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Q's RE: Sevylor River XK2 and airhead montana 9'

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#22 ·
I had a Sevy XK1DS for a long time (2004-2012?) and took it down everything from class I to IV, from tiny streams of 100 cfs to a daily flow record setting big water day on the Ark, and it handled everything well.

After it FINALLY wore out, I bought a Solstice "Flare", which is literally just the newest version of the XKxDS series. Sevy got folded into the Solstice Watersports family, but this is basically the same boat with a few small updates, most notably and for the better the addition of Halkey Roberts valves instead of the old Boston valves. The floor has been upgraded into a drop stitch as well.

I got my Flare in 2017 and proceeded to take it down 500+ miles of (mostly) first descents in Vietnam. Same story, it saw everything from tiny streams to huge water, and performed amazingly every step of the way. Moved back to US around the decade flip and have been bashing down all kinds of fun streams here in the states since. It finally took a rock with some La Garita volcanic glass to take it out. But, I got another identical one and am beyond stoked for this year.

I absolutely adore my Flare; it's small, lightweight, and handles much more like a hardshell kayak than more typical larger IK's. Fully loaded it clocks in at 38 lbs, and with everything off, I can hike it fully inflated as far as I want.

10/10, 5/7, four stars, two thumbs up, whatever rating scale you use, for me it maxes out.

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If you want some videos of performance of it on different streams, check out my YT channel for videos from both VN and USA.
 
#23 ·
Ever since I saw the picture of a Flare I wondered how closely it resembled the Sevy SK100DS. I was always thinking of what boat I would need to buy to replace the Sevy when it starts to seriously fall apart and you have given me the answer.
Look forward to checking out your vids!
 
#25 ·
JIMM said:
Ever since I saw the picture of a Flare I wondered how closely it resembled the Sevy SK100DS. I was always thinking of what boat I would need to buy to replace the Sevy when it starts to seriously fall apart and you have given me the answer.
Look forward to checking out your vids!
Click to expand...
When my Sevy died I was in the same position. I basically wanted the exact same boat. So when I found out about Solstice and the Flare being the next gen, I was beyond stoked! Its such an awesome boat for the price.
 
Discussion starter · #26 ·
cmd19 said:
I had a Sevy XK1DS for a long time (2004-2012?) and took it down everything from class I to IV, from tiny streams of 100 cfs to a daily flow record setting big water day on the Ark, and it handled everything well.

After it FINALLY wore out, I bought a Solstice "Flare", which is literally just the newest version of the XKxDS series. Sevy got folded into the Solstice Watersports family, but this is basically the same boat with a few small updates, most notably and for the better the addition of Halkey Roberts valves instead of the old Boston valves. The floor has been upgraded into a drop stitch as well.

I got my Flare in 2017 and proceeded to take it down 500+ miles of (mostly) first descents in Vietnam. Same story, it saw everything from tiny streams to huge water, and performed amazingly every step of the way. Moved back to US around the decade flip and have been bashing down all kinds of fun streams here in the states since. It finally took a rock with some La Garita volcanic glass to take it out. But, I got another identical one and am beyond stoked for this year.

I absolutely adore my Flare; it's small, lightweight, and handles much more like a hardshell kayak than more typical larger IK's. Fully loaded it clocks in at 38 lbs, and with everything off, I can hike it fully inflated as far as I want.

10/10, 5/7, four stars, two thumbs up, whatever rating scale you use, for me it maxes out.

View attachment 97996

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If you want some videos of performance of it on different streams, check out my YT channel for videos from both VN and USA.
Click to expand...

Glad to hear it! Yeah, I tested it out, inflating it and checking everything (was brand new in box but on offerup), and everything checked out. Excited to hopefully try it on either the Salt or the Verde this season here in AZ!
 
#29 ·
Kelraen said:
I'm looking to get into self-bailing inflatable kayaks for whitewater and get out of my hardshell, but don't have a ton of money to throw at it. Found a Sevylor River XK2 and an airhead montana 9' nearby for cheap. I'm looking to do class III and possibly class IV's on some multi day trips, would either of these be a good option or a waste of time? I know a lot depends on storage and use etc., but I don't know a lot about either of them even from what I've gleaned on the internet. I'd love to pick up either NRS or Aire inflatables, but that's just out of my budget at the moment.

If you have any other recommendations for cheap IK for whitewater, I'm all ears!
Click to expand...
PM'ed you
 
Discussion starter · #30 · (Edited)
Just wanted to update this thread:

I ended up purchasing and taking the Solstice Flare down the 52 mile stretch of the Salt River wilderness. I went with 4 other guys, two of which were in Sea Eagle 300x, 2 of which were in NRS IKs. I went down every rapid while some of the other guys skipped out on Quartzite and a few others. A great value for this trip for sure! We'll see how well it holds up over multiple trips, but for this 4 day stretch it was a hero.

A few notes on it: the D-rings are all mounted low and there are only 4 that aren't being used for the seat that are actually on the floor so it can be a little tricky mounting gear if you're going self-supported. Compared to the Sea Eagles it was definitely a more annoying prospect. Also the valves are a little trickier and might have problems staying open when pulling off the pump so might take a few tries, but I never had a problem once it was inflated, it held air just fine the whole day. The sea eagles and NRS IKs were also wider (and the Sea Eagles had better seats), making the Solstice perhaps a little less comfortable than it's competitors.

But hey, for roughly half the price MSRP than the Sea Eagles, and a lot less than that based off of what I found, it was definitely worth it! I never once felt like I was at a disadvantage or that my boat was holding me back. We did the Salt at about 1800 cfs, which was a lot more whitewater at a higher flow than most of us were used to so it was good test for all of us. Me and my boat did a bunch of boat rescues and it never let me down when it counted. For me, the Solstice was definitely a good buy.

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Me in the solstice center left of photo
 
#31 ·
Thanks for the follow up. Really appreciate that. Have you weighed the boat with the thigh straps and seat attached? Thanks again for a very useful follow up. I am very close to pulling the trigger on one of the new NRS packrafts, simply because of the weight which is around 12 lbs, but the Flare would be my second pick [ or 1st if it actually weighs around 20 lbs or so ].
The NRS costs twice as much as the Flare, BTW.
 
Discussion starter · #32 ·
JIMM said:
Thanks for the follow up. Really appreciate that. Have you weighed the boat with the thigh straps and seat attached? Thanks again for a very useful follow up. I am very close to pulling the trigger on one of the new NRS packrafts, simply because of the weight which is around 12 lbs, but the Flare would be my second pick [ or 1st if it actually weighs around 20 lbs or so ].
The NRS costs twice as much as the Flare, BTW.
Click to expand...
Mine didn't come with thigh straps, but with the seat it's probably about around 20 lbs or so, I'll have to weigh it later today. It was considerably lighter than the NRS or Sea Eagle kayaks that I was traveling with
 
#34 ·
Kelraen said:
Just wanted to update this thread:

I ended up purchasing and taking the Solstice Flare down the 52 mile stretch of the Salt River wilderness. I went with 4 other guys, two of which were in Sea Eagle 300x, 2 of which were in NRS IKs. I went down every rapid while some of the other guys skipped out on Quartzite and a few others. A great value for this trip for sure! We'll see how well it holds up over multiple trips, but for this 4 day stretch it was a hero.
Click to expand...
Awesome!! I love the Flare. Such a great boat for the price.

For what it's worth, I hike with my 1 person Flare a lot; with everything attached to it (seat, pump, life jacket, and few smaller things, but NOT my dry bag, which I carry with my paddle) and fully inflated its about 38 lbs.
 
#36 ·
Kelraen said:
With JUST the boat and the seat + one strap to keep it wrapped up, it weighs in at 19.5 lbs according to my scale (no skeg or pump). Hope that helps!
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Dang, that's light! Maybe I should try to get my pump + other bits into my backpack :unsure:

Have you considered hiking with yours? If you do, I'd be curious to see your thoughts on a rigging system. When I hike with mine, I keep it 90% inflated so it's rigid, and then I have a webbing tether that I connect from the front seat D-Ring to the back seat D-Ring. It has enough slack that I loop it over my head and under my opposite shoulder and then it rides pretty comfortably. I've hiked as far as 6 miles with it in one push so far and it hasn't been bad at all!
 
#37 ·
Yes it does, thanks v much. I just weighed mine, the SK 100 DS on which the Flare is based off of,, and it was 26lbs, ready to go. my other boat which is the STRIKe XL was 36.4 lbs. So the Flare is considerably lighter.
CMD 19, that idea of looping through the seat strap Drings sounds good. I have carried mine for short distances by shouldering the thigh strap but that works only briefly. I also got a plastic kayak cart from Amazon which is fully detachable and I use that for my inflatables now. Its various components fit in the inflatables quite easily when running the river.
 
#38 ·
JIMM said:
Yes it does, thanks v much. I just weighed mine, the SK 100 DS on which the Flare is based off of,, and it was 26lbs, ready to go. my other boat which is the STRIKe XL was 36.4 lbs. So the Flare is considerably lighter.
CMD 19, that idea of looping through the seat strap Drings sounds good. I have carried mine for short distances by shouldering the thigh strap but that works only briefly. I also got a plastic kayak cart from Amazon which is fully detachable and I use that for my inflatables now. Its various components fit in the inflatables quite easily when running the river.
Click to expand...
I'm headed out to paddle this weekend, so I will rig mine up how I would for hiking and capture a video of setting it up and getting the boat on my shoulder. Would probably explain better than I can with words!
 
#39 ·
JIMM said:
Yes it does, thanks v much. I just weighed mine, the SK 100 DS on which the Flare is based off of,, and it was 26lbs, ready to go. my other boat which is the STRIKe XL was 36.4 lbs. So the Flare is considerably lighter.
CMD 19, that idea of looping through the seat strap Drings sounds good. I have carried mine for short distances by shouldering the thigh strap but that works only briefly. I also got a plastic kayak cart from Amazon which is fully detachable and I use that for my inflatables now. Its various components fit in the inflatables quite easily when running the river.
Click to expand...
I took a quick video of how I carry mine while hiking this weekend
 
#40 ·
Thanks! Interesting, you have the strap you use to carry it under your left shoulder, not just over the head and over your left shoulder?
Also, this is a different webbing strap, not your thigh brace strap, correct?
I am taking my Sevy out in a couple of days and will try this out.
 
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