BRIS 14.1 FT Inflatable Kayak Fishing Tender Inflatable Poonton Boat with Air Floor

This review is for the Bris 14' kayak boat. First things first. The vendor "Benflyworld" has been great. They are very responsive and were a pleasure to work with. I selected the Bris boat over its main competitors because it has two air chambers per side-tube (each filled to 3psi), is wider overall, uses larger diameter tubes, and is less expensive. These are important factors to me because I use the boat on the Chesapeak Bay, which can be rough at times. The boat arrived quickly and included a bag, foot pump, oars etc. The material is typical for inflatable boats of this size that include a built-in transom. The material seems plenty tough and I pulled the boat up on the pebbled beach without fear. Using a four stroke Tohatsu 5 hp engine, the boat planes easily, even with another adult onboard. It moves supprisingly fast with little hp and I could cruise fine at half throttle. At rest, on calm water, it is stable enough to "carefully" stand up. However, I would not stand up in rough water or when underway. The air floor is pretty solid (filled to 8psi), but does give, and you will feel it ripple and move with the rough water underneath when you are moving across the water. I quickly got used to it though. Although a stable boat for its size, you still need to be careful about turns when going at higher speeds (it can become a little squirely). Workmanship on the boat is decent and it held air fine. Unfortunately, my 2-part oars fit too snuggly together and I can't sepporate them (they are plenty heavy duty). When rolled up, the boat is a little larger then I expected. It took some practice to roll it up smaller (even a little smaller makes a big difference when trying to carry). Inflated, the boat is heavy, but I can manage to carry it "short" distances by myself. (I will be purchasing kayak wheels soon to address that). As others have said, the bag isn't great. The handles on the carry bag are worthless, so I replaced them with 2 heavy duty straps wrapped around the original bag. I also purchased an electric air pump (for me, the foot pump just takes too long) Overall, I love the boat and I will try to do a video review later with some tips and tricks.

(FIRST IMPRESSIONS ONLY: MY BOAT HAS NOT BEEN IN WATER YET. ) This boat straight out of the box looks and feels to be of very high quality (picture is not fully inflated boat). Attention to detail caught my eye. Inflates/deflates very quickly with quick connect 1 way valves and the manual pump hose fits into a standard air mattress type pump. Foot pump that came with it was not tried but looks to be well made. Thick tough ropes on sides and well placed handles around. Transom is much thicker and sturdier than expected. 1 way water release valve also a very nice addition. With safety in mind the floor piece is separate and inflates as well as 4 separate chambers for the pontoons. Almost impossible to fully sink this boat if punctured. Carry Bag in most reviews shows to be crap, the newer models may have addressed this as my boat deflated rolled up wrapped in carry back and lifted it alone (fairly heavy but easily lifted by 1 man, im a little dude too) with no issues at all (again this is first impressions). MY FAVORITE PART out of everything this boat came with is the certificate in the picture. It was filled out and signed by hand a VERY good indication that the makers are proud of their work. Crappy throw away junk never comes with a signature, they tend to know its junk and want to distance themselves.

I've had this boat on the water 5 times now paired with a 2.5 HP Suzuki outboard. Terrific value considering the price. Stability is good and I am able to stand in flat waters on the air floor. Build quality is acceptable. I noticed excess adhesive around some of the seams straight out of the box. I inflate/deflate every time I use the boat, and one of PVC triangles at the transom is already starting to detach. I also had to patch 2 small tears on the starboard side after I rubbed a little too hard against a floating dock. Repair process with the included kit is pretty quick and easy. Easy to inflate with the included bellow pump, but I would recommend getting a double action pump. Electric 2 stage pumps are loud, expensive, and take longer than a manual pump. Not for me. Lastly, if you are going out by yourself most of the time, get the 12ft Bris. I wanted the 14ft with the extra weight capacity to bring passengers out, but most of the time I find myself going out to explore alone. It's not heavy at about 70 pounds, but it IS awkward to handle and launch a 70 pound 14 ft inflatable by yourself. Great first boat, great cheap way to get on the water. Just buy it.

I bought two 14 footers and another 12 footer (BRIS) for a work project that entails working on streams in the U.S. Rocky Mountain West. We've used these boats on a wide variety of stream sizes, and have put about 150 river miles on them. I'd recommend them as a great all around boat. We've used them with 2.5 HP gas outboard motors (15 inch shaft) and also with Newport Kayak motors (24 inch shaft, I think). We've also used them without any motor and just done some semi-technical floating. The boats are light enough for two people to carry. Zero patches so far. I like the upright sitting position of the seats - very nice for getting in, getting out, and seeing down into the water. The floors have taken a beating with no ill effects and have proven to me that a drop stitch floor is a nice weight/stability compromise in an inflatable. The foot pump doesn't look special but works very well. We've used the 12 footer as a 1-person + gear outfit; the 14s have fit two guys and their gear. Negatives: The oars might seem kind of cheap and lame when you first start using them (especially if compared to oaring a framed boat), but you get used to them and the boat handles surprisingly well on rivers. The seats slip out on occasion. The raised keel will get you all kinds of pushed around if it's windy and you're not using a motor. The front straps suck for carrying and will come untied or break sooner than you want them to.

I've taken it out on the sea many times and been impressed and got really good feedback. People come up and say great boat! I car top it upside down and drive it down the freeway at high speeds with no problem. I've been catching up with my brother and launching off a drive-on beach near his place. I've been leaving it inflated in my yard under a boat cover I picked up. I also go the longest BEST kayak oar and use that instead of the paddles it comes with. I don't recommend doing the wheels mod where you drill holes in the transom I did that and regret it. I am about to buy the biggest possible cart to help there and am seriously considering getting a boat trailer so I don't need to unload the car and assemble at site. I've learned a lot since getting this boat and its opened a whole area of new hobbies and interests, exercise, exploration and adventure for me. I've attached a photo of the BRIS 4.3M Inflatable Kaboat in dry dock on a camping table and a plastic box rigged with electric trolling motor, Garmin fish finder and GPS, compass and kayak oar. I added my own wooden benches as I found those provided were slightly shorter than I liked. For onboard storage I just use a large plastic box with a sealable lid which doubles as a table. One word of caution on a slightly different tangent: In my State there are rules and regulations as soon as you add a motor or a trolling motor of any kind above a thrust of 34 lbs. You then become a "powered vessel" and the operator needs a boat operators licence (has to sit and pass exam and pay fee) and to get the boat inspected by a boat inspector (fee) and pay boat registration annually (fee). Something to consider.