473rl RazorLite™ Inflatable Kayak Reviews

See my blog post: https://www.vanscapes.net/blog/2015/12/23/sea-eagle-razorlite-inflatable-tandem-kayak-review

It's winter here so I have not been able to set up the boat yet, not to mention I just received it. I was disappointed show more... that it was so heavy, and everything will not fit into the pack. Perhaps I didn't read the information carefully enough, but I thought I did. Anyhow, I am looking forward to trying it.

Tested out a "Sea Eagle Razorlite® 473RL" (2 paddler) inflatable kayak this afternoon. It arrived in the shipping box at my house at 2:30 pm show more... and I was paddling it near by American Lake at 4:30. I'm really glad that I bought the electric pump. This way I spend my time paddling and not pumping. Had no problem paddling it like a canoe (with a canoe paddle not the kayak paddle). It's very good at holding a straight line when paddling on one side for 20 or more strokes yet is easy to maneuver. Easily got it up to 11:30 min/mile pace. Had a short sprint of 7:53 min/mile (probably wind aided). Tried to flip it when I finished paddling but it wouldn't go over. 38 pounds and folds up into a a very nice backpack for traveling. Plan on taking it to Australia for 2 weeks this May to keep in shape for long distance outrigger canoe racing in Hawaii this September and October. Rides well on J-racks on top of my small half ton Ranger pick-up truck. I'm very happy I'll write another review when I return from Australia

Very happy with the RazorLite 473rl. Rugged enough for the lakes I've been using it on. Throw it in the back of the Cherokee and show more... we go. Tracks great and makes good time even in a headwind. We take our dog and he's got enough room to move around (35lbs - I don't know if it would be big enough for a much larger dog). I ended up getting the motorized pump. It can be run off the car battery but I've been using the portable battery. Everything sets up fast. Will be faster once I remember the valve operation - I've used it about once every two months and it still takes me two tries to recall how they go. In Northern California there are inspections to prevent invasive species unless you get the boat "locked" when you leave the lake. The lock is a cable tie like plastic piece. They can run it through two of the D-Rings to prevent the boat from being used without detaching it. This means that I can't hose the boat off at home (deflate it and lock it at the location). But it hasn't been a problem.

my wife and I were happily waiting for the arrival of our new baby back in the summer before our vacation time in New Hampshire. show more... we gave it life with the electric air pump we had ordered along with the eagle and it fulfilled all our expectations. easy up, easy to handle, easy down and easy stow away for the next outing. We did three different ponds and lakes , each a bit different than the next and the eagle handled all the variations. Very comfortable seating, paddling a breeze with the low sideboards. All in all we are very satisfied with our eagle and have already recommended your company to others. Thanks for the fine design. Tom & Donna Boinay

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 show more... 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.

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 show more... 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 trip- quite comfortable. It is really reassuring to know that even if it gets swamped you can paddle it to shore. It has had so much use this summer, down rivers over lakes along the rocks on the coast. Sometimes with two adults and two kids, sometimes with one adult and camping gear for 5 days-perfect. It does slip sideways a bit with a strong side wind. I have experimented with strapping a rectangular section down pipe under it as a keel, this has worked very well still perfecting attachment, thinking of using aluminium brackets. No hesitation recommending the one and only Sea Eagle 473RL. Takes no room to store, can transport it in any car, very safe, awesome. Service and support from the Sea Eagle team great.

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 show more... can take us to lakes , ponds and rivers. Thank you Sea Eagle

Sea Eagle Reply:
James Wolf, has the Sea Eagle approved BTP electric pump: https://www.seaeagle.com/Accessories/pumps/electric-turbo-pump

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 show more... 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.

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 show more... 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.

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 show more... 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.

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 show more... a littler bigger and harder to fold up than expected. Larger bag is needed!

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 show more... 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!

Love Sea Eagle. We live full time in a motorhome & have limited room to carry toys, so we investigated inflatable kayaks as a space show more... 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.

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 show more... pack with each use. It can be carried solo and.....it is air transportable! The set up is simple and no problem. A rather large but uncomplicated manual pump is good enough for me. Paddling this craft after my familiar and trusty Kevlar hard shell sea kayak is what I expected when I made my buying decision and plunked down the cash. So in design terms of stiff hull, underwater shape of craft and resultant performance (speed and effort) I got the fine craft I expected. Thank you Sea Eagle. Finally this is a high capacity boat. It will carry 2 or 3 people on a mission or 2 paddlers and a pile of gear. And please note my Borealis Ellesmere is for other adventure.

This kayak has been the best inflatable kayak I have ever used. It has gone through 3 foot swells and held it rigidity. Even when show more... I was caught in a storm and the entire kayak filled with water, it remained easy to paddle and maneuver through the pounding rain and wind. Fantastic machine this kayak is and even made it up to 6 mph solo.

We love our Kayak! It is wonderful to take camping. It fits between our gear and then when we arrive at the lake it blows show more... up in no time. We have made some enhancements, we have added air cushions to the seats because when we are out for a long time our butts were getting sore - wonderful seats just needed a bit more cushion. Great back support. We also made a rudder system that is portable and attaches - works great. A little more time setting up but so worth it. We get so many great complements and we are so proud to own this kayak. Sea Eagle has great customer service and excellent products. Thanks for adding such joy to our life.

Sea Eagle Reply:
Seat cushions are a great option ► https://www.seaeagle.com/Accessories/seats/inflatable-seat-base

We own a 473rl and a 385ft. The 385ft is 4 years old and the 473rl is 1 year old. The 385ft is more stable show more... and a better choice for novice kayakers. The 473rl is faster. Both boats are easy to inflate and durable. The seats in the 385ft are more comfortable. We tried the seats from the ft in the rl, but the higher seat profile made the boat less stable. Both our son and daughter bought sea eagle boats after using our boats. We highly recommend Sea Eagle boats. The storage bag for the razor light is inadequate. Once we got the boat out of it, we were unable to get it back in. It is also more difficult to dry the razor light for storage. There is a plastic support in the bow that fills water and is hard to dry. We tend to use the ft as it is more comfortable, and reserve the rl for trips with our son who also has a rl and can cover a longer distance with less effort. We use both boats in flat water conditions, rivers and lakes.

Sea Eagle Reply:
John, give this video a try for packing ► youtu.be/Dfbp_lm3jGY a try! Should make it pretty easy.

It is exciting to have an inflatable kayak that handles like a hard shell and it is as fast and lighter than a hard shell. show more... One concern is the lack of a bow cover as small waves come into the boat easily. A small deck with combing with a lip that deflects small waves that break on the bow would be much safer especially since I am using it in cold waters of Alaska.

All’s well !! We really like it, all around great boat! Just wish it came with a plan for making more time to use it...

Simply incredible! I started with a sport which was a great boat. Then upgraded to a Razorlite and Wow addicted to a whole new level. show more... The 2 stage pump came next and all I can say is I Love It. Just to add the hull developed an issue after two seasons of countless trips. The customer service team responded with great care and we resolved the cause and they shipped me a new hull. I wish all customer service was as good. Sea Eagle is the Best!!!!

Love it! Love it! Love it!!!

I love the boat. Paddles very fast and easy, Great quality. Great customer service even if you have problems. This is the 5th SeaEagle boat show more... I own. The oldest is 18 yrs old and still a good boat. Highly recommend the boats and the company.

Love our 473 Razor Light. We've taken it out on river and lake and are impressed with how quickly it inflates and is ready to show more... rock. Easily ready to get on the water in 8-10 minutes. Tracks very well and is super rigid, with comfortable seats. The only thing is that it doesn't take much of a wave for you to take on a little water, as the RL cuts through the water so well. Can't wait to take it out again.

We purchased our 473rl for our trip into Northwest Canadian provinces and Alaska. We are avid kayakers and couldn't travel into such beautiful country unless show more... we could get onto the water! We were pleased that it packed very compactly into a StowAway2 box mounted to our small RV. We are amazed how solid it is when it inflates and how nicely it handles on the water. The 473rl allowed us some special sights off road!