Experience with Hobie inflatables

Hobie only makes the "flat" inflatables - not the ones with any sort of freeboard.

I'd appreciate hearing anyone's experience on these boats on water that is not glass-smooth. Bays, larger lakes with wind, pedalling at a sprint rate are all places where I've had water splash over the bow of my Outback.

How do these "flat" inflatables compare ?

I don't much care about storage. When I kayak fishs, everything I "need" is in pockets on my PFD and I bring only what I'm planning to fish with.

Aaaaaaand......GO !

I've got an I9S.  It's like being on a floating futon even with the mirage drive helping. The seat doesn't offer a whole lot of thigh or lumbar support. It's probably the wettest ride I own. Even my old Trident is drier.

On lakes, wind waves over a foot makes things a bit troubling . You spend a lot of time bobbing like a cork and spend just as much correcting with the rudder controls.  So I use it on small protected water  and keep a close eye on the weather.

Newer Hobie inflatables have come a long way. I think the person best qualified to give you advice is Roger.  He seems to use his just about everywhere and should probably be the national ambassador for Hobie inflatables     

I have an I12 and have had great experience with it.  I flew up to Alaska with it and caught halibut.  I have trolled the Columbia River B10 fishery with it when I was out in Astoria for work.  My work vehicle has no roof rack so the inflatable was chosen.  On that trip, I did ALMOST everything right. I researched the tides and currents and decided launching at Hammond towards the end of the outgoing and riding to Social Security Beach would be good.  The water looked like a lake.  But, I forgot to look at the wind forecast. About 20 minutes in, the wind picked up, the Coast Guard made an announcement the bar was closed to any vessels under 45 feet and I got to fish in about 5 foot rolling waves. I never felt like I was in danger. I did decide to fight the current and cut my trip short.

I have also taken up to Hoodsport and caught a ton of chum salmon off it. 

If you are into Nehalem Bay crabbing (or any bay) there is no better platform. I easily stack 3 full sized pots on it.  You can dump the crab in the back to sort them and they can't crawl over the sides.

I find it a far more useful kayak than a Hobie Outback (Outbacks don't fit in the luggage) which is why, after owning three different Outbacks, two Revo 13s and a Revo 16 since 2011, I am Outback free.  A Revo or Oldtown Salty PDL and an inflatable are what I would recommend to anyone. 

Honest? from what Craig just shared,  Sounds like the 3 Ft. length difference  between the I9S and the I12 changes the whole dynamics .

I found my i11s to be a very stable fishing platform that worked very well on CoosBay and the ocean out of Sunset Bay in like 3' swells (took it to Simpson Reef several times).  It wasn't as fun in mixed swell washing machine conditions, got pushed around a bit, but easy to control and never worried me. I had a GT drive with turbo fins and the sailing rudder, the wind never bothered me much but I usually avoid windy days. Being a flat board, and water/spray just flowed over the top and off of it.

Speaking of Hobie inflatables, Seattle craigslist   has an I14T listed in Bellevue for $2400.

Sorry, that's Bothell not Bellevue ...

Thanks, guys. One reason I'm interested is I now have a Jeep, with onboard CO2 for inflating tires after off-road. Throwing a duffle bag in the back is a lot easier than worrying about roof racks or trailers.

I saw a Honda Accord on the highway with two i11s's strapped to the roof, fully inflated.  Save the planet and leave the CO2 at home... 

(Why CO2 and not nitrogen?  That's what tire shops use.  Just askin'.)

Thanks, guys. One reason I'm interested is I now have a Jeep, with onboard CO2 for inflating tires after off-road. Throwing a duffle bag in the back is a lot easier than worrying about roof racks or trailers.

Hobie does supply an air pump with their inflatables. At leastt, mine came with one.... using nitrogen makes better sense than CO2 , but really I'd stick with the manual pump..

Thanks, guys. One reason I'm interested is I now have a Jeep, with onboard CO2 for inflating tires after off-road. Throwing a duffle bag in the back is a lot easier than worrying about roof racks or trailers.

For inflating car tires you need high pressure/low volume inflation (think 30-60psi).  The kayaks need low pressure/high volume inflation (3-5psi max) so I don't think that Jeep system would be very useful. I bought a cordless electric inflator at BiMart for $40
 that inflates the main tube, while I manually inflate the two side tubes with the Hobie pump. Then I top off the main tube with the manual pump, takes about 5 minutes.

Hobie i11s with Bixpy trolling motor

Dan E

CO2 in the tank is 800psi. My regulator lets me dial that anywhere from 0-200psi. The volume inside a 35" tire is not to be underestimated. But yeah, instead of using the CO2 to take a tire from 14psi to 30 in 30 seconds, maybe it inflates the kayak in 5 seconds. I'm not that worried about popping the yak, the regulator can go really low.

Why would nitrogen have any advantage over CO2 ? The whole thing is going to be deflated once back ashore.

@tinker Offroad vehicles commonly air their tires down to anywhere from 7-15psi. It provides more traction and protects the tire from punctures since the tire has give to it. CO2 is a common reinflation method. Instead of taking 5 minutes per tire to reinflate using a pump, CO2 tank can do the same in under a minute per tire and get you on your way. It can also drive air tools for quite a long time for trail repairs. We're not talking about gravel forest service roads.

There's no need to try to explain extreme off-roading to me; I lived in Arizona for 24 years and rock-crawling is nothing new to me.  We carried either nitrogen tanks or regular air tanks to reinflate tires, but when we really wanted to have a fun trip, we'd carry tanks of N2O... 

@tinker Offroad vehicles commonly air their tires down to anywhere from 7-15psi. It provides more traction and protects the tire from punctures since the tire has give to it. CO2 is a common reinflation method. Instead of taking 5 minutes per tire to reinflate using a pump, CO2 tank can do the same in under a minute per tire and get you on your way. It can also drive air tools for quite a long time for trail repairs. We're not talking about gravel forest service roads.

There's no need to try to explain extreme off-roading to me; I lived in Arizona for 24 years and rock-crawling is nothing new to me.  We carried either nitrogen tanks or regular air tanks to reinflate tires, but when we really wanted to have a fun trip, we'd carry tanks of N2O... 

Then don't say things like "(Why CO2 and not nitrogen?  That's what tire shops use.  Just askin'.)"

I knew why you were using compressed gas, I just didn't understand why CO2 rather than N or dive shop air.  The CO2 part was unusual from my experience.  Cool?

Then don't say things like "(Why CO2 and not nitrogen?  That's what tire shops use.  Just askin'.)"

Ok question from a non 4wd addict: why co2 and not nitrogen?? Everything I've worked on within the last 25 plus years that uses a compressed gas for automotive purposes uses nitrogen.  It's inert and isn't as harmful a contributor to atmospheric injury . And depending on rate of compression, you still get almost immediate expansion.

Also, all the paint ballers, high end air guns, and other recreational users of small  compressed gas containers for propellants have moved away from CO2 to nitrogen. As I recall aviation uses compressed dry nitrogen for their tire inflation as well.

So, what makes the difference between the two gasses for playing with your four wheeler???