disclosed by Sea Eagle staff), but is very comparable to hard side kayaks. The 473rl is easy to set up, roomy and made from durable materials. We see many people using other lower quality inflatables having to paddle hard to cover ground and not tracking very straight. They often stop us to inquire about our Sea Eagle and we can only rave about the product. With the drop stitch floor and sidewalls, many are shocked to discover we are also in an inflatable.
We have had our Razorlite 473rl for several weeks now and really enjoy it, both as a single and tandem paddler.I understand some people think it is too "tippy", but it's not. My wife and I have been canoeing for many years and found it very stable. The initial stability feels a little tippy, compared to a wide, flat, inflated raft, but its secondary stability is great. With those inflated sides, it is very difficult to tip over. If you do manage to flip it over, it sits on top of the water instead of filling up. Its light weight makes it easy for us seniors to handle. I have already added two D-rings (available from Sea Eagle) to attach two grab handles amidships. This makes it even easier to handle out of the water. I found the large skeg (more like a rudder) it came with made it difficult to turn and maneuver. I guess that's so novice paddlers can maintain a straight course. I replaced it with a small 4" skeg (available from Sea Eagle) that slides into the same slot and is just enough for us. Works great!
Set up fairly fast. Tracks well. Bought the cart and that makes it so much easier to inflate and then roll down to lake. It's a littler bigger and harder to fold up than expected. Larger bag is needed!
Enjoying the new Kayak, but find it more tippy than the first Sea Eagle. I'm sure we'll be more confident with it as we use it. Just had it out for 3rd time this week. We find it easier to get in and out of due to the narrow sides.
Got my 473rl about 1.5 years ago and took it for 25 shorter and longer trips (incl. overnight) on lakes and rivers in Switzerland. Setup is easy and fast and the kayak is stable but at the same time reasonably sleek and streamlined. With skeg, I am impressed with the tracking and without I gain maneuverability. It feels at home on gentle rivers and on lakes when not too windy. It's not intended for whitewater and I indeed found class 2 the upper limit because of the hard-nose bow and the limited self-bailing, I’m sure that the material can handle it though. For one person, it is a bit challenging to carry everything but handling on the water is ok and the flexibility to take a passenger is great. The backpack could be further developed, esp. for use with public transport: straps and clips quality, handles at the side, a bigger side pocket or an option to attach paddles. Overall, I am very happy and impressed with the kayak and looking forward to many trips this summer and to new waters with an Explorer 420x.
We started our second season with our 473rl with an afternoon trip up the Snake River under the Perrine Bridge. Last year I seriously considered finding a canoe to get the family out on the water but I've always preferred kayaks. The 473rl has the best parts of both, cargo room of a canoe as well as the speed and double paddle of a hard body kayak, on top of that it fits in any vehicle without a rack system. It can be easily be reconfigured to distribute load (and people). Having run over many rocks (hitting hard and dragging bottom), I can vouch that 473rl is rugged. The “soft” bottom is super comfortable for kids to move around on and nap. Finally having the “speed” to travel against the wind and current is a safety issue in many settings and this boat performs as well as anything this size. So far I've done more than a hundred miles of rivers and lakes (mostly with kids). Looking forward to camping in spots that only a boat can access. In total the 473rl does everything I expected it to and more.
We love this kayak!! It is very portable and easy to inflate with compressor pump. It is sturdy and strong. We enjoy that it's portability can take us to lakes , ponds and rivers. Thank you Sea Eagle
James Wolf, has the Sea Eagle approved BTP electric pump: www.seaeagle.com/Accessories/pumps/electric-turbo-pump
This boat has been amazing!!!
Unsinkable, kids love it they can lie down in it, climb in and out of it easily, move around in it without hurting themselves. It was perfect for a five-day trip on Lake Waikaremoana, the 5-year-old went to sleep in it on long sections of our show full review ▼ trip- quite comfortable.
trip- quite comfortable.We love our Sea Eagle tandem inflatable kayak. It is perfect for taking on our RV camping trips, as the oversized backpack with the kayak and pump in it fits in the back seat of our mid-sized truck for handy use anywhere we want to paddle. We used it in the Thousand Islands St. Lawrence Seaway area of Ontario,various small lakes and on Lake Superior during our 6 week extended trip there last summer. It only takes about 15 minutes to set up and tracks smoothly through the water, doesn't get blown around like the balloon-sided old style inflatable we used to have. No need to have a rooftop carrier or trailer.