The Intex Excursion Pro Inflatable Fishing Kayak is available on Amazon for less than $200. It is the cheapest fishing kayak in the market. But is it worth spending money on, or is it just a glorified pool toy? I tested it out, so let’s see how it fared.
Intex Excursion Pro Specifications
Price: This has a retail value of $390 (USD), but is always available on Amazon for half the price.
Length: 10’
Width: 36”
Weight: 37lbs (17kg)
Capacity: 220lbs (100kg)
Best use: Calm water paddling
Features of the Intex Excursion Pro
This inflatable fishing kayak has a number of features including:
- A seat with an inflatable booster pad
- Floor mounted footrests
- A skeg
- Three mounts for the accessories it comes with which include:
- Two fishing rod holders
- A detachable go-pro and phone mount
- A carry bag
- A repair patch
- A paddle
- A pump
- One year warranty
How Well Does the Intex Excursion Pro Perform?
I took some time to paddle this inflatable kayak around and get a good feel for it. So here is how the Intex Excursion Pro actually performed in action.
Portability of the Cheapest Fishing Kayak
This kayak comes in a nice carry bag. It is a very manageable weight, easy to get around, and very quick to pump up. It has three air chambers that need filling.
There are big warnings all over the kayak telling you not to overinflate the tubes, but it does not tell you how hard to make them, so it is a bit of a guessing game. On top of this, a lot of quality pumps come with a built-in pressure gauge so you know how full the air chambers are, but this one didn't. However, after inflating this kayak I found that they have included a pressure gauge which is a useful addition.
The pump itself is really the biggest weakness with the portability of the Intex Excursion Pro. Not only does it not have a pressure gauge integrated, which isn’t a deal breaker, but it is a tiny pump. That means you really have to bend over to pump the boat up, which is a little backbreaking. So, if you are using this boat regularly, you would probably need to upgrade the pump to something slightly bigger.
Capacity of the Excursion Pro
One of the first things I noticed when setting this boat up, was all the small print on the side. When I purchased the kayak it listed the maximum capacity as 220 lbs, which at 195 lbs still seemed fine for me, although close to the maximum capacity. But the small print on the boat actually says it has a maximum capacity of one person or 165 lbs or 220 lbs with the person and gear.
That is something that should’ve been made clear beforehand because it means that I am actually overweight for this boat. There is also a K2 version of this kayak that is bigger, so I wonder what the true capacity for that is. Will it take two full-sized adults? The real capacity is something that is important to know before purchasing the kayak.
Comfort of the Intex inflatable kayak
The Intex Excursion Pro is designed for a person under my weight, yet it doesn’t feel like I am overweight for the kayak. It doesn’t feel too tippy, but it does feel too small, so for me, it isn’t the most comfortable experience. Even with the seat and footpegs fully back, it felt cramped.
The seat is comfortable for the butt and is slightly raised to keep you dry. It is however a very basic seat. There is a little bit of back support but the second you lean on it the back support completely collapses. So there is no lean-back or chill-out support unless you want to fully lie back and take a nap!
The footpegs do a reasonable job of supporting your feet and legs. But the system holding them in place is very rudimentary so they did pop out on me twice. If you just stay on them and don’t move around too much, they do provide some support.
Stability of the Intex Excursion Pro
This is a 36” wide, sit-on-top, inflatable kayak with big tubes. It would be hard for something like this not to be stable. However, if I was to be using the booster seat, as a taller, slightly heavier person, the higher center of gravity might make it feel less stable. But definitely not unstable!
Performance and Maneuverability
Let’s put it like this, you can almost do a full 360-degree spin with one full stroke. So it is considered maneuverable, it turns very easily. The trade-off for this is, however, performance. And in terms of performance, this kayak is pretty much a slug. It is very slow and it wobbles every stroke you take.
So the Intex Excursion Pro is not the sort of kayak you can expect to take out and paddle a long way in. It is much better for a relaxed paddle out on the water where you are not worried about how the distance you are going to be covering.
Features of the Intex Excursion Pro
There are really not too many features on the Intex Excursion Pro inflatable fishing kayak. But it does come with a number of accessories and mounts.
There is one mount on each side, just behind the seat, for fishing rods. These are right in the way of my arms when paddling. I actually hit my funny bone on them when testing the kayak out. Because of my height, I did have to have the seat pretty far back, so for a smaller person this might be less of an issue. But I wouldn't use the rod holders anyway. They are not very deep anyway so would only support the butt of the fishing rod. That means with just one knock of the reel you could lose the whole rod in the water. That is an expensive mistake to make.
The third mount is a little phone or go-pro attachment at the front of the kayak. This is a nice, useful mount that is easy to clip in and out. But I would be nervous putting my phone there, especially when it is so close to the front of my stroke. It would just take one little knock for your phone to go flying into the water. And that is another expensive mistake to make!
So, it is nice that it comes with these accessories, and they might make sense for the right-sized person, but for a person my size they do not.
Is the Intex Excursion Pro Worth It?
This kayak seems to go for a variety of prices, from the Intex website itself to Amazon which seems to sell it for considerably cheaper. But the bottom line is that you can get this kayak for under $200 (USD). Considering that you get basically everything you need to go kayaking except for a life jacket, that is pretty remarkable.
The only way you could really say that this is not great value would be if it just completely sucked. Then there would be no reason to buy it because it just wouldn’t work. And that is not the case with this kayak.
However, you do have to be careful with this boat. It is PVC so will take some abuse, but you do have to take care of it. There is a one-year warranty for factory defects, but that does not cover things like hitting a rock and getting a hole in the kayak, over-inflating it, or even potential sun damage. Despite this, for under $200 (USD), this boat is amazing value.
Who is the Intex Excursion Pro for?
While the Intex Excursion Pro inflatable kayak is good value, it is not for everybody. So who is this kit for?
Well, the paddle itself is really representative of who the kayak is for. The first thing you notice when you take a stroke is that the blade itself bends! So you really cannot get all too much power when the blade goes through the water as it is literally bending in half. There is even a point when you start paddling harder that you even lose power.
So, that is representative of who this boat is for. It is for people who just want to get on the water. They want to go for a light paddle, don’t want to cover ground, and really don’t care about the performance of the kayak! They just want to enjoy being out on the water more so than having a paddling experience.
Gateway Kayak
This is the perfect example of a gateway kayak. It lets you discover if you enjoy paddling, if you find it comfortable, or if the motions of paddling hurt your shoulders. And if you do find you enjoy it then very quickly you will outgrow the whole Intex Excursion Pro set and start looking for gear that is simply more fun to use.
But as a gateway kayak, this is very popular. It has 6000 reviews on Amazon and an average rating of between 4.5-5/5. That is really high. So how can you argue with that? It is a gateway kayak that is affordable but has issues with performance and durability. But it can still provide you with that outdoor experience of being on the water.
Solid Value for Kayak Anglers
Overall, this inflatable fishing kayak has solid value for kayak anglers or recreational kayakers. This is perfect for anyone who wants an inflatable, calm-weather boat that will track well through the water. You pay a slight premium, but you will get premium features and a long-lasting, durable kayak.
If you want to check out a high end inflatable series, check out this review: NRS Pike – Inflatable Kayak Review.
PFDs/Life Jackets: NRS Zen PFD
Kayak: Intex Excursion Pro
Dry Suit: NRS Axiom Dry Suit
