We have been using Itiwit 3-person kayak from Decathlon for 10 years now. In the meantime, the new version was released, but the only difference is the color and exterior material, everything else stayed the same – design, length, width, everything. Back in 2016, we ordered 10 of these kayaks when starting our adventure travel agency in Croatia and we have been using this model on all of our tours – on the lakes, rivers, and in the sea. More than 1000 people kayaked in these kayaks over the course of 8 years. With all this in mind, this will be the only Itiwit 3-person kayak review you’ll ever need.
The Itiwit 3-Person Inflatable Kayak from Decathlon is a perfect choice for those looking for an affordable, versatile, and beginner-friendly kayak that is easy to store and transport. In this review, we’ll dive into its technical details, performance, durability, and overall value to help you decide if it’s the right fit for your adventures like it was for ours. Also, we’ll share our honest personal experience of this kayak.
So let’s pump up the Itiwit 3-person kayak and venture into adventure.
It’s not what you think it is Ok, we’re going to start with the thing we believe it’s the most important – this kayak is not a 3-person kayak . It can fit 2 persons and a small child with no problem, but without using the middle seat. Instead, use 2 seats and let the child sit in the middle or in the front. We have been using it this way many times.
The thing is, you need to be comfortable when kayaking, and when you search for the images of this kayak online, you can see how cramped people inside it are if you put all 3 seats into the position. You can’t have a good time kayaking with your knees in your mouth.
To summarize Itiwit 3-person kayak is a perfectly comfortable 2-person kayak and a decently comfortable 2 adults + 1 child kayak without mounting the middle seat. When we used to organize adventure tours in Croatia, children used to love sitting all the way to the front, on the upper flat part of the kayak, and with their legs in the water.
Unboxing and First Impressions of Itiwit KayakNow that we resolved what we believe to be the most important thing, we can continue with this Itiwit 3-person kayak review. Straight out of the box, this kayak comes neatly packed in its carry bag, making transportation and storage convenient. The package includes:
The inflatable kayak body
Three adjustable seats
A repair kit
A transport backpack
3 Fins
The materials feel durable (and are durable, our kayaks survived 8 years of daily summer use), and the kayak’s construction is very good. When we bought them, they had orange and blue versions, now they are more blue. We even prefer modern design more.
Technical Specifications Before we continue with our personal experience of these kayaks, let us present you with a few technical specifications:
Dimensions:
Inflated: 382 cm (Length) x 108 cm (Width)
Folded: 73 cm x 44 cm x 33 cm
Weight: 17 kg Capacity: Suitable for 2 to 3 people , supporting up to 245 kg Material: Made from high-durability PVC Inflation Pressure: 1.5 PSI (do not overinflate it)
These Itiwit kayaks can be used as single seated kayaks too Setup and Inflation One of the biggest advantages of this kayak is its easy setup and that’s one of the reasons we chose to buy the Itiwit 3 person kayak instead of the rigid ones that were also in the game. Using a double-action hand pump, that is sold separately, inflation takes around 10 minutes . When we would start with our season it would need us around 8 minutes to inflate one kayak but as the season progressed, we were able to do it in just 4 minutes.
The three inflatable chambers ensure buoyancy and safety.Adjustable seats allow customization for either a 2-person or 1-person setup. We advise not to kayak with all 3 seats installed because it won’t be comfortable.
The included backpack makes Itiwit 3 person kayak highly portable, perfect for easy transportation in a car trunk or even on foot to some extent.
Why We Bought 10 Itiwit 3 person Kayaks Before we continue to the performance part and our personal experience concerning this part, let us first tell you how we chose to buy 10 of these kayaks. We were opening our adventure travel agency in Croatia back in 2016 and we needed to buy kayaks since kayak tours would be our main offer. We couldn’t decide between rigid kayaks and inflatable ones for a long time.
After some time, we decided to go ahead with Itiwit 3-person kayaks and we bought 10 of them in the first year and 4 more 5 years later. This was one of the best decisions we made since we could easily fit 10 or even more kayaks in our van and we used them for our personal adventures for a long time. We still use the same kayak we bought almost 10 years ago. If we were to buy and use rigid kayaks we would need a trailer and would lose much more energy in handling them.
Our personal experience with these kayaks To put things more into context, let us just say a few pieces of information about us and what our usage of these kayaks looked like. For 8 years we had an adventure travel agency in Croatia and we used Itiwit 3 person kayak on all of our tours.
They have been used for at least 100 days each year with at least 40 days with multiple daily tours. Our usual summer day would look like this:
So you know that we have used these kayaks a lot. I’m (Mario) also 195 cm high and this model of Itiwit kayak was very comfortable for me. Through the 8 years, we have used the same kayaks and the only thing that would differentiate them from the new ones was a faded color.
The adventure guide job – a lot of fun and handling of the equipmentOn-Water Performance Let’s move on to the performance of the Itiwit 3-person kayak from Decathlon.
Stability The Itiwit 3-Person Kayak is designed for stability and it makes it ideal for beginners and families. The kayak is very wide and stable, but not as fast as rigid ones. If you plan to kayak long distances, then inflatable kayaks are not a good choice for you. For anything else, Itiwit is the perfect option.
Maneuverability
Itiwit 3 person kayak handles calm waters well , but because of its width, it is slow when paddling solo.
The kayak has removable skegs (fins) , which improve tracking and help keep a straight course. We tried paddling without these and it gets way harder to keep track, although you get a bit more maneuverability. After some time, we used only 2 skegs mounted at the rear of the kayak.
On rivers or mild currents, it still remains easy to control.
Speed and Tracking If you’re looking for speed, then avoid Itiwit 3 person kayak. Or any other inflatable kayak. They are simply not made for speed but for stability and relaxed explorations. Itiwit provides a comfortable cruising speed , perfect for leisurely paddling near the coast.
Comfort and Space
Spacious seating for two adults .Adjustable backrests provide good lumbar support.The wide interior make long paddling sessions more comfortable.Soft yet durable flooring gives good grip and comfort for bare feet.
Itiwit kayak flower on Baćina Lakes near the city of Ploče in southern Croatia Something a lot of our guests had trouble with We didn’t have these kinds of problems at all, but we noticed a lot of people would scratch their hands on the sides of the kayaks as they would paddle. Yes, Itiwit is a bit wider kayak, but if you position your hands properly on the paddle, you should be able to avoid this issue. Also, I’m 195 cm tall so it might make it a bit easier to stretch out when paddling.
The best thing you can do is to sit in this kayak at the store and try how it would feel while holding a paddle in your hands and pretending to paddle.
These kayaks are good for moderate waves too and we had a lot of fun riding the waves with them Durability and Maintenance Now something we really like about the Decathlon Itiwit 3-person kayak – durability. The Itiwit kayak is made from thick, puncture-resistant PVC which ensures durability for multiple seasons. We used these kayaks for some 100 days per year for 8 consecutive years and the only thing that makes them different from a new one is the color that faded a bit over time from the UV rays.
We had 2 tours each day during the summer season, on some days even 3 tours. Never had any serious problems with these kayaks. Yes, the inner chambers would puncture from time to time (only a small hole) but this happened rarely and it’s easy to fix with the patches you get with the kayak.
Cleaning is simple : Rinse them with fresh water after use, especially if you paddle in the sea. We tried to do it thoroughly for some time but it would take too much time so we haven’t cleaned them as much. Never had the slightest problem, even though they were in the sea each day.Drying takes time : The fabric’s outer layer absorbs water, so allowing it to dry fully before packing is essential to avoid mold. We would usually leave them in the sun for an hour or so and they would dry. Mold would develop over time, so you don’t need to dry it immediately. Pack it up and dry it later.Repair kit included : Small punctures can be patched easily and in just 5-10 minutes. The best thing about this kayak. We had people jumping in and out of them and all we got were small punctures that were easy to repair.
Itiwit kayak is perfect for family adventures How we blew up one of the Itiwit kayaks
Summers in Croatia can get very hot and we had our tours during the hottest parts of the day. The physics says that air tends to expand in the heat. And so we were sitting under the tree with our guests while the kayaks were moored nearby. Suddenly, a loud boom, just like someone fired a gun nearby. We immediately knew what was happening and headed up toward moored kayaks.
What a sight, a kayak that was ripped completely on 1 side. Shame, but completely our mistake. Always check whether your Itiwit kayak is overinflated or not, especially in hot weather.
Pros and Cons From our personal experience, there are many more pros than cons, but let’s find something for each spectrum:
Pros:
Affordable compared to hard-shell kayaks
Lightweight and easy to transport
Quick and simple inflation
Stable and beginner-friendly
Spacious and comfortable for long trips
Suitable for lakes, rivers, and calm (relatively) coastal waters
Easy to repair
If a more serious puncture happens, you can just buy an inner chamber, you don’t need to replace the whole kayak
Cons:
Slower compared to rigid kayaks
Takes longer to dry completely
Not ideal for rough waters or strong currents
It’s a bit wider so you might scratch your hands on the sides
You can tear the bottom protective layer on very sharp rocks
Itiwit kayak flower on Baćina Lakes in Croatia Who Is This Kayak Best For? It’s perfect for us and we still use it and will continue to do so. It’s also great for:
Beginners and casual paddlers looking for an easy-to-use and stable kayak.Families and groups need a spacious inflatable kayak.Travelers and campers want a portable kayak.Those who prefer calm waters like lakes and slow-moving rivers.
Before you buy the Itiwit 3-person kayak from Decathlon We hope this Itiwit 3-person kayak review was useful to you and you were able to find out whether this kayak is a good fit for you or not. It proved to be a great boat for us, even though we often use rigid sit-in kayaks for longer tours and sea kayaking adventures. But whenever we want a casual and relaxing kayaking adventure – Itiwit is our first choice.
We hope you’ll have a lot of nice kayaking adventures with Itiwit.
