Accessories and Packages

When I bought my kayak from West Marine, BOTH double and single decks were included into the package as well as two seats, inflatable foot brace, foot pump, and the carrying bag. Note that nowadays many stores show the “low” price (usually still higher than WM) and then you discover, that for EVERYTHING into the package you have to pay EXTRA!

One has to check carefully what is included into base package/price and what is optional and will be cost EXTRA. Important is to compare the costs of the parts and find the cheapest combination of basic and optional.

Pumps

Bellows Foot Pump from Advanced Elements- #AE2001, Price: $19.99 , which usually is included into the package (make sure that it is in your package) is generally enough to inflate your kayak in 8 minutes.

                 5000cc air displacement with each stroke

                 Compact size

                 Inflate and deflate modes

                 Extra long air hose

                 Full kayak inflation in less than 8 minutes

Double Action Hand Pump from Sevylor- #U185 Price: $18.99 allows you to cut inflating time nearly in half. I used it for initial inflating of my kayak at the starting point and then left it into my car. Compact foot pump is always with me for any occasion.

Cuts inflating time nearly in half!

Double action hand pump delivers air on up and down strokes. 

Deflate mode

5-ft accordion-style hose interlocks to the pump, so that it doesn't fall off while you're pumping.

High pressure, up to 14.7psi

18 inches tall.

Ergonomically designed handle and foot plate.

Seats. Two Regular AE seats are included into the AE basic package and provide satisfactory comfort even on the long trip. They looks almost like Lumbar Seat shown below, but had no inflatable part.

Lumbar Seat from Advanced Elements - #AE2013

Price: $39.99  Adjustable lumbar cushion!

On the AE forum some people were complaining on two points: back support and wet bottom.

One can easily provide better back support buying special high back kayak seats from various sellers (see below one of the choices).

Of course it’s extra money: from $40 to $109 US and more.

http://www.boatstogo.com/kayak_seats.asp - Extra high back kayak seats, $ 40:00 US

or

http://www.austinkayak.com/products/143/Kayak-Seat-Comfy-Deluxe-Big-Back.html - $109.00 US

As to the wet bottom the simplest decision is to put small inflatable cushion ($5 US) under the seat. I often use the foldable touring seat ($10 CND) instead of this cushion (put it folded under my kayak seat, then using it at the campsite on direct purpose).

Canadian Tire Escort Stadium Seat Pad, PRODUCT #76-1599-0, REG $16.99 CND, often on sale for $9.99 CND

Foot Brace

Some people feel needs in additional foot brace when paddling. They can buy inflatable foot brace from Advanced Elements - #AE2012 for $29.99 US. It is for the front person, the rear person has inflatable foot brace supplied with the kayak and sitting at the back of a front person.  

Convertible Decks from Advanced Elements - #AE2021/AE2022 Price: $49 -$69 US - expand the versatility of the AdvancedFrame2 Convertible Kayak allowing you to create a closed deck kayak that is easily paddled by one or two persons. Durable, zippers into place, and will accept an optional spray skirt!

One of them can be included into basic package (usually double one), another one being optional. When I bought from West Marine BOTH decks were included at the basic price! 

Spray Skirts. Not everyone paddling on AF Convertible needs and uses spray skirt. I myself bought one, but had no experience in using it yet.

There are two slightly different skirts sold for AF kayaks: Touring spray skirt AE2007 ($64-68 US) and Packlite spray skirt AE2026 ($39.99US). I have Touring one and think the adjustable suspender straps are very helpful.

Touring spray skirt AE2007 ($64-68 US)

Packlite spray skirt AE2026 ($39.99US)

Backbone

Is a great invention and improvement AE did for their inflatable AF kayaks. It’s like a spinal column imparting additional rigidity and higher tracking ability to the kayak. Almost everybody who used it with the AF kayaks agreed that it’s worth to buy and install, especially when you are going to paddle on the flat water like Canadian Lakes.

The Backbone is inserted under your floor cushion while your kayak is deflated. Once the kayak is pumped up, the backbone creates a bow-to-stern frame which enhances performance and rigidity; while the bow-to-stern beam is straight, the side-to-side silhouette has a slight v-bottom. The backbones for different kayaks are of different length, the longest being for AF Convertible - AE2023-AFC - 126.5 inches long; it consists from 3 shafts, the longest one length is 35" ($99 US).

Paddles

I did not recommend to buy paddles at WM. I bought their Composite Fiber Pro 340 and one of them was broken on a flat water with no special efforts from my part. WM refund it with no words and I bought Carlisle fiberglass paddles Magic and Magic Plus 230 cm at Pro Bass Outfitters. They were on sale and cost me $89.99 and $109.99 CND. I used them actively the whole summer 2009 and hope to do so in 2010 – they are still in excellent conditions.

Many experienced paddlers advise to have a spare paddles on board and usually recommend cheap four piece aluminum paddles for this purpose (for example this Cascade from Airkayaks.com http://www.airkayaks.com/cascade.html).

Some useful bookmarks about Advanced Frame Convertible kayaks.

Advanced Elements

o       products description - http://www.advancedelements.com/kayaks.html

o       FAQ - http://www.advancedelements.com/faq.html

o       Forum - http://www.advancedelements.com/phpBB2/index.php

http://seakayakphoto.blogspot.com/2007/04/advanced-elements-advancedframe.html

very nice and detailed description of AF Single and Convertible by an experienced sea-kayaker.

http://www.airkayaks.com/ae1007-07.html - detailed description of various packages with the prices from one of the best (not the cheapest) suppliers (see picture below).

http://kayakyak.blogspot.com/2006/03/inflatable-kayaks.html - some good words about Advanced Frame from B.C. in 2006,. Especially in Paula’s comment

Backbone “poem” - http://kayakyak.blogspot.com/2009/10/backbone.html

Fishing devices in the AF kayaks:

This one was done for the Convertible! - http://suntan-suntan.blogspot.com/2009/07/bulding-rod-holders-for-advanced.html

http://www.advancedelements.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=436&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=90

http://www.advancedelements.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=436&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=60

http://www.advancedelements.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=436&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15

http://www.advancedelements.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=436&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

How to paddle? -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knEVhkpg18w

How to paddle? - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNHdmLZmZg0

Advanced Frame Convertible is mine!

As I told in previous post I ordered AF Convertible at West Marine store in Toronto on March 29, 2009 and was ready to wait for some time. They called me in a few days - kayak was in store! On April 5, 2009 my dream came true - I became a happy owner of the AF Convertible!
First night (actually day, of course) :-) Opened package and inflating kayak for the first time.

Advanced Frame Convertible

Thus I decided to buy Advanced Frame Convertible manufactured by Advanced Elements.
My next step was to shop around and try to find the store somewhere in Toronto area to look at the kayak, to seat down into it, to touch it with my hands. From the Internet I discovered that they are sold by various dealers, West Marine being one of them. I liked the price and package they had, but they had nothing to show in store.

Then I found out another store not far from downtown Toronto in Etobicoke. Their prices were higher, but I was able to look at the kayak in store. I did it and I even really seat down in it and felt how it would be paddling this kayak. Strictly speaking it was not Covertible - it was it's solo replica - Advanced Frame Kayak AE1012-R, but everything else was the same and I received what I was looking for - a general feeling of this kayak. And I loved it even more then.

There are several dealers selling these kayaks all around the world. I heard many good words about Airkayaks.com (Harris & Lamb, LLC, Box 926, Clearlake Oaks, CA 95423). Especially people noticed their service and support, though their prices aren’t the best. And for me they were too far away from Canada. After days of searching Internet and shopping around I’ve the general picture.

As I told earlier West Marine price and their package seemed to be the best offer on the market. After final search on the Internet I composed the Table of various price/dealers/packages/accessories and made myself sure that West Marine was really the best choice. Thus on March 29, 2009 I placed an order at their store in downtown Toronto.

As to the Table shown below it is updated version reflecting situation at the end of October, 2009. The general picture is still the same as was in spring 2009 and I hope one can use it as a starting point when shopping around.

TABLE. Summary of current prices for AF Convertible and some Accessories at various suppliers and on-line stores.

Item	Price $US	Quantity	Total $US	Included into base package
				By AE	by WM*
Kayak	599	1	599	Kayak	Kayak
Bag	31	1	*	Carrying Duffle Bag	Carrying Duffle Bag
Foot pump	19	1	19		Foot pump
Seat	*	2	*	Folding seat - 2	Folding seat - 2
Single deck	39	1	39		Single Deck
Double deck	52	1	52		Double Deck
Foot brace (inflatable)	27	1	27		Foot brace (inflt)
Back bone	110	1	110
Hand pump	24	1	24
Paddles	80-100	2	160-200
Spray Skirt	49-68	2	98-136
Repare Kit	*	1	*	Repair Kit	Repair Kit
Owner’s manual	*	1	*	Owner’s manual	Owner’s manual
Total price					$ 599.00 US

Introduction

There were a few reasons why I decided to buy an inflatable kayak. The main one was portability. Neither me nor my wife wanted to drive hundreds kilometers having boat on the roof of our car. In the second place was my white water experience with big inflatable boats and rafts. I was comfortable with anything inflatable and even like them for their safety and flexibility. Thus I was looking for something intermediate (not the 10-person raft) and as universal as possible to use it both on the flat water (thousands of Ontario lakes including Georgian Bay) and on the moderate white water (hundreds of Ontario rivers).

Comparison to folding kayaks

Of course I knew that people (especially back in Russia) use widely folding kayaks, but their prices are well above my budget.

For example one of the best choices would be Russian foldable kayak (baidarka) Varzuga, which costs about $1200 CND + shipping from Russia ().

Varzuga, 26 kg, 4.8x0.81x0.4, 2 person, 250 kg, $1,200 CND

Canadian folding kayaks are even more expensive - $3,000 to $7,000 CND
Feathercraft K-2 Expedition,39 kg, 6.0x0.84, 2 person, 320 kg, $6,750 CND

Inflatable kayaks

Among inflatable one could easily find good stuff at around $1,000 CND.

One of the best choices would be 420 X Explorer: 24 kg, 427x0.94x0.29 (tube diameter), 2-3 person, 388 kg, ~$1,000 CND:

It looks like a good choice for white water rafting, but I was not sure that it will be as good on the flat water.

Airkayak.com sells another kind of  self-bailing white-water inflatable kayak manufactured by Advanced Elements - StraitEdge2 ($699 US).

But then I sow an Advanced Frame Convertible from Advanced Elements and fell in love forever.
This is why the following posts will be fully devoted to this kayak.

To finish this Comparison Chapter I summarized the main characteristics of these kayaks in the Table 1.

From this table one can immediately draw a conclusion I made: AFC is the best!

Name	Weight, kg	Length*Width *Height, m	persons	Load	Price, $ US	Note
Feathercraft K-2	39	6.0*0.84*N/A	2	320	6,000+
Varzuga	26	4.8*0.81*0.40	2	250	1,000+
420x Explorer	24	4.27*0.94*0.29	2-3	388	900+
AF Convertible	25	4.5*0.8*N/A	2	294	599