Aquaglide Deschutes 110 Review

The Aquaglide Deschutes 110 is a one-person inflatable boat with a 300-pound capacity. It weighs 26 pounds and comes in a zippered backpack carrier with an included repair kit. Made of Duratex reinforced PVC, this craft has a removable skeg, permanent foot brace, bow and stern bungees, and a drainage hole in the back.

Gliding and Tracking

A PVC-lined bottom helps the Deschutes 110 to take off quickly and glide smoothly through the water. However, the non-inflated bottom ensures that you're slightly depressing the exterior, creating some extra drag from your butt pressing the floor down.

A skeg underneath helps moderately with tracking, but we were left with plenty of back-and-forth waggle with each paddle stroke. The boat also lacks a vertical ridge on the keel that would cut through the water, instead providing you with a horizontally flattened bottom to bounce across the surface. Rather than a craft for going the distance, this is a boat for enjoying the journey.

Stability

Solid tubes running the length of each side of the Deschutes form a stable base for climbing in and out of this boat, which never proved to be an issue for our testing squad. Out on the water, that non-inflatable floor once again comes in handy, giving us a more stable ride without balancing on channels of air. This is also one of the widest kayaks we tested, at three feet and one inch, which ensured every person who paddled this boat during our testing felt stable, balanced, and “not wobbly at all.”

Comfort

We're big fans of the comfort of the Deschutes 110. It has a fully cushioned seat with an adjustable back. Velcro strips on the floor make adjusting legroom a cinch. The foot brace is a hard feature located at a fixed point in the bow, letting you perfectly place the seat before hitting the water. The open cockpit design has plenty of space, and even tall and large paddlers had no complaints about the comfort of this roomy craft. Bow and stern bungees provide extra storage options as well. A 6-foot-1-inch man and his 55-pound dog happily paddled around on a lazy afternoon at the lake in the Deschutes.

Ease of Transport and Set Up

This kayak comes in a giant backpack carrying bag that we loved to use. Though its 26-pound girth (before adding a paddle, pump, or PFD) doesn't sound particularly light, it feels light and pretty comfortable when worn as a backpack. The spacious bag leaves room to stuff in the extra equipment you'll need, as well as a water bottle, snacks, sunscreen, and other miscellaneous items for a day on the water.

The Deschutes is one of the easiest inflatable boats to set up that we've ever tested. It has just two sides to inflate and a short tube behind the seat to keep them apart. Only a single pump attachment is required, and all three valves are located close together to make it easy to switch from one to the next without having to run in circles around the boat. A drainage hole in the stern section helps to remove water when you're finished, but we noticed that this plasticky boat with a foam floor (similar to the foam on the surface of many SUPs) has a tendency to stay wet between uses if not fully dried before storage.

Maneuverability

With such a flat, wide bottom, turning out of the path of an object is no issue in this highly maneuverable boat. On the other hand, because its tracking is limited, a less experienced paddler may struggle to thread a narrow channel without bumping into objects on either side through the natural paddling motion. With a floor that isn't inflated, the Deschutes stands out from the other inflatable models. This adds some confidence to our willingness to skim the tops of submerged branches, knowing that there's nothing to pop in the center of the floor. However, popping the two sides is always a risk, as with any air-filled watercraft.

Construction Quality

The Duratex reinforced PVC material that comprises the Deschutes 110 is of decent quality. We had no issues with its durability during our testing despite paddling over a whole lagoon full of slowly drowning willow bushes. Here again, we appreciate that the floor is not inflatable and that this kayak is sold with a small but handy repair kit.

Should You Buy the Aquaglide Deschutes 110?

If you want a no-brainer, comfortable kayak that's easy to tote around, simple to set up, and enjoyable to spend an afternoon on the lake, the Aquaglide Deschutes 110 is an excellent option at a reasonable price. As long as you're not hoping to go somewhere in a hurry, paddle on windy days, or against a strong current, this is a fun boat to paddle and one that our whole testing team quickly fell in love with for lazy afternoons at the lake.

What Other Inflatable Kayaks Should You Consider?

If you want an inflatable with a lot more tracking ability for serious paddling and don't mind some extra setup steps, the Advanced Elements AdvancedFrame is a great choice for about the same cost. If you like the open cockpit design and great portability but are curious about a folding kayak, the Tucktec is a solid budget-friendly model for smaller paddlers, and the Oru Lake is a sturdier origami design that's more versatile.