420x Explorer Inflatable Kayak Reviews

We like the Explorer better than the Fast Track because it is deeper so waves will not splash over the sides so easily and less show more... worry about gear falling out. It does not track quite as well but we added a couple extra fins up front to help with that and we like it. We generally use canoe paddles to avoid being dripped on but it is faster with kayak paddles. It is a well made boat and very versatile. It's a good camping boat - which is mostly how we use it. I do wish the self bailing drain plugs sealed better. They don't leak much but even a little water means we have remove the floor and dry things before putting away. We always leave them in so will probably try sealing them permanently in some way. Overall, we like the explorer a lot. It's stable & safe and goes along pretty well for an inflatable. It's also light weight and easy to carry and stow. I would give it 5 stars if the drain plugs didn't leak at all.

We have the 420x Explorer and we absolutely love our Sea Eagle and can't wait for summer to go back on the water. It has show more... plenty of room for two and our gear, our gear being: bottles of water, snacks, sunscreen, extra towels and my shoes. People were in disbelief to see such a big rigid kayak inflate from such a small pack. Many times we would go out on the main lake, during the busy times and in rough conditions, to the disbelief of on lookers. By the way it handles great in rough water. Every time we took our Sea Eagle out heads turned. Not only did heads turn but people of all ages and backgrounds wanted to know all about our Sea Eagle and I think we always did a good job of being Sea Eagle Ambassadors. We can't say enough good things about our Sea Eagle. The only problem I've had is the Sea Eagle Life Vests were not comfortable. We purchased new vests after our first outing in our Sea Eagle. The vests we have now have a large V neck and do not ride up and choke us like the Sea Eagle vests.

We have alot of good times,we use it on the lakes and rivers, even did a little white water. Great unit easy to use and show more... set up. We travel in 5th wheel the Kayks fits in the compartment and is ready to use in the a few minutes. One of our Daughters put our six grand children in the Kayak there ages were from 4 to 7 and down the river they went and all had room and fun.Had an other couple try our boat and they purchaced one a short time later. Thanks you have a good product keep it up. There maybe a paddle board in on our wish list. Thanks Ken 4.5 it would be a 5, but the rudder cracked has always been hard to install and remove. I use a small little rubber hammer.

Sea Eagle Reply:
The trick is to pack/store your kayak with the skeg base flat. I assume because you have to slightly force the skeg in place that there is a deformity of some sort. Heating the skeg base up with a hair dryer and then inserting the replacement skeg and allowing it to cool will remedy this. The plastic mold wants to return to it's original shape. It just needs a little assistance. This video should help: https://youtu.be/I3UbOhLz8L4 (note the folding starts at 11:27) also Explorer Kayaks print instructions: https://www.seaeagle.com/img/InstructionalPDF/ExplorerKayaks.pdf (pg9).

We have a Krogen 42 trawler as our cruising boat and cruise in the northwest waters of British Columbia. During that time we stay at show more... various anchorages in some of the most beautiful waters to be found anywhere. We bought the SeaEagle 420x to provide a safe way for my wife to take the dog ashore instead of having to use our dinghy. The 420x was stable, seaworthy and easy for her to get ashore and back again. It also became the preferable mode of touring the multitude of islands we frequent. You can get close to the surf surrounding the islets and not be fearful of damaging the kayak if you scrape a reef. Ours is a salt water application primarily. In the 10 years we have had a 380x and a 420x there has never been a deflated chamber. Yes, we are satisfied with this kayak and SeaEagle.

I've been very happy with my kayak! I've had it for about 6 months now and I have no complaints whatsoever!

Exactly what I needed for the rivers and lakes in Colorado. I could not be happier. Very solid and stable, love the floor..Howard

Hi Everybody As an owner of a 420x I am very satisfied with the product. It is covering all my expectations for kayaking on lakes, show more... rivers or in the sea. The quality is very good. One point to enhance the kayak could be a drainage on the rear for a more easy cleaning after use. The order and delivery time was as promised and expected, and the customer service helped me being in Argentina when I have some issues with the local custom. Portability it is one of the biggest goals and one of my main points along with store-ability when electing this type of kayaks. I did not have to use the 3 year warranty. For sure I will buy it again and every time I have the chance I recommend this SeaEagle product. Best regards, Hugo

Absolutely a fantastic boat. Very well made from high quality, professional grade materials and the accessories that came with the pro carbon package were top show more... notch. The 420x is also a huge hit with the family on lake and beach vacations. All my little nieces can't stay off the thing! Thank you Sea Eagle! I will definitely be a return customer. :)

Sea Eagle Reply:
Absolutely a fantastic boat. Very well made from high quality, professional grade materials

Well beyond expectations. Me and my dog (Ozzy The Wonder-Pup) are riders of motorcycles and do not own a car. We needed an inflatable that show more... would allow us to explore the many rivers of Montana and the Pacific Northwest... One of exceptional quality (that would last for years) and uncompromising durability to get us through the FUN STUFF. The Sea Eagle 420X has exceeded our expectations in every way. Class III stuff on the Blackfoot River was a breeze in the 420X. We are looking forward to some more challenging foats on the Clark Fork (Alberton Gorge), Klickitat, Deschutes, and the Clackamas. We are confident that the 420X will continue to deliver. Happy Floating WOOF!

I can't say enough positive things about this kayak - it is truly amazing! Living as we do in Nova Scotia ("Canada's Ocean Playground"), there show more... is no shortage of places to kayak. One of the downsides to kayaking has always been transportability, and being in our late 50s, trying to get kayaks on and off vehicles wasn't appealing. Then along comes Sea Eagle. Wow. The photo shows our Mercedes-Benz Smart Car with the 420X + all the gear required for a day (or more) of kayaking - talk about transportable! The kayak behaves extremely well, even with wind, and the removable skeg is awesome. I wasn't sure if the 420X might've been too much for two people; however, it is very comfortable, even with a full load. Even with one person, it is easily controllable. Talk about fun! Nova Scotia has over 3000 lakes + hundreds of streams and rivers, not to mention being a sea kayakers paradise with 13,300 kilometers of coastline. We're going to hit them all with this rig! :-)

Our first journey out with the Sea Eagle 420x. Had a blast on Taylor Lake (near Etna Summit, CA). I'm a big guy at 6'00" show more... and 290 LBS and this yak wasn't even near at drawing water...very buoyant! My 13 year old daughter was able to stand up on it and use it as a paddle board...very stable! Only problem we had (no fault of Sea Eagles) was that we decided to haul our new 420x and two other sit on top kayaks the 1/4 mile from the trailhead to the lake. It was quite a task but well worth it as we had the lake to ourselves. Today was our first outing and so far, so good!

Great boat. Light, stable, strong, fun. No complaints.

61 Years Old. I Absolutely LOVE My Sea Eagle 420x,, Quality Is Exceptional!! Ease Of Inflation, Storage And Portability Are Second To None!! I Have show more... Kayaked The Bay,, VERY Stable In The Sea, Even With Bigger Swells. The River Was AWESOME!!,, And Kayak Camping On My Local Large Lake's Is So Fun!! Load It With Gear And Away You Go!! Even By Myself, Loaded For Camping It Paddles Effortless Thru The Water!! I Would HIGHLY RECOMMEND This Kayak,, And Do,, To The Many People Who Ask About It!! LOVE IT!! Keep Up The Great Work Sea Eagle!! Sincerely,, Greg

I have been quite impressed with my Sea Eagle 420x. I have used it on lakes, ocean, and rivers, and it has performed well in show more... all environments. I used it on a recent trip on the Powell River Canoe Route in British Columbia where we paddled a series of lakes and portaged between them. At 42 lbs. it was easy to portage, and paddled well. We also recently ran a whitewater section of the Clackamas River in Oregon, and I was very impressed with how well it handled hitting rocks and dragging over gravel bars. I fully expected to see some damage on the bottom at the end of the trip, but there was none! The size of the deflated boat is small enough to carry in the trunk of my Toyota Camry with room to spare. The foot pump inflates the 3 chambers very quickly, and the quick release valves allows it to be deflated and put away quickly too. William Brackin, WA

I took this Kayak to the Aleutian Islands in January for its maiden voyage and was not disappointed. Next adventure is Prince of Wales Island show more... in May, and then back to the Bering Sea in December. Most people are skeptical of inflatables but this is not a pool toy.

We love our 420X Explorer. It's the perfect size for my wife and I plus our two dogs with gear. We find it to be show more... a stable, comfortable boat on both rivers and lakes. I look forward to our first white water adventure with our Sea Eagle. Highly recommend this product.

Great little boat. Extremely convenient. We use it on rivers and lakes often, and I am impressed with the overall strength of material. After several show more... river runs I was worried about all the times I've hit large rocks and dragged the bottom of the boat; however, you can barely see any scratches. Often, my son and I will head to the river and take the boat in a Smart Car (small two-seat vehicle with a little luggage space behind the seats). I can fit the boat, seats, oars, battery inflation, vests, storage bins, and a small cooler in there. People are stunned to see us inflate a boat twice the length of my car and jump in the river. Fun stuff. Note for Staff: For future versions of this boat, you should include some kind of clip or bungee for all the drainage holes to make it easier to keep the caps completely open and off the drain holes for river runs. They can flop around a bit and partially cover the drainage holes from time to time. It's not a big deal, but something to consider.

Sea Eagle Reply:
Hi Richard, our recommendation is to tuck the caps in between inflatable floor and the rugged outer black fabric floor.

I love it,I would by from you guys again,when I get all my parts for my new engine,I will send you a video,water whizz

We bought our 420X for a multi day trip down the Rio Grande and it performed great. The water level was really low so we show more... wouldn't have been able to use a regular kayak since they have a deeper draft. Our kayak is very controllable. The person at the back has to do most of the steering otherwise it will have a tendency to want to turn to go backwards down the river. Lots of room for camping kit and cooler box. Really a robust solid adventure machine. Love it.

We love our sea eagle 420. It's super stable carries both of us and our two whippets with room left over. We have been down show more... rivers, small rapids and on the Great Lakes this summer without any issues. The two stage pump makes Inflating and deflation a breeze. The kayak packs back into the storage bag with no issues very neat and tidy. I would recommend Sea Eagle to anyone, the customer service is outstanding.

I purchased the 420x back in May 2017. I wanted to have at least one season of experience before posting a review. My wife and show more... I have used this kayak on lakes only so I can't comment on its ability to handle white water. We have kayaked on at least 15 different lakes over the past six months. The quality and durability of this kayak is outstanding. We have bounced off hidden rocks and branches with absolutely no damage to the hull. This kayak is extremely stable regardless of wind or rider movement. The portability is easily manageable with two people but can be carried by one person if you center it on your shoulders. The inflation time is about 7 minutes with the additionally purchased electric pump. It takes about 15 minutes total to get in the water after arrival at the launch site. Easy break down and storage, roughly 7 minutes. I would absolutely recommend this product without hesitation. If anyone needs some helpful tips please feel free to e-mail me I would be happy to help.

Overall, I like and recommend the 420X. It is easy to store and transport in a vehicle. It's not lightweight. That's good regarding heavy duty show more... quality, but don't expect to easily pick it up and lug it around (as shown in the videos). When possible I try to use a cart to transport it to the water before pumping it up. It seems to take us longer to prepare the kayak for use than indicated in the videos, and I sometimes have the valves in the wrong position so that the air deflates when I disconnect the pump (thus adding more time and frustration). I take a fair amount of time cleaning the kayak of sand, dirt, and other debris before storing it since I don't want any grit wearing into the crevices (e.g., between the floor and sides). A hard sided kayak is probably easier to just wash and dry before storage. I've had the 420X about 6 months and I'm still working out my few issues with it.

Very nice and stable boat - only used it in flat water- skeg adds good stability in steering Terrible carrying straps - can’t put it show more... on your back, and awkward to carry any distance

Sea Eagle Reply:
Hi Dale, We do offer a very large Blue BackPackL with 8.4 cubic feet of storage space but you'll have to call in and ask for it specifically.

Overall I like the boat, seats & watersnake motor. The quality is great and I have no complaints on that front. One area where I show more... do have a problem though is... on stability. I have the swivel (fishing) seats and I find that I am positioned so high up that my centre of gravity makes the whole setup feel unstable. Reaching the motor from a sitting position is also very precarious

Sea Eagle Reply:
Colm, we see that you are having an issue with the Swivel Seat Fish Rigs and "stability" and being "positioned so high up that my center of gravity makes the whole setup feel unstable." It may take a couple outings to get used to. However, we do offer the Deluxe Inflatable Kayak Seat ► https://www.seaeagle.com/Accessories/seats/deluxe-inflatable-seat that sits lower than the rig and the Tall Back Kayak Seat ► https://www.seaeagle.com/Accessories/seats/tall-back-kayak-seat that sits the lowest.

It's the best kayak I've ever owned out of my 3