SOLSTICE Inflatable Boat for Lakes, Rivers & Beaches – Heavy-Duty Raft with Swivel Oar Locks, Rod Holders & Inflatable Seats – Voyager, Fishing, 6-Person, Brown, 11'

OK, honestly I bought this because it was lowered from $89 to $49 and had free shipping. It also had swivel oar locks and a fishing rod holder, which suited my needs for ocean-capable, fishing-ready, potential use as a casual tender and near-shore recreational boat. When it arrived, I was initially (and pleasantly) surprised at just how thick the material was, it literally is like a light leather and feels twice as durable as the comparably-sized Sevylor/Coleman inflatable pool boats. The swivel oar locks help maneuvering and handling on open waters (my experience with the older Sevylor Fish Hunter boat) as you can rotate the oars from a higher or lower plane (i.e. sitting on the seat or on the floor of the boat) equally well without the oar shaft binding on the soft plastic of normal boats' molded oar locks. Because the oar now "pivots" around that swivel point, it greatly increases the speed of the oars being rotated around that point. The fishing rod holder is located on the "flatter" part of the rear deck, rather than at a more pronounced angle like the Sevylor Fish Hunter, and if the boat is properly inflated, it does hold up to a 9' pole with 45lb line/medium reel. The boat has twin Boston Valves on the hull chambers, and two floor chambers. There are also 2 seats included, which is a great addition. Those seats lie flat and are very wide, adding stability even if you're seated upon them. The seats are so strong (as an example) you can stand on them fully inflated, and it doesn't give too much (inflated to about 95% capacity). Then again I'm 145 lb so... The minor drawbacks: the grabline is relatively thin-looking, and you could replace it with a heavier duty nylon rope; also there are no oar holders to secure the oars when the boat is being towed as a tender, or while fishing, necessitating you remove the oars completely and place them on the floor, or else run the risk of them coming loose in the waves, or otherwise creating drag as you tow it along. Also it's varying shades of over-ripened tomatoes a creamy pink/orange color that you can't quite put your finger on while describing to someone, like the color you get when you mix ketchup and mayonnaise or something (lol). The major drawback: the 4 person rating is a little misleading, 4 full-sized adults CAN fit on the boat but it's cramped, and the boat will drag with too much weight (as with all inflatable round boats). Just take w/a grain of salt, IMHO the "4 person" rated boat is just perfect for 2 to go out fishing, carry a tackle box and cooler chest. Throw 2 more adults in the mix w/all that gear, and you'll have a clustered mess, people climbing all over each other. Plus when someone stands up to move, their weight will cause the tackle box & cooler to fall over, etc. Trust me, after years of experience with these boats, use the general rule of thumb that (for the sake of passenger comfort and cargo space) whatever the capacity of the boat is rated at, minus 1 person. So a "2 person" boat is a solo boat, a "3 person" is for 2, etc. Just my experience, so like I said, take w/a grain of salt. Back to the boat... The front grab handle is strong enough to tie off an anchor, or tie to a boat and use this little inflatable as a casual tender. Overall I am very pleasantly surprised at the quality construction of this boat, and with the price and free shipping, it's almost a no-brainer. We use it for paddling out into the waves at Moku Nui off Lanikai or fishing in Kaneohe or Kailua bays, and even braving the surf in Waikiki. If you buy it for any less demanding purpose, I think you will be equally pleased.

The box claims that the vinyl is “heavy duty”. No specification is given. The vinyl feels heavier than my last vinyl boat which lasted only two summers. Overall, this boat has a nice sturdy feel to it. The shipping weight was 13 pounds, so it seems that the posted weight of the boat (12.8 pounds) is accurate. The boat is 88x44 inches. The seating area is 54x19. The maximum person weight is 495 LBS. Overall weight maximum is 600 LBS. There is a grab line and a handle in front for launching the boat. There are two rotating oar locks. There is an inflatable pillow to sit on. The package does not include oars or an air pump. There are four air valves, in three different styles. You will need two different nozzles on your air pump. I wish the instructions gave some guidance on this, but they don’t. All four valves are one-way. The instructions say to deflate the boat by opening the valves but they do not say how. Three of the valves were easy, but the #1 valve was tricky. I guess you have to disconnect the longest pump nozzle from the pump and leave the nozzle inserted into the valve, to hold the one-way flap open while you push the air out. I wish the instructions covered this. I haven’t taken the boat out on the water yet. I am giving the boat five stars due to the low price. I have already seen enough to know that I got a good sturdy boat for the amount of money.

My first boat so I didn’t know what to expect. I like the portability and the ease of transporting it. The boat was smaller inside than I expected. The space was very tight even when it’s supposed to fit 4 persons (I get it, it could have been Asian size measurements only). I felt like I couldn’t control the boat or like it was too light to steer (yes I used one paddle, but plan of using two paddles). I don’t recommend this boat if planning to motorize it. It would be very uncomfortable considering the lack of space to turn and hold a motor.

I don't know how it performs in the water because I assembled it at home to check it out, and determined it won't work for me. It says it's a 4 person boat. 2 adults and a child max without everything needed to fish. Maybe 2 adults and gear, and then not sure if a cooler or 5-gallon pail would fit. So, I decided to return it. But it won't deflate, which is the reason for the 1 star. If I could give 0 I would. Putting the pump nozzle into the air hole doesn't push the inner one-way valves in far enough to allow air to escape, let alone be pumped back out. They should have included two separate deflation two-way valves as well as the one-way inflation valves If I had waited till I was on the water to test the boat, how would I have gotten it to deflate so I could get it back into the car?

This boat has been a great joy for my Son.

very good quality plus it is my first dinghy with swiveling oarlocks. the inner body chamber is not so big, but the outer is normal sized. the walls are not so high but good enough. it is quite wide but don't expect to fit more than one full sized adult comfortably in this, i'm 6'2" and about 180lb and it's fine for just me. the oarlock fittings are rubbery, that is that part that attaches to the boat, but the oarlock pieces themselves are plastic. not sure how well they will hold up to repeated use as i bought this boat for rowing only. has 2 floor airchambers, always nice for safety. i personally like the colour scheme. went out for an hour this morning in moderately choppy water and it gets tossed about a bit, but didn't mke me miss any heartbeats but i wouldn't recommend pushing it. going to buy the voyager 600 next.

Good sized boat for 3 people, or 2 adults and 2 kids. The first time I ordered this product from Amazon, the hole that holds the oar clip was not threaded, so we could not attach the oar clip and had to send the boat back. The new boat we have does not hold air as well as the first boat. After 30 minutes in the water, the chambers are not as full with air as when we start. It's a decent boat for a fun time with kids on a pond. I don't expect this boat to last more than a couple of years. It's too pricy for a medium-quality boat.

Firstly this boat didn't come with a pump (which I thought it did) and no paddles. I used free shipping and it got here in two days, I'm very impressed, also I was surprised to see how small the box for it is. This boat is perfect for two adults, with a Maximum capacity of 740 pounds it can hold two adults, a cooler, tackle, poles, and a net, not only can it hold up to weight it holds up to sticks and rocks, and if you have a leak the patch kit can take care of it. I found the valves to look cheap but work very good, and despite what some reviews say about the grab line it looks very sturdy. This boat is perfect, its wide enough for comfort even for the rower.