saturn rafts??

[thogan]

Anyone have any thoughts or experience with these rafts? Looking for 1st raft for easy whitewater class III. Downfalls to PVC construction.? The pricetag seems to good to be true.

[DanRauer]

Originally Posted by thogan

Anyone have any thoughts or experience with these rafts? Looking for 1st raft for easy whitewater class III. Downfalls to PVC construction.? The pricetag seems to good to be true.

Save your money and buy a better boat. I believe that those boats are glued PVC. If you go PVC, try to get one that is welded PVC like Aires or Jack Plastic. Generally glued PVC boats don't last very long and are built cheaply. For the price you pay, you can get a great used boat and be alot better off.

Dan

[peak]

see "similar threads" box a the bottom of this screen, or search the forum...

[BuckytheGREAT]

Don't buy those boats, period.

A friend of mine bought one last year and we took it on the Main Salmon. Even with some friends who have NEVER rafted before could already tell it was a lousy boat by comparing it with other boats on this trip.

The tubes aren't as comfortable to sit on as other boats - they use a different quality of material for tubes. I don't know too much of this...

The thwarts are NOT removeable (however, I hear they changed that part for this year)

Their "free" paddles and pump is good enough for my 8 year and 6 year old boys to play with in a small pool! You can easily bend the blades with your hand. As for the pump, I actually do wonder if it's faster to blow in the tube from your mouth than using that pump of theirs. Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit but....

They have plastic handles on the side of the boat which seems neat to carry on with but it's a boon for paddling. Paddlers say it gets in the way when they are paddling by hitting it too frequently causing them to change their style of paddling.

If you want to buy a boat for that price, I'd be glad to sell you my beloved 20 year old 13 footer, "Baby" that I STILL use today for that price and pretty much ensure you that this boat of mine will last longer.

Bucky

[thefreshpimpofbigair]

Try a tributary for a first boat, solid materials, constuction techniques and feel. I just got a 14sb and love it, though i had major reservations about the whole bladder - zipper aire thing. Seems bomber. The most boat for the price. My main gripes were the puny and insufficient repair kit and the thwart attachments are a pain in the ass, and may get in the way, or restrict your cooler/drybox. The standard aire lace-ins are much better.
oh yeah- my buddy has a saturn and its a piece.
-R

[RMrafts]

Like any new product, such as the Saturn rafts, there is always room for improvement. The new Saturn RD430 rafts I sell in Crested Butte don't have any hard side handles or life line holders on top of the boat; have removable thwarts, more self bailing holes, more d-rings, etc. The Canyon Series are very different and I don't have a lot of data or sell them. For a $1350 Saturn you won't find a better value in a raft. Yes, the paddles are good for an 8 year old and the pump is a throw away but what do you expect for $0. If you can afford a Lexus (Hyside) then buy one. If you are like most recreational rafters who want a very good quality raft for a great price, maybe the Toyota (Saturn) is a better option. BTW, what happened to your friends Saturn that you classify it as a piece of s....?