NRS STAR Paragon Tandem Inflatable Kayak, Lime

Great versatile family boat, super durable!

Never had an inflatable kayak before, but this has exceeded all expectations of what this boat can do. Purchased in spring 2020 for family use on NW Oregon/SW Washington rivers, lakes and estuaries, taken out 25-30 times over the last year in conditions from flatwater up to class 2 river floats. Here are several key points about this boat: 1) It can hold a lot: I have had myself at 6'-2" 215 lbs plus wife and two boys ages 8 and 10 in this thing on flatwater and it floats and steers quite we...ll. Yes it is a bit cramped and sluggish with all our gear, but we never put the seats in and that helps. 2) With the hard keels and skeg installed, it tracks incredibly well, better than many hard kayaks without skegs that I have used. I cannot believe how well it tracks given it's wide flat footprint on the water, the design is really great. Putting the skeg in makes a HUGE difference - when we pull it out for low water river trips it is much harder to steer, but still workable. 3) It is incredibly stable. You can take this out on the lake and use it as a swim platform - my kids will jump off this thing and climb back in all day long without any tipping. Of course, they get a ton of water in the boat and since it is non-bailing you will need a pump to get the water back out again - but just make the kids do it! Also the drop-stich floor is so solid and stable, you can use this like a stand-up paddleboard! When we go bass fishing on calm water I just stand up and paddle and steer from the back or even kneel while the kids fish out of the front. It works great, and it's nice to be able to change postions every so often. 4) The material is crazy durable, we have ripped this thing over so many sharp rocks and crashed through low water rapids so many times, I cannot believe we have not put a hole in it yet. Many, many collisions with sharp rocks and sticks and so far, so good! 5) Pack-up is pretty easy and the backpack-syle bag is great. The pack-up was difficult for me until I started taking out the floor and rolling it up separately, then everything fits in the bag with room to spare. I needed a boat big enough for a dad and two kids on most trips, but one that is not a pain to load/unload. Not having to roof rack a boat of this size by myself is a huge back-saver. Yes it takes a little longer to wipe down and pack, but the extra time is totally worth the versatility. We do a lot of one way river floats, and not needing any special racks to transport this is a huge plus, makes car shuttle logstics so much easier. 6) Portability - yes this is pretty heavy, but I can still hike a mile with this boat on my back without too much trouble. Longer than that would be a challenge though. It opens up a lot of great water you normally can't access with other types of boats. 7) The best thing about this is common to all inflatables I guess, but it's really the ease of use and flexibility. It takes 10 seconds to throw the boat, paddles, life jacket bag in the back, and you are ready to roll should you come across a cool paddle spot. If you get to your paddle spot and it is too windy or the weather turns bad or kids are whining or whatever, you can just do something else - you are not too invested getting on the water because you racked and strapped and did all these things to get ready. My family has a lot of boats: a canoe, 4 hard kayaks, drift boat, car top skiff and a larger power boat. But, this is the one that gets used the most because it's the easiest to deploy. I have not taken this boat on real serious water like class 3+ rapids or big multi-day trips but I can tell you this is a great boat for family adventure. Hope you find some of this info helpful in selecting the right boat for you!