In addition to Folbot, other manufacturers that have been around long enough to build a solid reputation are: Klepper (the original folding kayak builder, in Germany), Feathercraft, Nautiraid (a French company), Long Haul, and Pouch (the other German folding kayak). We have paddled Klepper and Feathercraft kayaks, and they handle in much the same way as our Folbot. The price for these craft is typically much higher for the same kind of equipment, however. With the ironclad lifetime guarantee for Folboat parts, the cost-per-value comparision wasn't hard to make.
The bottom line, after all these factors are considered, is fun. The simple, fast assembly and "Gee Whiz" factor of the Folbot make kayaking easy and inviting, and the handling is beautiful in water conditions from shallow, fast-flowing rivers, to deep quiet estuaries and reservoirs, to the choppy waters of San Francisco Bay.
Under the twilight sky, each year for three years now, we paddle out on the Fourth of July to lie near the fireworks barge in Richardson's Bay, just off Sausalito. Rocked by the waves, we pop the cork on a bottle or two of late-harvest Zin, pour a glass for each of us (and several for the many other kayakers around us), lie back and watch the fireworks burst above us. Our toast to independence has several layers of meaning.
Article comments
1 - Phil Cotton
Pat... thanks for the very well done review and for sharing it with us, not to
mention permission to use it. We may well include it on our web site for
others to read. Glad you are enjoying the GII. Let us know if we can ever help
in any way.
Phil Cotton
Pres., Folbot, Inc.
2 - Roger Tompkins
You nailed it Dude. The best kayak ever built.