ITIWIT X100 REVIEW 

Thanks, we’ve used numerous kayaks over the years and have learned so much about what features are important. Stability and tracking are still paramount to us, but seemingly not so important features like the seats, durability, etc also count.

@@TheKayakCrew, everything counts for a good experience on the water. Keep up the good work!

@@hntrains2 thanks, hope to get more videos out each week. Enjoy your paddling!

Thanks! Hope to get the review of the larger 2-3 person Itiwit kayak uploaded soon.

Thanks. I was laughing so much by the end of that race on the canal I could hardly paddle 😂

Brief comment showing someone watching carefully throughout the video.

I bet that helped with the tracking? Did not realise you could do that tbh.

Hi which model of the Turing SUP did you upgrade please ?

You are GENIUS sir, thank you , just done same 👍

Thanks (only just saw your comment). I bet there are some great rivers to kayak in Germany!

Thankyou!

Thankyou!

Thanks. I think it depends mainly on where you generally kayak and whether you want a primarily solo or tandem kayak. The Itiwits do not track the best but will still be an upgrade from the K1. There are other hybrid kayaks out there though, or even full drop stitch, so others to choose from, depending on what you are looking for.

@@TheKayakCrew I improved the tracking of my X100 2 seater by buying bigger compatible skegs from Decathlon that are primarily SUP fins but fit the X100 fine and mentioned that they do in the product description on their website. I still use the smaller original skegs in shallow waters though.

@@moody_blue682 that’s interesting, didn’t realise you could fit longer skegs on the Itiwit. I find with inflatables tracking is never really an issue unless you are in strong cross winds on exposed waters. You can then find the bow being pushed significantly by the wind. I found that attaching an extra skeg to the front of the hull significantly mitigates this.

Hi, thanks. This is the link to the Decathlon support website from which you can view or download the manual. www.manualslib.com/manual/2197971/Decathlon-Kayak-Itiwit-X100-2p.html?page=14#manual For a puncture, it says: 'Case 3: puncture on the kayak's surface (*18)1 - Locate the leak.2 - Deflate the kayak completely3 - Clean and dry the area to be repaired with a cloth.4 - Choose a piece of laminated canvas from the repair kit provided with the kayak.- Cut out a piece of fabric according to the area to be repaired, taking care to round off the corners- Apply a glue for ''soft PVC'' according to the glue assembly instructions.5 - Hold the patch firmly in place for 30 seconds. A weight can help compress the patch.6 - Allow 12 hours of drying time before re-inflating the kayak and check that the leak has been repaired properly.' We tend to use a glue called Stormsure to fix on repair patches to kayaks. Hope this helps.

Hi, sorry late reply, have been away. It is a nice kayak in most regards. I think the best feature is that it big enough to be used tandem but not so big that it cannot be used solo. The hull of the kayak seemed quite tough, we hit a submerged supermarket trolley going quite fast down the Towy river. We also had an issue with water leaking around the rearmost drain plug and had to return the first one we had, but that just seems to have been a one off, I queried on the Itiwit users Facebook group and nobody else had got that problem. The micro punctures we had were in the side tubes above the waterline. Re your question about the weight, I would simply quote from the Decathlon website which says: 'CAPACITY~For 1 or 2 people, with a weight limit of 195 km (430 lbs)'. Not sure how this is increased from when you bought yours unless maybe they have changed the design/construction from the one you bought 4 years ago so that max load has increased?

Hello, I have the same kayak. Where did you buy the footrest?

@@amc7988 This kayak does not come with any footrests. I made an improvised footrest by using a piece of plumbing pipe that I cut to length. I used some very strong cord or straps which I threaded through the pipe and which I tied to the seat buckles on the side tubes.

@@TheKayakCrew thanks very much!🙏😙

@@amc7988 you’re welcome. I will try and upload a photo to explain how I did it. I saw someone else who did a different footrest mod using a foam exercise roller which they wedged in between the tubes. I can’t remember if it was on RU-vid or Facebook though

Bonjour, nous avons eu un problème de fuite d'eau par une fissure de la coque de notre Itiwit. nous devions de le rendre car nous ne l'avions utilisé qu'environ 8 fois. Nous avons posté notre problème sur le groupe Facebook Itiwit mais personne d'autre n'a eu le problème de fuite d'eau à travers la coque. (Hello, we had a problem with water leaking through a small split in the hull of our Itiwit. We had to return it as we had only used it about 8 times. We posted our problem on the Itiwit Facebook group but no one else had the problem of water leaking through the hull)

I have not tried the Aquatec and the Itiwit in a speed test. It’s difficult to do accurate speed tests unless you have the same person trying 2 kayaks back to back on a canal where other variables like tide, current or wind can be discounted. However, having used both kayaks solo, I am fairly sure that the Aquatec Ottowa is the fastest but not significantly so. The Aquatec is full drop stitch and a little more streamlined. The Itiwit though can be used solo or tandem so it’s pros and cons.

@@TheKayakCrew thanks for the reply. I've recently bought a x100 which I really enjoy. I just wondered if something like the Ottawa would allow me to travel faster and longer distances without having to sacrifice too much stability. From what you're saying, I might be better sticking with what I have!

You will be a bit faster with the Ottowa and it's comparable to the Itiwit in terms of stability. As to how much faster, difficult to say, maybe 1mph, perhaps 2mph at most. The Ottowa is heavier to carry since it's full drop stitch and the carry bag itself weighs a few kg on top (but you can wheel the bag when possible). The fastest kayak we have is the Story Division 1 which is a 3 panel drop stitch kayak. It sacrifices stability for the speed though. We found that the Itiwits track a lot better if you replace the small fins with the longer ones that itiwit sell for their SUPs and which are compatible with their kayaks. @@iansimpson8309

I own an Itiwit x100 and I'm very pleased with it. I've been using it for nearly 2 seasons in different conditions, reliable and no major problems. I was wondering about the Aquatec Ottawa, can you use the 2P version in single mode? Can you center the seat? From what I can see online, the 1P version seems to have limited cargo space. @@TheKayakCrew

@@MikeP147 We have an Ottowa single person and there is limited cargo space in the cockpit but it has long front and rear decks with bungee cords which you can store quite a lot of gear on. I usually have a dry bag in the cockpit too because the cockpit is quite wide. Its just that you cannot store anything underneath the wells of the cockpit because it's too narrow to squeeze anything in. We do not have the tandem Ottowa but do have a very similar tandem which is the same dimensions and build. I have used it solo by fixing the seat to the D-rings in the middle of the cockpit. I'm unsure you can do this with the Ottowa tandem I'm fairly sure you could though because there seem to be 4 pairs of D-rings in the cockpit for the 2 seat attachments, so you could probably attach the seat to the middle 2 pairs of D-rings to have the seat mid centred. I think you'd only need to use the tandem as a solo if you had loads of gear, for instance if you were kayak camping. The Ottowa is full drop stitch so the tandem will be much heavier than the X100. It should come with a wheeled carry bag, but if when you have to carry it on your back it will probably be at about 5kg more to lug around than the X100. Good kayaks though, we do like the Ottowa, stable and solid.

Thanks. I have not tried the Sea Eagle 380x but know of it. The Sea Eagle kayaks seem to be high quality but expensive. The Sea Eagle seems to be extremely robust, being made from 1100 Decitex Reinforced. The floor inflated to 10psi (compared to 5psi on the Itiwit) The Sea eagle has self draining valves. They are about the same size and suspect they perform similarly but the Sea Eagle seems to be more robust and have better build quality. However it’s almost 3 times the price of the Itiwit, so I guess it depends how much you are going to use it and if you think the extra cost is worth it

@@TheKayakCrew Because I'm going to be a first time kayaker, I still do not know how often I will go kayaking. That's why I was assessing cost : use ratio. Thank you for additional information on Sea Eagle.

@@vahabkhademi2142 I think if you are a first time kayaker and not sure how much you’ll be paddling then the Itiwit may be the better option. You will still still need to buy a pump abd paddles which are not included with the Itiwit

@@TheKayakCrew Thank you for the advice. That's what I was thinking, too. I need to see if it fits my lifestyle without spending a lot at the outset.

On most canals you need technically a Waterways Licence. If you join British Canoe or Canoe Wales then membership includes the Waterways Licence

I do actually like the Itiwit X100, maybe that didn't come across in the video? When we do reviews, we try and cover the cons of the product as swell as the pros. As with any kayak, the Itiwit does have some cons of course. We actually subsequently bought the larger 2-3 model of the X100 which we find more roomy as a tandem (review forthcoming in due course). It depends on what sort of kayaking you do, where you do it and if you want a solo, tandem or one which can be used both solo/tandem? The X100 1-2 person falls into the later category. A cheaper alternative in the UK could be the Aqua Spirit kayaks - I recently bought the solo version and am impressed with it so far (will review in due course). The Aqua Marina Memba or Steam are also comparable in terms of price, etc. The Memba has a fabric outer layer which many do not like because it takes much longer to dry out after use than the single skin inflatables. There are other similarly priced/cheaper kayaks with drop stitch floors and tubular side pontoons, eg, Aquatec Hudson.

Was a bit disappointing but they do include repair patches. I am not sure what construction they use, the standard seemed to be pvc sandwiched between 1000 denier nylon fabric.

@@TheKayakCrew It is too expensive to be this flimsy. I have an X100 SUP, and I was thinking about buying a 2 or 3 seated X100+ kayak too, but I wont after this.

@@LILEE376 It is not that flimsy at all here is one of the comment from a guy using for 4 years and on white water, you can scroll up and check it yourself. Also they have a 2 years warranty. @banshee107 13 days ago (edited) This is my 4th summer with this and it’s been exceptional. Always overloaded it, put it through hell and white water with only one puncture.

I’m unsure what grade fabric it is made from. Most seem to be 1000 denier polyester coated in pvc but not sure about the Itiwit. We had some small holes in the side tubes early on which we patched, so the side tubes did not seem that durable but maybe we were unlucky. The hull seemed more durable, we have hit a few things under the water while going down rivers without any damage.

@@TheKayakCrew thank you for the reply, I understood. What about the behaviour of solders/joints over time? Excuse my english, I'm Romanian.

@@gundalf9348 your English is better than my Romanian😂. Heat welded seams on inflatable kayaks are much better than glued seams. I am not sure whether Itiwit use heat heat welded or glued seams on their X100. I have tried to copy and paste a link to the Itiwit User Group on Facebook. Maybe you could join that group and ask your questions on their? Hope this helps. m.facebook.com/groups/1404473223071447/

@@TheKayakCrew I managed to test it for two long sessions of kayaking on a lake from my country, Romania, called Razelm. The kayak is awesome. For recreational purposes, it is fast enough and tracks also good enough. Still, I bough a bigger fin for front side and the stability on trajectory increased. I didn't manage to turn it over by leaning to one side and the other and I inflated the seat pretty hard... I didn't expect an inflatable to be so stable, but also fast enough. I'm very happy with it.

@@gundalf9348 that’s great. Glad that you like the kayak. Stability is probably the best feature of the kayak.

The blue version is the longer version I think which is 410cm long. The yellow one is 365cm long

Really? I bought inflatable kayaks for me and my wife, and don’t regret it, We used them about 3-4 times in the year we had them.

Thats strange because I met plenty of people that love their inflatable kayak

Nice to meet you!

Took ours on our camping road trip last summer. Guess how many regrets we had as we paddled the Adriatic coast line, hopping to islands and beach bars? Or discovering the nooks and crannies of Lake Orta? Or last weekend when we paddled the River Wye? Most folk taking two cars to transport their rigid kayaks back up stream. Roof bars, trailers etc etc. Then there is us. "Hello. Is that Kenny's taxis?"

​@@graemefoxworthy2785Interesting! Don't know why but I never even considered the idea of packing it up and taxiing back. Giving me lots of adventure ideas now. Cheers!

Yes, I bet you need lots of gear for kayak fishing

Infatti, cagata era nel kayak. ;)

😂 Fair point, well delivered. Do have a far better mic now though