Coleman QuikPak K5 Kayak

I bought a KwilPak5 inflatable kayak and used it for a few months and put it away...after a year I went to use it and the floor valve is split. There's no reason for it except defect and the Customer Service representatives were terrible. Since it was past warranty they said they could do nothiong, it could not be repaired, and I could not even buy a new bladder for it. They basically kissed me off even though I have been using Sevylor products for years. But since they got eaten up by the Coleman Corperation, they are not the same. This is a badly designed product that becomes irrepairable with a bad valve, and the customer service was shameful. I intend to follow up on this with the Department of Consumer Affairs, it was such bad service for a defective product.

I bought my Sevylor/Coleman QuikPak 5 Kayak on July 5, 2012 from Leisure Pro.My wife and I shared the Kayak for what remained of the first summer (July, August, September 2012) and she decided to buy one for herself in early August 2013 so that we could Kayak at the same time.The good: Leisure Pro had the best shipping price and delivery experience to Canada. It arrived one day after ordering. The kayaks were relatively easy to set up and have been a delight to deploy on our side of Lake Ontario. We even had plans to take the kayaks to more northern lakes and waterways next summer.The bad: As many reviewers have noted, the paddles were less than useful but we replaced both original paddles with much better lightweight fiberglass versions. The pump does take a little getting used to especially as the nozzle for the main valve did not fit, but we managed by creating a rubber band ring as an adaptor.The Ugly: My kayak which was purchased July 5, 2012 developed two leaks, one on the valve of the bottom chamber valve and then a complete blow out along the seam of the side bladder while I was inflating it by hand. This gash measured over two (2)feet in length and just blew out prior to complete inflation. Sadly they BOTH happened on Sept. 22, 2013 just after the limited 1 year warranty expired. Now, if you factor in the reality that you can only kayak so many months a year--in our case July, August, Sept. 2012 and May, June, July, August and most of Sept 2013 you actually have an actual functional life of 8 months. All of our usage was well within the manufacturers specifications! However, given the fact that the limited warranty covers the winter when one does not kayak we have certainly not had 12 months of usage. Moreover, given that we have to send this kayak to Wichita, Kansas for redress, even if still under warranty, makes the warranty all but meaningless if you live outside the US as it would cost too much to send.My wife is quite disappointed and I am somewhat less so, as I understand the limitations of any inflatable device from a pillow to kayak. I also understand how corporations protect themselves from even legitimate product failures and in our case exploit the geographical distances and international boundaries over which their products are sold. This is in part perplexing as Coleman has a footprint in Canada. Notwithstanding, others should know about the potential functional limitations of this product's life and the danger that it can present. Interestingly, my wife's kayak had some minor design modifications, perhaps suggesting that others may have experienced structural failures along the bladder seams. But this remains an unproven hypothesis. Personally, and for other readers, I would like to know more about other people's long term experiences with the K5 kayak, especially those who purchased their K5 in 2011 and also 2012 as this will impact my decision to purchase another kayak manufactured by Coleman.In the meantime, all should be aware of the potential for catastrophic failure along the bladder seam, something that could be quite dangerous on the open water and not on shore as in my case. As always, buyers need to beware and be prepared by wearing a PFD. Also sharing information with each other can be helpful as it may also help socially responsible manufacturers to develop better products and more realistic warranties especially on seasonal products. At least we can hope.