Bestway Hydro-Force Inflatable Raft Set | Inflatable Boat for Kids and Adults | Great for Ponds, Lakes, Rivers

This boat is one of the best purchases I’ve made in a while!I got this for a camping trip on the lake, and since returning we have also used it in our local marina and have had great success.This boat is no kid’s pool floaty! The boat feels well made; the material feels thick, sturdy, and abrasion resistant. It inflates and deflates quickly and easily (It comes with a hand pump, but we have used our rechargeable air mattress inflator instead, takes about 3 minutes in total). I appreciate that the inflation is separated into three sections, so in the hypothetical instance of a rip or puncture, the whole thing won’t deflate on you. It also comes with a storage bag and packs into it easily, paddles included.There is plenty of room in the boat for two, plus a cooler and other items; without bringing any extra items on board, you could easily fit three people. It is also is equipped with the needed bits for holding a fishing pole, attaching a sun shade, or fastening a small motor (look into your local watercraft laws before you do this one).My only complaints would be that the paddles are a bit stumpy and not very hydrodynamic; they certainly work, but I may invest in some better ones down the line. Additionally, if it’s a hot and sunny day, the material of the boat heats up to the touch, so I reccomend laying down a beach towel to avoid any discomfort.I wouldn’t recommend using this boat on open/choppy water or on days of less than perfect weather, but if it’s a calm day and you have a lake, river, or marina near by, this boat is a great investment!

Why did you pick this product vs others?:it is pretty sturdy and a little heavy but when you roll it up its not too bad. The pump is a little work but it also can be used to draw the air out. Someone didnt figure that out

Overall the boat is worth the price. We tried out our new boat today and had an ok experience. I will say that unless you are very physically fit or are rowing a couple hundred pounds or less, you probably should look into the trolling motor option for the most enjoyment. A moderately fit person with good upper body strength, rowing about 400 pounds was quite a struggle. The boat itself was sturdy and well built. The paddles seem kind of small for the raft size. The bag was in shreds when we tried to return the boat to it after use. Both zippers broke, and the bag literally ripped to pieces. Unimpressed with that. Our Intex kayak bags are great and give us no trouble at all. Bestway has some improvement to make there.

We got this to float down the river and it worked perfectly we did a 5 hour float and it held up the whole time never deflated even a little bit. I will say it’s the Perfect for two full size adults not more than that. We were pretty comfortable and had some bags in the boat with us as well that took up room. Our feet were still in each others space but we were still comfortable.

The price point is great and the plastic material itself seemed good quality.My biggest complaints:1. It was impossible to fold up small enough after using to fit into the carrying bag provided.2. The paddles were small for such a large boat and made paddling very difficult and slow.If you’re not worried about space and packing it up tightly, this is a decent buy. I’d definitely recommend replacing the paddles with something larger.

I got the X3 for small lake fishing and equipped it with a 30lb thrust trolling motor. The raft is decent, but it has some issues:- weak material. I put a hole in the bottom just by leaning on in while it was on concrete. I patched it and it's good, but that showed how weak the material is. I would strongly advise against using it on a river. The first rock will put a hole in it.- I had a hard time understanding how much to inflate using their inflation scale, and contacted Customer service 2 times. 2 months later, haven't gotten an answer. Their scale is very counter intuitive. You need to inflate the outer chamber so that the 10 cm line on the boat matches the 11.3 cm line on the scale. Uselessly complicated. This could have been easily done like Intex does: inflate until the line on the boat matches the line on the scale.- Even with an added plywood floor, and just me and my petite wife in the boat, it is very unstable. Do not try to stand up in it. No way this is for 3 people.- I would not leave the oars on the sides. The holding rubberized plastic is weak and loose. They will easily fall in the water.Overall, I'll use it in small mountain lakes and pounds and try to adapt to it, but I regret buying it and I would probably get a Mariner 3 next time, with a 3 ply vinyl cover.UPDATE: 2 weeks after my initial update, I came back from the lake with 2 leaks and the floor valve leaking. I used it a total of 4 times, and I lost the money because I am out of the return window.

This is perfect for a 5-hour float down the river! Only slight complaint is that the surface can get very hot to the touch! You must splash water on it once in a while and/or take towels to sit on. Overall, this is a great deal though. It's called a 3-person raft, but truthfully, it's very, very comfortable with 2 persons inside for a somewhat long period of time. Loading and unloading from any vehicle was super easy. We chose to have it inflated prior to getting to the river. That way we could use an electric air pump vs. the foot-pump, which probably would've taken all day just to inflate the raft. We wouldn't have had time to float at all. Lol. But even inflated, the raft fits in all kinds of vehicles.

Works pretty good. Able to float out in the bay