Sea Eagle 330 Review
Rating
Performance: 4
Size/Weight: 8
Durability: 6
Setup: 8
Value: 6
OVERALL: 6.4
A great budget option to get you or the kids on the water.
If you’re not looking to spend a ton and just want to get something the family can paddle around in, the 330 is a fun little option - and we mean little. At 10’10” long, it’s quite a bit shorter than other tandems on the market, and the cockpit’s also pretty narrow. Being made of rows of air tubes, the inflatable kayak feels like sitting in a marshmallow - not your high-performance gliding machine, but fun for the kids to paddle around in.
Comparison
Rank: #9
Open Size: Narrow and small
Packed Size: Portable
Weight: Light
Capacity: High
Perfect For: Flat water, recreation.
Pros: Very well priced, super easy to set up and pack down, quick drying.
Cons: No firmness makes it unstable, the cockpit is cramped and the marshmallow feeling means it’s not a kayak you’d want to paddle for hours in.
Verdict: Get it for the kids to muck around in.
Skip ahead to First Impressions, Setup/Packdown, Paddling Experience, or the Final Verdict, check out how the Sea Eagle 330 compares to others in our list of the Top Ten 2 Person Inflatable Kayaks or see how we choose the best inflatable kayak.
Specs:
Open Size: 340 x 86cm
Packed Size: 61cm x 41cm x 18cm
Weight: 12kg
Capacity: 227kg
Approx Price: £325.00
First Impressions
Nothing beats the portability of the Sea Eagle. We gladly took a short hike carrying this. And for such a lightweight, packable kayak, it accommodates weight of up to 230kgs, which is an excellent ratio. Although it has a heavy load capacity, we think the smaller open size at 340 x 86cm limits it in terms of which people you can actually fit in - it’s a squeeze for two adults and much for suitable for an adult/kid combo.
It is made of 33 mil Polykrylar (K80 PVC) with an inflatable 5-tube I-beam construction floor. The construction is high-quality - it is a Sea Eagle - but the inflatable feel is worlds away from the firmness of drop-stitch. It’s worth noting there are other kayaks in the Sea Eagle range that are drop-stitch, however this one made our list because we felt it filled a gap in the market at the nexus of low size/weight and relative quality, at a lower price point.
It packs one-way valves on all compartments, open and close drain valves, lashed down inflatable spray skirts, and 2 skegs for tracking. Price-wise, we think it is just right for its overall design and construction.
Setup/Packdown
Inflates and deflates easily! With the basic construction of the kayak, we had no problem setting it up. It takes a few minutes, starting with the floor, side chambers, spray skirts and finally the chairs. Inflation pressure is at 1.1 psi, which compared to other kayaks we’ve reviewed is pretty low, again because there’s no drop-stitch providing internal counterpressure. Sea Eagle provides an inflation monitor (a piece of transparent plastic strip with a printed scale) to indicate if you’ve got the right pressure - with only 1.1psi to mess around with, underinflation is going to significantly affect your paddling experience and overinflation…well… kaboom!
Deflating the boat is way easier as you only need to open the valves and allow the air out, and fold it back from one side to the other. It packs down well into a duffel type bag with straps so it’s easy to carry.
Paddling Experience
The 330 does have limited space inside and we find it quite narrow for two adults. There was also little space for storage.
The two skegs helped with tracking but somehow, still got us off course a few times, and it’s not so resistant to wind so we found it could get blown off-course. It’s obviously made with less stiffness so you can’t expect it to move similarly to those built with drop-stitch floors.
The seats, being inflatable, also weren’t comfortable for a long trip and the entire surface didn’t really provide enough resistant to push against and paddle efficiently. We found the paddles to be the best part of the kayak and it did perform well in manoeuvring around corners.
Final Verdict
There are a lot of downsides to the handling and performance of the Sea Eagle 330, but we can’t help but like it as a good choice for families. Our kids are pretty little and don’t like getting splashed, so the inflatable spray skirts are a great design feature for them, and even with the spongy feel they’re just happy to be out on the water. At its price point, we think this is a great option for families who mainly want to splash around.
Want to see how the Sea Eagle 330 compares to other kayaks we tested? Head over to our list of the Best 2 Person Inflatable Kayaks.
Water & Outdoors reviews are written by our staff writers, who combined have over fifty years of experience on the water and outdoors. We may earn commissions if you choose to buy through a link you’ve clicked on our website, however this does not influence our reviews. For more information, please see our Editorial Policies.