Our Rating
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Build Quality
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Features
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Stability
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Performance
The Intex Excursion 5 inflatable boat is perfect for a fun day on the water with friends and family. Intex is one of the most popular manufacturers of entry-level inflatables boats and kayaks, including the popular Intex Mariner 4 Inflatable Boat and the Intex K1 and K2 inflatable Kayaks.
When you hear the words “inflatable boat” you might think of something that’s flimsy that you’d see in a swimming pool, but the Intex Excursion 5 is much more than that. This entry-level, 5 person boat is made of a heavy-duty, durable PVC vinyl, and it’s extremely easy to inflate and set up. Intex has designed this boat to be easy to inflate and store, and they’ve added plenty of features to add to the boat’s functionality, comfort, and fun.
In this review, we are going to point out the highlights of this multiperson boat, the advantages, disadvantages and hopefully everything you need to know to help you make up your mind.
Intex Excursion 5 Review – Features & Specs
Measurements
The Intex Excursion 5 is undeniably a large inflatable because this is supposed to be a friends and family type of boat. However, while the company claims that this boat is fully capable of handling 5 people, we’d argue that it would only take on 4 adults and a child comfortably when you account for gear, food, and other necessities for an outing on the water.
That being said, the boat is 144 inches long and 66 inches wide which translates to 12 x 5.5 feet. You should be able to figure out how many of your relatives or friends can get on this boat comfortable, considering that you know their exact sizes.
Equally important, the fact that the length to width ratio on this boat is similar to that of a standard whitewash Colorado raft, it is made far tougher and consequently harder to capsize even in strong currents. Nonetheless, that will not stop a passenger from falling off in distress.
Quality
A customer’s primary concern when purchasing an inflatable product is quality and you are absolutely right about that. Indeed, the quality of an inflatable product is especially important because anything inflatable is vulnerable; or is it?
Well, since military zodiacs take the first spot when it comes to the toughest inflatable gear, domestic inflatable boats like the Intex excursion 5 had to embrace the second spot. Fortunately, however, you can tell that even an affordable domestic inflatable boat like this one has learned a lot from the military elite.
In fact, the Intex Excursion 5 is made of powerful vinyl and that takes durability up a notch since it is a high-grade material known for its rigidity and durability. To give you a better idea of what to expect from this boat, note that the vinyl base material is developed under high intensity from crude oil and chlorine to make this PVC resin fusion that will easily take on any challenging environment.
PS: The load capacity on this boat is a staggering 1,100 pounds.
Features
Like any reasonable buyer, you must care at least a little about the features of a product since it is something that you’ll hopefully use as often as possible in appropriate seasons.
In that concern, let us take a moment and dive deep into the features of the Intex Excursion 5 and unravel what makes it a great inflatable boat.
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If you love fishing or want to try it out then you’re going to love the fact that this boat comes with four fishing rod holders for an easy and comfortable fishing experience. So, feel free to enjoy a long fishing afternoon with your friends or kids with enough fishing spots for everyone.
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For safety measures, the board comes with a 360° grab-line to help you get back on the boat easily in case you’ve fallen off or dived off. Accordingly, you can relax when you have children or non-functional adults on board because worst-case scenario, they’ll get wet.
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Like any boat out there, the Intex Excursion 5 comes with 2 oar holders for easier motion and better paddling. Thus, you don’t have to struggle in order to keep the oars in place as you go and that’s already a huge advantage.
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If you’re planning on taking the highway, then you can always attach a trolling motor to this boat. Surprisingly, the Intex at hand is one of the few entry-level inflatable boats that comes with a motor mount. So, lay back and prepare to cruise around comfortably with the Intex Excursion 5.
Performance
As far as performance goes, you shouldn’t be surprised to learn that the Intex Excursion 5 is not so competitive. Indeed, this boat was designed with an image of a relaxing family / group of friends in a calm setting and that makes it useless for extreme sports lovers or competitive people.
Other than that, the Intex Excursion 5 is not bad at all for a laid back summer holiday, relaxation, and easy drifting which depends a whole lot on the width aspect.
Truly, because it is almost 6 feet wide, you never have to worry all that much about the boat capsizing.
Packaging
Packaging always feels like unwrapping a gift and Intex is fully aware of that. Indeed, these people ship the deflated boat with a bunch of accessories to help make your experience as stress-free as possible. The package in question includes:
- Front middle & back inflatable seats
- Two 54″ collapsible Deluxe aluminum oars
- Hi-Output Manual Hand Pump
Pros
- The Excursion 5 comes in one awesome package that includes inflatable cushions for the boat.
- It also comes with 2 paddles.
- It’s quite spacious
- It’s featured with motor mounts fitting.
- There are 2 fishing rod handles.
- It can hold up to 1,100 lbs.
- And it’s NMMA and TUV certified.
Cons
- This boat will take you a while to inflate. It’s recommended that you invest in an electric pump (here’s our recommendation for the best electric air pump) to save yourself from the hassle of manually inflating it.
