Decathlon Itiwit X500 Kayak

Summary

Price At Time Of Writing | £699.99

Our Overall Rating | 78 out of 100

Pros - Fast & tracks well

Cons - Heavy, uncomfortable, unstable, hard to dry

Overall - Great speed in the water, just unstable and uncomfortable

Technical Specifications

Open Size - 380x64cm

Weight - 18kg

Load Capacity - 125kg

Packed Size - 94x50x27cm

Our Analysis & Ratings

The Decathlon Itiwit X500 Kayak has great speed, but does have issues with stability and build quality. The inflatable kayak is the closest in terms of design to a hard shell so delivers on paddling performance, but is heavy to carry so may not be the best choice if portability is important for you. This may be the best inflatable kayak for experienced paddlers who prefer speed over other features, but if you’re more a recreational paddler, a beginner or looking for something you can carry down rocks to the water, we’d recommend looking elsewhere.

Performance - The X500 has great speed, given its thin width of 64cm. However, with a thinner width comes less stability and if you’re less experienced, you may find this hard to paddle. We do not recommend this for beginners due to its lack of stability and we also experienced tracking problems when paddling in a straight line.

Construction - Notable features include its drop stitch floor and a handy small storage capacity, both definite plusses. We noticed that the joins were evident on our test model, and the PVC appears thinner than on other kayaks, which signal that over time it could be less durable. The kayak’s limited space doesn’t make it a good choice for touring, but again, fine for performance or short explorations.

Setup/Pack down - The five inflation points are fine to set up without much hassle. Packing down took us way more time than expected though, since the enclosed area soaks up water and therefore, takes some time to dry before it’s ready to store.

Portability - It weighs 18kg, the heaviest among all the kayaks we reviewed. It comes with a backpack with two straps which helps, but you do notice the extra weight.

Comfort - It's built for speed and the lack of stability and low profile of the seat make it less comfortable than some of the others. Even fairly competent paddlers will spend half the time trying not to capsize.

Overall - Great speed and could be a good option if speed is the most important to you. On the down side, it is uncomfortable and unstable.