We continue with our series on the new Aquaglide line of inflatable kayaks. Our first two reviews focused on the Chinook price-point line – the Chinook Two and the Chinook Tandem inflatable kayaks.
Our third review moved into the flagship Columbia line of high pressure inflatables, beginning with the Columbia One HB – a high-pressure touring model for one paddler. The Columbia line also consists of the Columbia 2 HB (for one to two paddlers) and the Columbia Tandem (for 1 to 3 paddlers).
Our current review focuses on the Columbia Tandem HB, a 15 foot long inflatable kayak designed for one or two paddlers – with extra space for gear, child or pet. (Please note: some of the information will be repeated from other writeups.)
Getting Started with the Aquaglide Columbia HB Tandem:
We unpacked the box and laid out the pieces – inflatable kayak, backpack, instructions, repair kit, foot braces, tracking fin, two standard seats and a jumper seat.
Initial measurements showed the kayak body weighs approximately 40 lbs, with a backpack size of roughly 27 x 22 x 18 inches, while the kayak with seats, fin and braces – all in the backpack – weighs 49 lbs. Boxed up, the dimensions are 33 x 30 x 15 inches with a shipping weight of 60 lbs.
(AirKayaks Side note #1: When initially removing the kayak from the carrying case, take a good look at how the kayak is folded This is probably the most overlooked step and it is VERY helpful when trying to get the kayak back into the bag.)
The included instructions are adequate and include diagrams with inflation details.
Set up is straight-forward and simple – unpack, unfold, inflate.
There are two inflation chambers utilizing Boston valves – the two side chambers – while the high-pressure floor features a military valve. There are three more small chambers with twistlock valves, for the seat bases. The floor is pumped up first.
The military-style plunger valve is simple to use – with your finger, twist the plunger slightly to the “up” position to inflate (air goes in but doesn’t come back out) and “down” to deflate (air comes out).
The Columbia Tandem HB floor requires a miltary valve adaptor, which does not come with most standard pumps. Here is where we came to our first issue – no military valve adaptor was included. We were aware of this from our previous writeup on the Columbia One, and pulled one out of our parts box. (AirKayaks note #2: We spoke with AquaGlide. The first couple of shipments did not include the adaptor, but subsequent shipments will. We did obtain a number of fittings that we will be including with the first shipments.)
Lock the adaptor onto the military valve with