Nice and very detailed video. I bought a X500 two months ago and I´m very happy wit its practicality . Used it at the reservoir, river and sea. With short period wind generated waves it is a little trickie to keep it upright. In that case I pump the bottom chamber at 5 psi, the stability improves a lot and doesn´t loose much speed. I tried the eskimo roll but found it to difficult so I bought a bilge pump and a paddle float. With 2 small pieces of cord laced to the kayak side handles its easy to tie the paddle to the kayak and crawl back in without to much effort. Enjoy your paddling!
Thanks for the response! Yes, rolling is a little bit hard with it. I have a bilge pump as well, seems to be easier. As we have two X500 and travel together most of the time we can assist each other. I will try the 5psi "hack": sounds very reasonable! Have fun and be safe!
@@HaraldHofer Done any more hacks to it since the foot pegs and sprayskirt? I want to use mine to learn rolling and take to sea but it could do with bulkheads/flotation bags to prevent being waterlogged, better bracing than the yoga blocks and webbing I currently use as a hip brace and some decklines/webbing to help with a paddle float self rescue. One addition I highly recommend for this kayak is a cheap silicone seat cushion from Amazon without its outer cover. Not only helpful for piriformis syndrome prevention but it allows for easier hip movement when paddling.
nice, i have one too and i it's one where i learned kayaking. the first day i was just falling over. on the second i was proud i could kayak a 50m circle and come back safe to the shore. on the last few five and six days (i was camping) i had bigger waves like 1m and wasn't falling over anymore, since the whole week i just learned when the itiwit is falling and not. a lot was just my fear of falling over, after getting used to that, it's awesome and stable imo. now i plan to make some river tours as long the weather here is good. really curious to see your white water experiences.
Servus Harald, ich habe dieses Boot auch, und bisher ein paar kurze Touren ohne viel Gepäck absolviert. Nachdem ich letzte Woche beinah auf der Havel gekentert wäre, habe ich gestern mal auf einem sauberen ruhigen See "Kenterübungen gemacht". Man fällt tatsächlich relativ leicht um, und das Wiedereinsteigen ist schwierig. Ich hab meist mehrere Versuche gebraucht, und das Boot war dann immer halb voll mit Wasser. Ich bin dadurch jetzt etwas skeptisch, ob ich in überhaupt damit wo fahren sollte, wo ich keinesfalls kentern möchte. Eskimorolle kann ich bisher auch noch nicht. Wie macht ihr das? Man kann ja der gekenterten Person auch nicht so gut helfen, weil man dann ganz schnell selber drin liegt. Würdet ihr sagen, dass das Boot bei mehr oder weniger Ladung stabiler ist? Viele Grüße, Julian
Hi , I'm interested in buying that kayak , also for traveling like one week on the danube,is the kajak good for that ? in a matter of packing place, like small tent and mattress cloth and food......
Hi, there was a guy traveling the Danube from start to finish in 2018. Maybe this answers your question best: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-o2XmcOCZrXI.html There are also other, more detailed videos of his trip to find.
Are those x500 paddles durable? There are some negative comments that they broke while pushing against the sand or with a powerful stroke to the water.
They seem to be durable enough. I definitely put some force on them while paddling and I definitely "touched" ground every once in a while. No problems so far. But I'm a purely recreational paddler... 😁
Lots of people on Decathlon's website commented on stability issues with that kayak. Would you share that opinion? Also, looks like you already had the kayak for a little while, how has the material fared so far, especially with the folding / unfolding cycles?
No issues so far with the material. It is defiantly not as stable as other kayaks or rubber boots. However it's quicker and runs quite well in quiet water. A couple of weeks ago a 20k trip included some class 1-2 whitewater and it was doable. Was it enjoyable? Maybe not soo much. Did I play around? No. :)
Hello Harald. I have been looking at buying this kayak. It looks real sharp however, I keep reading that the boat is prone to tipping. How bad is the instability? Could you describe it? Does the 5 psi "hack" help? In your opinion what environment does the Kayak best perform (River, Lake, Sea)? Your insight is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Hi, here is my background: some 15 years ago I was doing some white water kayaking. Nothing too hard, but up to level 3. Last year a 2-3 again, but all with white water kayaks. We bought 2 of these boats for recreational kayaking on rivers and lakes. There is no sea here, so I have no idea how they would do - furthermore as I have never tried sea kayaking. However: we did have waves up to 50cm on our lakes and it was no problem. Is it as stable as a white water kayak? I guess not. But you buy speed with a slightly increased instability. If you are used to kayaking at all, it should be no problem to stay in. My wife had no experience, never fell out (except when fooling around). An old lady (75 years) tried it on a lake, she had no problem as well. She did river kayaking some 55 years ago. So, I don't get any money from Decathlon, most certainly they don't even know I exist. Still I would recommend it if you want to buy an inflatable kayak. Compared to other inflatables it's light, fast set up and has a good speed. I hope this helps. I don't think I have a cognitive dissonance and am trying to justify the investment "post hoc" 🤣 What ever you do: let us know!
This was my 2nd kayak after buying and destroying one of those cheap Intex monstrosities. Desite no prior experience with decked kayaks, it only took a few minutes of balance practice whilst holding onto the dock followed by an hour or so of easy paddling before I was comfortable enough with the balance to try edging and sculling it. Entry and exit for portage took a lot longer to get used to but my flexibility isn't what it once was. I would use the 5 psi hack if you expect to encounter fast moving water and fallen trees but even at 10 psi it is easy to get used to the balance and noticably faster to paddle that way. It's still my favourite inflatable kayak over 2 years later despite having tried many different kinds by now. So far I have not seen any that would tempt me to upgrade. Even the much more expensive aluminium-framed folding kayaks don't look as sleek, though I haven't tried the performance of any of those myself. If I had one wish it would be for slightly worse tracking as the x500 is a bit of a pig to turn compared to the whitewater hardshell kayaks I have been using at my local club.
Does the kayak feel squishy or does it have good rigidity to it? I use to own an Advance Elements Airfusion and it was pretty rock solid. I sold it awhile back but been looking for something similar now since that old kayak is discontinued.
I would say it's as rock solid as it can be based on the used technology. It's as hard as any SUP board. It's definitely not as hard as a white water kayak with an poly* shell. It can't be.
As a fyi, the AE Airfusion EVO is not discontinued. It's a much better kayak performing than this iTiwit x500. This kayak has no pressure relief valve and in the event of heat expansion, it blows and the whole kayak is disposable. Poor design.
@@gloppy101 That looks lovely but ouch - that price! The cockpit combing doesn't look like it would grip a spray skirt as well as the x500 one but that may just be the lack of close up pictures of it. I would also be above its max weight before I even bring any equipment with me but I would still love to give one a go, if I ever win the lottery. I always pump my x500 to exactly 10 psi and it has survived over two years of reckless abuse and many 6+ hour trips including in very sunny weather. I don't see how it could easily 'blow' as the few punctures I have had and repaired have remained tiny under pressure and even the one huge one I caused by removing a badly-fitted PVC patch showed a layer of tough cloth material beneath the rubberised top layer, which I assume is what the dropstitching attaches to. These days I dont even bother with PVC patches and just bond a thin film of flexible polymorph plastic over punctures using a hair dryer while deflated. It has even survived me fitting one by pouring very hot water on the polymorph from a kettle without any kayak seams giving way once reinfated. Based on my experiences I would certainly not call the x500 disposale. The construction quality has really impressed me. I always try to store it in a shed away from sunlight and occasionallly apply UV protection spray though as I expect sustained UV would weaken this kayak as easily as any other inflatable. Not taken it to sea yet so I can't comment on how well it withstands saltwater. Maybe you were unlucky and got a dodgy one but I am still over the moon with mine years later and it still sees use at least once a week.
Servus, Vielen Dank für das Video und dem Beantworten der Fragen in den Kommentaren. Hat mir bei meiner Entscheidung sehr geholfen. Ich hätte noch eine Frage bezüglich der Haltbarkeit. Leider findet man ja keine Langzeitberichte zu dem Boot bzw. generell zum Material/Technologie "Dropstitch" Hast du hierzu vielleicht schon eine Erfahrung gewonnen bzw. Infos gefunden. Ich habe nur mal ein in einem Forum von 3-5 Jahre Haltbarkeit gelesen. Das ist natürlich nicht sehr lange (auch bei dem geringen Preis) Vielen Dank und alles Gute
Servus Lucas. Seriöserweise kann ich zur Langzeithaltbarkeit (noch) nichts sagen. Ich kann mir aber nicht vorstellen, dass die Technologie selber nur 3-5 Jahre hält - ich denke da an die vielen Verleiher von SUPs. Dessen ungeachtet ist es sicherlich nicht gut, wenn das Kajak über lange Zeiträume (Wochen?) voll aufgeblasen in der prallen Sonne liegt - wer macht das aber schon...? Was das Material betrifft: Ich bin letztes Wochenende 10km in den Donau-Auen unterwegs gewesen und hab mich einige Male über Schotter schieben (also ich blieb im Boot sitzen) müssen, weil das Wasser zu seicht (oder ich zu schwer) war. Beim Zusammenlegen der des Bootes waren keinerlei Spuren davon am Kiel zu entdecken. Meine Frau hatte ein paar sehr oberflächliche Kratzer, die sind aber nicht mal der Rede wert. Wir sind noch immer begeistert und planen schon die nächsten - etwas längeren - Trips...
Hi, wenn Du fortgeschrittener Paddler bist und die Eskimorolle beherrscht, dann könnte das Kajak Dir Freude bereiten. Ich habe meinen Kauf schnell bereut und habe es wohl oder übel umgetauscht. Ich kam damit überhaupt nicht zurecht obwohl ich dachte das mein Gleichgewichtsinn als Windsurfer ausreichen würde.
@@renator07 ich bin zwar vor 15 Jahren mal etwas Wildwasser gefahren und kann auch etwas Eskimotieren, würde mich aber nicht als fortgeschritten bezeichnen. Trotzdem kommt mir das Itiwit zusehends stabil vor. Ich weiß allerdings noch immer nicht, wie es sich bei Wellen über 50cm verhält. Andererseits war das auch nicht unser Ziel: Wir wollten damit gemütliche Flusstouren machen. Was mir im Vergleich zu anderen aufblasbaren Booten gefällt ist, dass ich durchaus 8-9km/h erreichen kann und eine Reisegeschwindigkeit von ca. 4-5km/h auch über länger Zeit (Stunden) gut aushalten kann.
Gudn Abnd! Bin heute eine schöne Tour gefahren, nun trocknet das gute Stück in der Wohnung. Eine Frage zum zusammenpacken: Ich finde das Boot faltet sich sehr widerspenstig. Geht es dir auch so? Legt sich das mit der Zeit? Andere Frage dazu: Pumpst du die Luft komplett raus oder wie machst du das? Liebe Grüße, Leon
Servus, Bei den Temperaturen, Respekt! Wir machen das so: 1. Raus aus dem Wasser 2. Säubern mit einem Schwamm und Ventile auf. Ich Pumpe keine Luft raus. 3. Ich hab mit einem permanent Marker am Kiel kurze Striche (ca. 5cm) dort gemacht, wo ich falten möchte. Also: in der Mitte einen zB rechts, vorne und hinten jeweils einen links. Ich Falte damit immer an der selben Stelle in die selbe Richtung (ich sehe den Strich außen an der Faltstelle). Dadurch "bockt" es nicht zu arg. 4. Im Sommer Bau ich uU zu Hause noch mal auf, damit es ganz trocknen kann, sollte ich mir beim Ausstieg nicht genug Zeit genommen haben. Weiterhin viel Spaß!
I would say yes, as it's not too heavy. For longer passages I would recommend a trolley. When my wife and I have to carry it over a lock we would have one boat in each hand, one person in the front, one in the rear - paddles in the cockpits...
Hi evryone 😊 I just looking for this kayak . One question. Its better to buy double or single kayak? Double is bigger so i prefer that one. But meybe buy 2 single kayak is better idea.Please give me a opinion. Thank you👏👏👏👏
Hi, when we bought it, there was no double available, but we would have gone with two singles anyway. Our reasons were: 1. If one overturns, the other one is able to help climb back in if necessary. 2. More storage space than in one double. 3. Side by side they are very stable if you want to have a break. 4. Better weight distribution if you have to carry them. You see, basically we took two for safety reasons...
I'm 198 and I do fit. Could it be a little bit longer or roomier where the feet are? Sure. But then again: it's "soft" compared to the hardshells I used to drive...
Hi, sorry for my late reply. My wife is a little bit taller an about the same weight. She can ride it easily. Someone pointed out that a little bit less pressure (maybe 7 or 8 psi) lets you get a little bit deeper and therefore will provide more stability.
Harald Hofer i bought it actually at its perfect ... i have no issues with stability at all at 10 psi . I found it very easy to use and it is very fast .
Hi, I'm 6'6 and it's definitely on the limit. Depending on the size of your feet (in my case EU48) it could be hard on your knees. Last year we did an eight hour trip and it got painful at the end. Other then that it was fine. May buy somewhere where you can return it or test it beforehand.
@@RafaelFrancoCosta it's a lake. And here is the funny thing: It's nowhere deeper than 150-170cm. 😁. So basically you can stand everywhere... en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Neusiedl
für Mopedfahrer.-/innen is dat nix ? würde noch textilschutzjacke sowie hose und helm in das staufach passen od. ist so eine kajakfahrt nur mit auto am besten
Hi, am Motorrad stell ich mir das "schwer" vor - das Teil hat schon etwas Gewicht. Ich sag mal so: für WW ist das ohnehin nur bedingt sinnvoll, ergo kannst du dir einen Helm mE sparen. Dünnes Neopren könnte man vielleicht noch reinquetschen.
