Hobie Mirage iTrek 9 Ultralite

This is my second Hobie inflatable kayak. My first one, the i11s only lasted two years due to the material delaminating. After that I swore I'd never own an over priced Hobie again. However, while I replaced that Hobie with a Sea Eagle 300x, which was more robust and has held up twice as long as the i11s, and slightly more than 1/3 the cost of the Hobie, I'm just not much of a paddler and really liked the Mirage drive pedals. Thus, this week I purchased a new 2024 iTrek 9. So far, I like the style, I like the new seat and the rudder. Time will tell if it holds up better than my last one. While I haven't gotten it out on the water yet, I expect I will like how it handles. Hobie still is overpriced, and with what they do charge, they should extend the warranty to 4 years, and add a real nice electric pump, rather than the cheap crap they do include. And what's with the lack of a paddle? Even the pedal craft have an occasional need for a paddle when operating in really shallow water (as in approaching a beach, or weed infected waters.) For what they offer with the itrek 9, more appropriate pricing would be about half what they are charging. And then not allowing their dealers to offer free shipping is just icing on their own cake! Ok, rant over.

I also had a hobie deflate in couple years and also got a 300x, which is the best (or only) surfing inflatable ever. But it's extremely sluggish to paddle and certainly reminds one of the pedal alternative. With a failed hobie inflatable you can get some money back by selling your drive. One drive will last many inflatable lifetimes but one rotomold outlasts (and needs) many drives.

You must have paddles that came with your old hobie and the 300x. The iTrek 9 used to come with single blade (boo!) which brings to mind I got a handy telescoping single blade off amazon for $10 w/ free shipping. But you may be venting rather than seeking solutions; I think there is more to the story like how the paddles couldn't be secured well with waves pounding over the low deck.

I support the cheapo pump because it's not needed. The iTrek 9 can be filled in an easy jiffy by hand and has to be topped off by hand anyway. Turbine pumps cannot give enough pressure. Piston ones can but are agonizingly slow and threaten to overfill even if they have (undependable) digital cutoffs. I have an expensive combo turbine/piston pump with auto cutoff and big monitor gauges, but follow hobies prohibition because malfunction can lead to premature ageing of hull.

If I were more into paddling, the 300X would be perfect! I did end up selling my i11s for $450 I believe. It still had the bubble (delamination), but was holding air fine. I do miss the 180 drive, but like the kick up feature in the new drive. (In fact, I did manage to bend the rod slightly on the old drive hitting a stump.) The dealer I bought the Itrek 9 from said a paddle was included. However, one did not come with it (as several have blogged about the 2024's). And the dealer has yet returned my call as he was checking with his warehouse. However, I do have the cheaper Sea Eagle 300x paddle (I upgraded later with the next lighter weight model), so can use that with the itrex 9 if I need. You are correct, in that I'm venting. I did take the iTrek 9 out on a local slow moving river today, and as expected, was happy with how it handled. As for the pump(s), I have a very nice electric one that I can set the pressure on, and then let it do it's thing. Only takes a couple minutes to air up the Itrek 9. I ran 8 psi in it today, and that was more than enough. I may try around 6psi next time. That gives some leeway when traveling with the kayak on my boat's roof.

I like the extra large skeg accessory for 300x. It will track straighter but still turn fast. Consider the sail option for your iTrek, assuming you have the utility socket up front (which my early one doesn't).