Which of our 14 kayaks is the best kayak for beginners? And why? The Beginners Choice Kayak Package is designed to give you a delightful and easy experience as a beginner, but is also suitable for more adventurous paddling trips as your kayaking skills (and appetite) develop. The Beginners Choice Kayak package is perfect for men and women, young and mature, large and small.
Falling in the water not only leaves you wet and cold, it can also be pretty scary if you are a beginner kayaker.
The AdvancedFrame has a wide flat hull, giving it excellent stability.
Not only are you less likely to fall out, it’s easier to get back into if you do!
If you want a kayak you can relax in, the AdvancedFrame inflatable kayak is the best kayak for beginners when it comes to stability.
Easy to Paddle Straight
Professional kayakers make it look easy. But in most kayaks, trying to go in a straight line is really hard!
The frustration of not being able to get where you want to go will drive you insane. Or at least put you off paddling for the rest of your life…
The AdvancedFrame inflatable kayak is the best kayak for beginners because the hull has been designed to go straight on flat water. You don’t have to worry about your skill level, just hop in and go!
Supremely Comfortable
The AdvancedFrame has a nice cushy floor under your bum and a supportive seat for your back.
It’s great for a beginner to be able to relax and take a break during kayaking.
Versatile – the Best Kayak for Beginners is One That Can Take You Hard-Core!
The AdvancedFrame is suitable for a wide variety of conditions, including open ocean. As your skill, stamina and passion for kayaking grow, the AdvancedFrame inflatable kayak will be able to take you to the next challenge!
You will probably start out enjoying a casual paddle on flat water.
You could end up taking it on an arctic expedition, who knows!
Durable for Beginners
I’m not saying that all beginner kayakers paddle into things… but if it’s your first time in a kayak, you might have a few collisions before you learn how to control it.
Sadly, most inflatable kayaks are like pool toys – one little bump against something sharp and it’s all over.
As a beginner, you might not want to start out with a multi-day kayaking expedition …
The best kayak for beginners is one that you can take out for a short paddle – maybe just 30 mins or so. Then as your strength and your confidence improves, you can go for longer paddles.
So what is the biggest turn-off for taking an inflatable kayak for a short paddle? Set up time.
If you want kayaking to be a regular part of your life, you need to be able to get out on the water in under 5 minutes. That is what you can do with the AdvancedFrame inflatable kayak.
AdvancedFrame Kayak Specifications
LENGTH: 10’5″ (3.18m)
WEIGHT: 36 lbs (16 kg)
COLOUR: Red/Gray
BRAND: Advanced Elements
LAKES, BAYS, INLAND WATERWAYS: Yes
COASTAL/OPEN WATER: Yes
SELF-BAILING: No
WIDTH: 32” (81cm)
MAXIMUM CAPACITY: 300 lbs (136 kg)
DEFLATED AND PACKED DIMENSIONS: 32″ x 17″ x 10″ (76cm x 43cm x 25cm)
The AdvancedFrame and the AdvancedFrame Sport inflatable kayaks are the same length, width, and look like the same design… so why did Advanced Elements create two of them? Checkout our video below..
You can purchase the inflatable foot brace to go with your AdvancedFrame Kayak. A lot of paddlers swear by foot braces for encouraging good paddling technique and for supporting the lower back.
The AdvancedFrame kayak has very good back support – the seat backs are high and stiff with adjustable straps to get the angle right.
The AdvancedFrame kayak is not huge inside, but you can unzip the front deck so your dog is not cramped into a cockpit.
The soft floor can be at risk from doggy claws, I recommend purchasing either the Drop-stitch floor or the Dura-floor to protect it.
The wide flat hull, means the kayak is very stable so you won’t all go over board if your dog gets excited and makes a sudden move (not that they ever do that …).
It’s got a soft floor, which can make it a little difficult to step into and out of. I’d recommend upgrading with the high-pressure drop-stitch floor if you are going to be using it as a tender quite often.
It’s suitable for almost all water types, including open ocean.
It’s not our biggest kayak, but there is still quite a bit of deck space and capacity (136kg) for gear if you are using it to transport your stuff to and from shore.
You would want to open the zipper on the cockpit before putting the kayak in the water.
**Caution – do not leave the kayak inflated on the deck of the boat. The heat will cause the pressure to rise and you could damage the kayak.
Anything from 1 hour to a multi-day expedition, depending on how much gear you need to stow.
If you have to pack a huge amount of stuff, I suggest looking at our AdvancedFrame Expedition Elite, which has a higher capacity and more storage space.
But if it’s not a massive amount of gear and you are not a huge person, you can definitely do a multi-day trip in the AdvancedFrame kayak.
The kayak is very stable with a low centre of gravity, so loading up the deck is viable.
The AdvancedFrame kayak is fine for class 1 and 2 whitewater, however; it is really designed to paddle in a straight line, and therefore, not recommended for rivers above class 2.
The key feature for beginners is stability, and the AdvancedFrame kayak is wonderfully stable, so no dramas there.
The design is so good, that it’s super-easy to paddle straight.
At 16kgs, it’s light enough for most people to lift.
The zipper on the deck makes it easy for people to get in and out.
And best of all, it’s incredibly versatile, so if you find yourself going from beginner to adventurer, you can do open ocean and multi-day expeditions in it!
In my experience, seniors are looking for a lightweight kayak, and at 16kg, the AdvancedFrame kayak is fairly lightweight.
We have other kayaks that are lighter, but the AdvancedFrame does give a great balance of versatility and performance. So if you think you can handle the weight, it’s a great choice for seniors.
The other key features for seniors are stability and ease of getting in and out – the AdvancedFrame kayak ticks both of these boxes.
You can adjust the seat straps to bring the seat closer to the front of the kayak, or further back in the cockpit to give you more leg room.
When I say “about 6’2”, it’s hard to be precise. Whether you fit in the kayak is more a function of leg length, rather than overall height. It also depends on how you like to sit in the kayak – legs straight requires more space than legs bent.
I have found that the rigidity of the kayak starts to drop off at around 90kg, at which point I recommend getting the high-pressure drop-stitch floor. This floor dramatically increases the rigidity (and therefore performance) of the kayak in the higher weight ranges.
Our 90-day “Try it on the Water” Guarantee means that if the kayak is not what you expected, you have 90 days after delivery to return the kayak for a FULL refund.