Advanced Elements AdvancedFrame Convertible Tandem Review

The AdvancedFrame Convertible Tandem is a convertible tandem-to-solo kayak with a 550-pound capacity. It's made of PVC tarpaulin with an aluminum frame bow and stern and triple layers of ripstop material. It features paddle holders, pockets, bungees, carrying handles, and tie-down points.

Performance Comparison

Gliding and Tracking

The AE Convertible Tandem handles exceptionally well for a vessel made of fabric and filled with air. Its 15-foot length has multiple 2-4 inch tracking fins and one small skeg that help it stay true to course as you enjoy the sights along your route. We were impressed by the narrow cut of the bow, which hides an internal aluminum frame to slice through the wind and waves better.

The boat also features a tarpaulin bottom with a plastic feel that glides through the water with minimal drag. Particularly with two paddlers, we felt downright speedy paddling this tandem and didn't have to waste any effort correcting our strokes to stay on course.

Maneuverability

The internal aluminum keel adds a level of maneuverability that continues right into the turning of the Convertible Tandem, which is easier than we expected, even with a lone kayaker at the helm. However, this boat is quite heavy for a solo paddler, giving you a more intense workout with your adventure.

That plastic-coated underside and durable fabric exterior help the AE Tandem to slide over submerged obstacles with ease. This isn't one of those boats that we felt like we had to baby during our testing. We paddled over drowned shrubbery and landed on rocky shores without a worry.

Stability

The 32-inch width of the AE Convertible Tandem gives it stability over turbid waters without impairing your ability to paddle. It is wide enough to provide stability for even a novice paddler to feel secure. Compared to many other inflatable vessels, this one rides lower, keeping your center of gravity close to the water and adding to that stable feeling.

Getting in and out of this boat proved to be quite easy. Strongly inflatable sides provide secure points of contact for our testing team to get in from the shore, from docks, and even from a swim in the lake. The inflatable bottom can become underinflated on cool waters and transfer the motion of the waves through the boat, but it didn't make us feel unstable.

East of Transport and Set Up

Like most inflatable kayaks, this one has a learning process associated with getting it out of the car and paddle-ready. Advanced Elements includes an extremely thorough set of directions. Once you're familiar with how this boat sets up, it's relatively easy to get it water-ready in under 10 minutes.

With six chambers to inflate, this boat isn't messing around during setup. But when you consider that only three are for the boat's structural integrity and the others are optional (but helpful), it's on par with most other inflatable vessels. It's important to note that you'll need TWO adapters to fill all the chambers in this giant craft. Just like most inflatable kayaks, this one has specific pressure requirements for different chambers — though it includes no gauge to monitor that.

Putting this behemoth away is a chore. You're directed to let it dry completely before doing so. But with no drainage hole and many layers of plastic for water to sit between, this takes hours. To truly dry it out, you need to remove the boat's floor and let it sit or dry it with a towel. In the real world, it more often gets packed up with some water and sand still trapped inside, which is likely to be still waiting for you the next time you take this boat out. During the folding process, we found it impossible to avoid creasing the long, narrow tracking fins along the bottom of the hull. This large boat was also difficult to fit back into the small duffel it comes with. We frequently found ourselves sweating and swearing while sitting on the package, trying to zip it back closed.

Weighing in at 55.2 pounds, this is one of the heaviest kayaks we tested, even for a tandem. With a two-person (plus gear and a dog) 550-pound capacity, that weight isn't unreasonable. However, jammed into a giant duffel bag for transport, it is no small undertaking for one person. It's much more manageable to portage once it's inflated — as long as you have two people. Comfortable handles on the front and back ends make carrying it a simpler task with a friend, even though it tends to sag in the middle. Combined with the convenient paddle-holding straps on either side, we found ourselves more often inflating this beast at our cars and carrying it down to the beach water-ready. Carrying this kayak solo, though, is a bit much.

Comfort

We like how comfortable this cushy tandem is. It has relatively high seatbacks that are great for lounging and enjoying your day on the lake. The AE Convertible Tandem has some helpful features that make your ride that much more pleasant, like mesh pockets on the seatbacks, bungees, tie-downs, and even handy paddle keeper loops for both passengers. As with most tandem boats, paddling in rhythm with your partner is key to avoiding an all-out paddle war, though this watercraft has plenty of space to prevent clashing paddles.

Depending on what life jacket you wear, you may have a challenging time with the height of this craft's seats. Their taller profiles are more conducive to a full-back PFD than some of the paddler-specific half-back versions out there that aren't quite tall enough to be out of the way. The seats anchor only to the sides and can slip forward and backward along the bottom of the boat. While this is great for finding the perfect paddle angle, it also takes a bit of getting used to before achieving the best angle. Our least favorite aspect of this boat is that it lacks a self-bailer or drain of any kind. It does a pretty good job of keeping any water from pooling around your bum, though, and only becomes an issue when you go to pack up.

Construction Quality

The bottom of the AdvancedFrame Convertible hull is PVC tarpaulin, a puncture-resistant, slick, plastic-feeling fabric that charges through submerged branches and over hidden rocks with relative ease. Unlike most kayaks with a left and right air chamber making up the boat's body, this one has inner and outer chambers that go around the entire watercraft. That way, if you do happen to pop it, the inner layer remains unpunctured, allowing you to paddle back to shore. Internal aluminum ribs provide even more durability and structure to this impressive watercraft. It also boasts a drop-stitch floor and three layers of ripstop material to keep you floating above the waves. The seams are strong and reinforced, and the durability of this boat is not something we had many worries about. Just in case, though, AE includes a repair kit.

We aren't the biggest fans of how the interior tubes can easily become misaligned with the outer hull over time, but once you know what you're looking at, it's simple to straighten them out before you inflate the boat. We also feel weird about folding the tracking fins to fit everything back in its storage bag, though we could feel no actual damage to our paddling experience from doing so. The duffel itself isn't the most impressive construction, but it also seems to do the trick without failing — though we wish it were larger.

Should You Buy the Advanced Elements AdvancedFrame Convertible Tandem?

If you're a kayaker who has a passion for the right performing boat and you love the versatility of single or tandem paddle options, we think this boat will quickly become your new favorite water toy. Hardshell, traditional kayaks are pretty huge, and this inflatable offers strong performance without taking up so much storage space. However, if you're looking for a tandem boat to float more than paddle, you might consider some of the lower-priced options, especially if you're shopping for kids.

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