White Water Rafting: Top 5 Rafts

There are many boats out there and here are a few that will help you begin your journey to enjoy white water rafting.

First lets begin with our Quest Neo raft, offered at most sporting goods stores, this one was found on dickssportinggoods.com, with a price tag of $59.99 (plus shipping and handling and don't forget taxes!). This bright yellow and blue raft will surely get you noticed in case of an emergency. It includes a hand pump and two rowing oars, having four oarlocks and a full rope around. The Quest Neo Raft only holds up to 3 people and a 650 lb capacity.

Next we float on to or next selection the Stansport 4 Man Vinyl Raft, also in an off-yellow and dark blue color this raft holds the price tag of $74.99 (plus shipping and handling and don't forget taxes!). It is 58 inches by 110 inches long created with heavy wieght vinyl. The Stansport offers self-locking safety valves (upon being inflated) and fully roped around for easy carrying, also with four oarlocks and eight oar holders. A repair kit is included.

Then we continue on our journey to the Sevylor Super Caravelle Inflatable Boat. This grey and red raft is 9 feet and two inches long, and has a four person , that is up to 700 pounds in holding capacity. The Sevylor Raft is made with heavy PVC and wieghs nearly 31 pounds. Also featuring four swivel oarlocks, this raft does include a repair kit and carries an $89.97 price tag.

Paddling on to the Sea Eagle 8, this light grey and blue inflatable boat comes with a repair kit, two oars, and a rowing seat. The Sea Eagle features four molded oarlocks and an all around rope line. Starting price for this start up package is $299.99 at most sporting goods, found it on Modell's.com, where you can take an extra 15% off on sale!

Finally we end our rafting journey with the Tributary Self-Bailing Raft (14.0). This dark blue and light grey raft is 14.3 inches in length by 6 feet 10 inches in width, weighing approximately 123 pounds. The Tributary has eight air lock chambers and does include a repair kit. This raft does carry a hefty price tag of $2950.00!

The best deal out of all five of these rafts would be the Sea Eagle 8, you get everything you need (with the exception of safety gear), where as all the others are just for the rafts them selves and nothing more. I find that the Tributary is at a hefty price but, could also mean the difference between quality and poorly manufactured equipment which could also mean the difference between life and death in the case of White Water Rafting. Try your hand at surveying which rafts best suit you, here are some websites that I surveyed and also where these rafts can be found: www.dickssportinggoods.com , www.modells.com ,
www.altrec.com. Happy Rafting!