Price up over 500.00 doesn't necessarily guarantee any particular quality either. Remember the Water Skeeter brand ? Really good frame and options and pontoon covering, krappy bladders, now out of business. Most of the boats out there are based on the Outcast frame ( I suspect a lot are an Outcast frame), which is pretty hard to have any trouble with, the bulk of what you are paying for is the options, bags, stitching, zippers, the cover material, skid material on the bottom, type of frame fasteners and straps, type of oars and the locks. There are ways they can cut cost there, but, the major one is the bladders. Are they repairable?? Any of them can likely be replaced or repaired, but---when,where from, what with and what cost? Some are not designed to be easily repairable, some don't have repair kits easily available. Some are made from material that deteriorates over time. A guy like the Kissarmygeneral needs to check the weight capacity, most 8 ft boats are only 300 lb , some 9ft boats are maybe 350. Doesn't take much to be near capacity, and rules out some options. Some of the fishing gear, cameras, lunches and other goodies add up.
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