REASONS TO BUY
Easy assembly
Lightweight
Simple and comfortable
Stable
Spacious backpack
REASONS TO AVOID
Poor tracking
Limited air chambers (for safety)
Aquaglide Deschutes 110 Review
This lightweight craft is open and unencumbered, with a simplicity that's easy to like, if a bit un-technical
Credit: Abriah Wofford
RELATED: Best Inflatable Kayak of 2024
Our Verdict
The lightweight Aquaglide Deschutes 110 is a simple kayak that's easy to have a good time in. It's one of the quickest inflatables to set up, weighs less than most of the competition, and packs into a roomy backpack. Its wide, open cockpit and fabric-covered padded seat make it comfortable and easy to lounge in. A non-inflatable floor keeps things simple and adds even more stability. The skeg doesn't add much to the handling of this boat, though, which zig-zags with each paddle stroke. While we appreciate the durability of a non-inflatable bottom, the tube sides aren't as thick and durable as others we tested and still catch the wind on choppy days.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Aquaglide Deschutes 110 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  Best Bang for Your Buck | Excellent Value for a Tandem |  Best for Backcountry Paddling | ||
| Price | $680 List Check Price at REI | $499.00 at REI Compare at 2 sellers | $529.00 at Amazon Compare at 2 sellers | $389 List $348.99 at Amazon | $237.96 at Amazon Compare at 2 sellers |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | A very open design is simple and comfortable while also lightweight and easy to use, though not a serious or intense-paddling contender | A marginally more affordable folding boat that's a breeze to set up and enjoyable on calm and flat waters | This yak is among our favorites and it's built to last and perform at a high level | An affordable and pleasant paddling experience with a friend or solo on calm waters | Take this lightweight, packable kayak just about anywhere you can imagine for a unique experience |
| Rating Categories | Aquaglide Deschutes... | Oru Lake | Advanced Elements A... | Sea Eagle 370 Pro | Advanced Elements P... |
| Gliding and Tracking (25%) | |||||
| Maneuverability (20%) | |||||
| Stability (20%) | |||||
| Ease of Transport and Set Up (15%) | |||||
| Comfort (10%) | |||||
| Construction Quality (10%) | |||||
| Specs | Aquaglide Deschutes... | Oru Lake | Advanced Elements A... | Sea Eagle 370 Pro | Advanced Elements P... |
| Measured Weight (boat and storage bag only) | 26.0 lbs | 17.0 lbs | 33.25 lbs | 42.8 lbs | 5.25 lbs |
| Capacity | Single; 300 lb | Single; 250 lb | Single; 300 lb | Tandem; 650 lb | Single; 250 lb |
| Kayak Size (length x width) | 10' 9" x 3' 1" | 8'11" x 2' 8" | 10' 3" x 2' 9" | 12' 6" x 2' 10" | 7' 6" x 2' 11" |
| Packed Size (length x width x height) | 27" x 20" x 11" | 42" x 18.5" x 10.5" | 33" x 16" x 15" | 36" x 20" x 8" | 14" x 12" x 7" |
| Included Accessories | Repair kit | Extra plastic buckle, extra velcro patches | Repair kit | Foot pump, repair kit, paddles | Repair kit |
| Material/Construction | Duratex reinforced PVC | Double-layered polypropylene, 10-year UV treatment | Aluminum ribs in bow & stern, PVC-coated polyester | 38 mil PVC | Polyurethane-coated ripstop polyester |
| Features | Permanent footrest, adjustable backrest, carry handles, bow & stern bungees, removable skeg, stern drainage hole, repair kit | Adjustable backrest | Adjustable backrest, bungees, pressure relief valve in floor, skeg | Seatback pockets, bow & stern grablines, drainage hole, adjustable seats, two small tracking fins, converts to solo boat | Rubber-molded handle, mesh carry bag doubles as onboard storage, accessory D-rings |
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Our Analysis and Test Results
The Aquaglide Deschutes 110 is a one-person inflatable boat with a 300-pound capacity. It weighs 26 pounds and comes in a zippered backpack carrier with an included repair kit. Made of Duratex reinforced PVC, this craft has a removable skeg, permanent foot brace, bow and stern bungees, and a drainage hole in the back.
Performance Comparison
The Aquaglide Deschutes is a simple, comfortable, easy-to-love inflatable kayak.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Gliding and Tracking
A PVC-lined bottom helps the Deschutes 110 to take off quickly and glide smoothly through the water. However, the non-inflated bottom ensures that you're slightly depressing the exterior, creating some extra drag from your butt pressing the floor down.
The non-inflatable bottom is one of the Deschutes' unique features.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
A skeg underneath helps moderately with tracking, but we were left with plenty of back-and-forth waggle with each paddle stroke. The boat also lacks a vertical ridge on the keel that would cut through the water, instead providing you with a horizontally flattened bottom to bounce across the surface. Rather than a craft for going the distance, this is a boat for enjoying the journey.
The Deschutes 110 is easy to paddle but doesn't track particularly well and its exceptional width exacerbates the zig-zag motion with each stroke.
Credit: Maggie Nichols
Maneuverability
With such a flat, wide bottom, turning out of the path of an object is no issue in this highly maneuverable boat. On the other hand, because its tracking is limited, a less experienced paddler may struggle to thread a narrow channel without bumping into objects on either side through the natural paddling motion. With a floor that isn't inflated, the Deschutes stands out from the other inflatable models. This adds some confidence to our willingness to skim the tops of submerged branches, knowing that there's nothing to pop in the center of the floor. However, popping the two sides is always a risk, as with any air-filled watercraft.
The Deschutes turns quickly and easily, without a keel to stop it from being rapidly manuevered.
Credit: Maggie Nichols
Stability
Solid tubes running the length of each side of the Deschutes form a stable base for climbing in and out of this boat, which never proved to be an issue for our testing squad. Out on the water, that non-inflatable floor once again comes in handy, giving us a more stable ride without balancing on channels of air. This is also one of the widest kayaks we tested, at three feet and one inch, which ensured every person who paddled this boat during our testing felt stable, balanced, and “not wobbly at all.”
The flat, wide Deschutes is one of the more stable inflatables we've tested.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Ease of Transport and Set Up
This kayak comes in a giant backpack carrying bag that we loved to use. Though its 26-pound girth (before adding a paddle, pump, or PFD) doesn't sound particularly light, it feels light and pretty comfortable when worn as a backpack. The spacious bag leaves room to stuff in the extra equipment you'll need, as well as a water bottle, snacks, sunscreen, and other miscellaneous items for a day on the water.
The Deschutes is one of the easiest inflatable boats to set up that we've ever tested. It has just two sides to inflate and a short tube behind the seat to keep them apart. Only a single pump attachment is required, and all three valves are located close together to make it easy to switch from one to the next without having to run in circles around the boat. A drainage hole in the stern section helps to remove water when you're finished, but we noticed that this plasticky boat with a foam floor (similar to the foam on the surface of many SUPs) has a tendency to stay wet between uses if not fully dried before storage.
The Deschutes 110 is one of the quickest inflatables we've tested to set up and get out on the water.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Comfort
We're big fans of the comfort of the Deschutes 110. It has a fully cushioned seat with an adjustable back. Velcro strips on the floor make adjusting legroom a cinch. The foot brace is a hard feature located at a fixed point in the bow, letting you perfectly place the seat before hitting the water. The open cockpit design has plenty of space, and even tall and large paddlers had no complaints about the comfort of this roomy craft. Bow and stern bungees provide extra storage options as well. A 6-foot-1-inch man and his 55-pound dog happily paddled around on a lazy afternoon at the lake in the Deschutes.
Easy afternoons enjoying the scenary with Maggie the dog.
Credit: Maggie Nichols
Construction Quality
The Duratex reinforced PVC material that comprises the Deschutes 110 is of decent quality. We had no issues with its durability during our testing despite paddling over a whole lagoon full of slowly drowning willow bushes. Here again, we appreciate that the floor is not inflatable and that this kayak is sold with a small but handy repair kit.
Here you can see the rigid, immobile foot brace and the SUP-like foam covering the floor.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Should You Buy the Aquaglide Deschutes 110?
If you want a no-brainer, comfortable kayak that's easy to tote around, simple to set up, and enjoyable to spend an afternoon on the lake, the Aquaglide Deschutes 110 is an excellent option at a reasonable price. As long as you're not hoping to go somewhere in a hurry, paddle on windy days, or against a strong current, this is a fun boat to paddle and one that our whole testing team quickly fell in love with for lazy afternoons at the lake.
The Deschutes is easy to carry and set up, stable and comfortable to paddle, and reasonably affordable.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
What Other Inflatable Kayaks Should You Consider?
If you want an inflatable with a lot more tracking ability for serious paddling and don't mind some extra setup steps, the Advanced Elements AdvancedFrame is a great choice for about the same cost. If you like the open cockpit design and great portability but are curious about a folding kayak, the Tucktec is a solid budget-friendly model for smaller paddlers, and the Oru Lake is a sturdier origami design that's more versatile.
We directly compare kayaks to each other. Pictured here from left to right: Tucktec Folding, Aquaglide Deschutes, and Oru Beach.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
—
Maggie Nichols
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