Inflatable Kayak Blog

On the floor at the 2008 Outdoor Retailer Show in the Salt Lake Convention Center, we got together with Erik from Clear Blue Hawaii at their booth. A question that’s been on many minds for awhile is “when will the two person Hanauma inflatable kayak be back in stock and available for purchase?” Due to manufacturing problems, the Hanauma has been unavailable since March. Erik told us that it looked like the Hanauma would be available, hopefully, by the end of August. We hope so, too, since we have a long list of potential customers wanting to buy one.

We also saw a new product, expected to be available in 2009. Clear Blue Hawaii has developed a self-inflating kayak carrier. It’s a set of two rectangular padded straps that attach easily to the top of any vehicle. They’re super lightweight and can be carried in a small bag until you’re ready to use them. They have a self-inflating system similar to some life vests. They won’t scratch the car top and they can be used for any kind of kayak or boat, depending on the width. Folding kayaks don’t usually work well with carriers because the strain of tightening them down bends the frame. This padded carrier should reduce some of that pressure and may be an answer for those of you who have folding kayaks and want to occasionally ‘car top’ them.

Over the next few days we’ll continue to post several blogs that will have specific information about more of the individual products we’ve tested and seen here at the 2008 Outdoor Retailer Show.