The Ultimate Inflatable Kayak? | Decathlon Itiwit X500 Review

This is an absolutely awesome boat. I live in Europe so America may be different but I can get on a train or a bus with this kayak and paddle down a river, then get on a train or a bus and get back home. It's perfect, I wouldn't be able to do that with a hardshell kayak. And what's great about this boat is that it actually does perform like a hardshell kayak, which is very unusual for an inflatable kayak.

I have been using this kayak for about three years already, and it is really great. Even in winter conditions. I have been using it also in easy conditions on a sea.

I knew you'd love it!
Talking about beginners with the appropriate mindset, I'm one of them. I transitioned from Challenger K1 straight into the x500 Strenfit and I love every minute spent using it! All the kayaking skills I now have are thanks to this boat. 😁
When it comes to the skirt, the Lomo Rebel spray skirt I have has a pretty thick bungee cord. I've never had any difficulties with attaching it to the coaming, though. Yes, it takes a minute because everything is flexible (that's expected) but it's easy.
Paired with a wing paddle and sprint technique or a Greenland paddle and its respective technique, opens even more opportunities for fun paddling. 😄

Thank you Ken for reviewing this kayak. Your opinion is almost entirely aligned with mine. 👍

Thanks Ken, no one reviews Kayaks in the informative & comprehensive way you do.

I found the seat a little too hard myself. So I normally use an additional foam seat pad from decathlon hiking/camping set. And it's a game changer for me. I can spend hours in this kayak feeling pretty comfortable.

Thanks for reviewing this kayak! It's become my most used among my inflatables and has worked well in choppy winter waves, in archipelago open sea water, in snowy narrow creeks and for traveling to other countries by ferry or plane. My only concern is it tends to hog the videos I upload compared to other kayaks, which might be a bit unfair. Keep up the awesome work!

I love the X500 and your review, thanks a lot! I have been using it for one year, and I’m simply marveled by its smart engineering and wonderful performance for a portable kayak. It’s amazing value for its price — one of the best toys I’ve ever purchased. Love it.

After using mine for close to 2 years now there is one important thing i would add. The cockpit is severely cramed if you are not flexible enough as it is in my case :) and it leads to leggs falling asleep. I have never experienced this in other (whitewater and touring) kayaks. This is due to relatively short space between the bottom and top of the boat (forcing you to keep leggs extended) as well as the boat tapering verry quickliy at the front (forcing your feet together)
This can become an issue if you are an owner of a long pair of leggs and are not flexible enough. Try sitting on the floor in an L shape. Can you do it without bending your back? If not the kayak might feel uncomfortable. However it might also encourage you to spend more time working on your flexibility.

Glad you finally got to play with this boat. I have had one for a few years now, and I do level 2/3 river runs.. multiday trips loaded with a ton (80lbs) of gear. Best possible boat for my situation where I couldn't store a hard shell. Love this boat.

Based in the UK, I recently bought one of these as a progression from using one of Decathlon's more entry levels kayaks I'd be using for the past 2-3 years. I'm still very much a relative novice, but I do agree that while it's a step up and sacrifices some stability, as a beginner looking to improve and take the hobby more seriously it really is a great piece of equipment.

Great work with the review and all the other content you post 👍

Thanks a lot for the great review. A hundred percent agree with the conclusions. I myself have been using such a kayak since November last year, I live a kilometer from the Mediterranean coast and without a car, this is the best solution. A standard skirt really does not fit. Thanks again.

Never kayaked, I just really enjoyed this review. Very interesting and well delivered review.

I love this kayak, been using it for 4y. The only downside is when you are 1m91cm like me. cramped legs after a couple of hours is quite frequent. But so are most of the other kayaks. Great boat!!

Thats a very nice and honest review, thanks for that! It almost feels unfair to compare these Decathlon X500 boats to other inflatables, these things are miracles in my eyes - and I cant stop to wonder how nobody else has done this before. But let me explain this for a second: Drop stitch material is two layers of textile material (usually woven) connected by lots and lots of monofilament threads (like fishing line). All these dots you can see on the surface of the material are spots where these connective threads run from one layer to the opposite one. What we first saw being built out of this was SUP boards, which are just plain boards, so no difficulty in shaping there. Then came Kayaks like the ones from Advanced Elements, Aqua Marina and so forth which were basically "boxes", sometimes with bent walls, but no complex geometry. Quite good for a start, but you cant paddle straight without fins underneath and a little wind will shove you around the water. I own an Aqua Marina Kayak with Drop stitch bottom and been touring with that, trust me I know that.
Now there comes Decathlon and builds these beauties, single and double kayak and the canoe I own, which look like real boats. But are inflatable, how did thy pull this off?
Technically its not a big deal to give these two layers of woven material (with the drop stitch yarns in between) different lengths when weaving them. So you can create curved surfaces. Most of these boats are produced in China though and nobody ever seems to have bothered trying something new as long as you can sell thousands of the old designs. But Decathlon is big, really big and they have the push behind them to make manufacturers do something different. I guess thats the reason why we only now see something different coming from them. Inflatables with the beautiful curves of a real boat shape.

Btw, as I mentioned I own the X500 canoe, which is awesome! You should test this, too, it paddles almost like a hardshell boat and is your own canoe in a rolling suitcase you can fit in the trunk of almost any car, take by train or bus or even plane.
I've just been on a tour with it, four days down river with my girlfriend, our doggy and lots of baggage. Awesome performance, lighter than a hard boat which was important for portages and its ours, no need to be somewhere at a certain time to return it. :-)

I always love your inflatable kayak reviews. I'd be interested to hear your views/comparison between this (or the 2 seat version) and the Advanced Elements Convertible kayak

I got mine a bit over two years ago. I really like it, I agree with everything in the review. I have used if about 40 times. So far durability seems great. Only thing I dislike is that the nylon straps on the side (the handles) take a while to dry, and I would guess that it is better to dry them before storing.
Regarding stability : one thing to watch for is that there are two versions of this boat. The first version was much less stable (if you believe the reviews). It is however not produced anymore, but some Décathlon stores might still have some in stock, so you might want to pass on them. Version 2 is better (that's the one I have). There is a label that says "V2" on the pack of version 2.
Btw I paid $800 CAD for a floor model with a small tear on the dry bag style closure on the hatch - it was an easy repair using the kit that it comes with.

Well Ken I know I wasn't the only person last year to tell you to try this yak but I knew you would love it.

Quick tip for you when packing it away the pump you was using is the same as mine and it has a reverse side to suck air out and I find if you pull a bit more out of the boat with the pump once you put it back in the bag there is loads of room.

Also as for sitting in it I find the seat very comfortable for about 4 hours but then I start to feel it on my bum, so what I've done is got myself one of them gel cushions, but had to cut a couple of inches of the cushion because as you know now the seat in the boat is a little bit narrow, but wow it made all the Difference and now I can paddle quite comfortably for 7 hours or more and my bum is great.

One more thing I will mention for anybody thinking about buying this boat it's also great for winter it cuts through Thin Ice that has settled on the River very well.

Great review Ken I'm so happy you like this boat and I have a feeling we're going to see it a few more times on your channel.

As usual an excellent and thorough review. This may be a boat in my future.

A very thoughtful review, well balanced and clear.

Thanks a lot for the review, i have been on the fence on this one for a while now, and you are the first one who makes a really good review of it. I am a little surprised by the price in NA as it is rather cheaper over here in Europe though. Keep the great content !