Tag Archives: Charlie Hall

Interview with Advanced Elements Co-Founder, Clay Haller

For more than a decade, AirKayaks has been selling the Advanced Elements line of inflatable kayaks and paddling gear.
The Advanced Elements product line was created in 2002 by two inventors, Charlie Hall and Clay Haller. Both had been involved in inflatable kayak design, but wanted to “push the envelope’ with a new concept – a “hybrid” design of inflatable and rigid components that perform more like a hardshell kayak, but portable, lightweight, and affordable.
What started off as a few solo models, has evolved to a fine-tuned collection, well-known for durability, performance and innovation.
Advanced Elements AirFusion Inflatable Hybrid Kayak
Today Advanced Elements offers 13 kayak models, ranging in size from 7 ft 9 inches to 15 ft.  These span the gamut of recreational to touring, fishing to whitewater, open and closed designs, in both solo and tandem models.

In 2010 Advanced Elements also forayed into the inflatable stand-up paddle board arena, currently offering 6 models ranging in size from 8 ft to 12.5 ft.
We first “met” Clay Haller and Charlie Hall by chance. In 2000, while driving through the vineyards of Santa Rosa, California, we noticed a yard sale sign pointing down a long grape-laden dirt road. Intrigued, we followed the signs, winding around and up a hill. Reaching the crescent, we looked down on the valley to see an amazing sight …. dozens of kayaks lined up in rows. Self-bailers, tandems, singles, sit-insides, paddles, pumps and prototypes – and all inflatable.
We had stumbled upon the original Stearns IK (inflatable kayak) design studio, and Clay and Charlie were cleaning house.
The early introduction set us on a different course, which ultimately led us to selling inflatable kayaks and developing AirKayaks.com. It wasn’t until 2002 that we chanced upon them again, this time as Advanced Elements.
Some of the Advanced Elements crew before a group paddle. From left, Ryan Pugh, Ritchie Simpson, Jeremy Cooley and Clay Haller.
We met up with Clay recently, to ask him a few questions about Advanced Elements.
AirKayaks: Who/what is Advanced Elements? How did you get started?
My business partner, Charlie Hall and I started Advanced Elements about 15 years ago with a completely new concept of a “hybrid inflatable kayak”. A kayak that performs more like a hardshell kayak than anything ever seen before. This model today is the AdvancedFrame.
Advanced Elements co-founder, Charlie Hall, in an AdvancedFrame kayak.
Charlies’ wealth of experience as the inventor of the Waterbed, Sun Shower, and many other products, certainly guided the development and established a solid foundation to grow upon. Advanced Elements has grown into a company with key focus points, such as Product Development, and Customer Service, and we’re doing the very best to evolve the concept of the inflatable kayak and SUP, and to bring new

Original Source: AirKayaks >>