This could be a long discussion but I'll try my best to get to the end. I have no association with this product or sellers at all, I simply saw and wanted to pass on a good thing.
The gist of this posting is that you can for a limited time buy a brand new Drop Stitch tandem Kayak (including seats, paddles and pump) from a name brand manufacturer for $520 USD (converted from CDN w/tax $644) instead of $1,299 or more USD. What follows is the background and buy info. Clicky links are the red italic text.
Wife and I wanted a tandem Kayak to carry in/on are 5er trips.
- Looked at rear mount/ladder type racks and didn't like the height and in one case the expense.
- Looked at front hitch with roof rack solutions and didn't like lifting that high and in particular didn't like the additional noise that solution brings.
- Looked at inflatables and became intrigued with the latest generation (started about 2016) of "drop-stitch" high pressure inflatalbes.
So I researched the "drop-stitch technology. Invented by the Germans in the 50's, used by the U.S. military in blow aircraft prototypes up to the 70's and brought back into commercial use as a means to create a stiff, inflatable Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP). It was only a matter of time until the technology made it's way into inflatable Kayaks.
I learned that the key to the ones being marked now comes from a Korean manufacturer that has perfected drop-stitch fabric
Link for Woosung.
Woosung also manufactures all the drop-stitch kayaks being marketed worldwide, controls worldwide licensing and gives each end seller an exclusive. Sea Eagle $1,299 is the USA exclusive, Airtech in Asia, KXone $1,699 Euro in Europe and Austrailia and most important for this message, the ZRay $999 CDN in Canada. Exclusive markets is why you can only buy Sea Eagle in the USA, none of the others may market here. If you follow some of the Woosung links you can see pictures on the factory floors of all the brands.
OK, ALMOST TO THE END -- Prior to Sea Eagle getting its exclusive US Patent for their design, ZRay made deals with Amazon and Costco to sell their version (the "ZRAY Drift Kayak") in I believe both Canada and the US. Sea Eagles patent was granted in April 2017 and as a result Amazon and Costco are now clearance selling their inventories thru Amazon.CA and Costco.CA for $599 CDN, even with Canadian taxes that's only $520 USD. This "Hotbuy" gives you a very nice Drop Stitch kayak for about 1/3 the price for all other markets.
The catch is they will only ship to Canadian addresses. You can buy it online at Costco.CA even if you are a non-member for the same price as members. You can then arrange to have it shipped to your Canadian friend or sans that have it sent to a Canadian UPS package store and have them hold for your pickup. You cannot have it shipped to a Costco store unfortunately. If you need to return it, you can do so to any Costco store, Canada or US.
Since so many of travel back and forth to Canada or we have Canadian friends that make the snowbird migration, this seems like a good thing.
I bought one. This is the link to a youtube of the
ZRAY Drift 14' Tandem Inflatable Kayak
Linear Mode
