Hyside Inflatable Kayak Review

The new Rio Bravo Hyside inflatable kayak is a great boat and is very competitively priced.

Manufacturing and Shipping Delays

They are still a great value, but you might have trouble getting one when you need it or want it.

Is the Hyside inflatable kayak a good value?

The Rio Bravo series Hyside inflatable kayak is the best value in an inflatable kayak on the market.

You get outfitter quality at prices significantly below what you pay elsewhere for an outfitter quality boat.

How do they do it?

A little history... Hyside has been one of the leaders in outfitter grade whitewater rafts for over 20 years.

The Rio Bravo series is a new line of rafts built in a new production facility.

The older line of boats was used as the starting point for design. They than tweaked the design to take advantage of newer production techniques.

This lowered production cost and enabled them to add some new features.

The Rio Bravo series does not have all of the "extra padding" of Hyside's older outfitter series, but it is still a very tough boat. We have started using them in our outfitting business.

The Good

The Bad

What can you do with this inflatable kayak?

You could use it for that, but it would be a serious case of underachieving for this boat.

Would I use this boat on a lake?

I certainly could, but it's not the best use of a Hyside inflatable kayak. There are better boats for a lake. This boat has good stability and tracks well for a whitewater inflatable kayak. That makes it ok for a lake.

Please note that most inflatables don't perform well on lakes. The exceptions are those inflatables built for touring and/ or sea kayaking.

Inflatables give you more stability. The trade off is more drag. You're going to work harder to move an inflatable on a lake. And, if you get a windy day, you could be fighting to make much progress at all.

Would I take this Hyside inflatable on a calm water river?

Yes, it will do great. The Hyside is stable and tracks well. It has good carrying capacity. On a calm river, you could carry extra weight or an extra person.

Would I take this inflatable kayak on Class II whitewater?

Absolutely. The Hyside inflatable kayak is great at this.

This is a great way (and a great level of difficulty) for beginners to try whitewater on their own. Go with an outfitter or with experienced friends.

And, you can take this boat on bigger whitewater; when/if you have the skills.

Can the Hyside inflatable kayak handle Class IV whitewater?

It can. Can you?

The penalty for falling out, flipping, pinning and other river hazards increases dramatically in Class IV and higher whitewater. Go with an outfitter or an experienced group.

Just because the boat can handle the river, doesn't mean you can.

Can this inflatable be used for fishing?

It could. It's stable and handles well.

Could this inflatable kayak be used for an overnight or multi-day trip?

The Hyside inflatable kayak will work well for an overnight or multi-day trip. It has lots of carrying capacity and handles well even when loaded with lots of gear.

Just remember, you and your gear will usually get wetter in an inflatable than you would in a hard boat. Take precautions to keep your gear dry.

Can I resale this boat if it doesn't work out for me?

Hyside's hold their value well. The market is not as big as Aire, but with a little effort you should not have trouble reselling your Hyside inflatable kayak at a fair price.

Overall Recommendation

You get outfitter quality at prices below what is usually paid for this quality of a boat.

About this review

The reviews are based on years of experience with inflatable kayaks.

In the end, this review, like all reviews, reflects personal opinion.

To learn more about the Hyside inflatable kayak go here...