Announcements
14/10/18 - Big price reductions on all catarafts till further notice! First come, first serve till +/- 10 Cats have been sold. See here
20/09/18 - New review on the TourCat-2 added
29/07/18 - New kayak Series added Alpha-Z range of boats with stiff drop stich floors - Inflatable Kayaks page
11/05/18 - Demo stock saleSome demo boats now available for sale. Once gone, its gone! Listed in Sales page
08/04/18 - Demo Cats at LV Our fleet of demo cats are currently with LV PaddleSports, Team GB Masters raft team / Square Rock team - for training and practice on some club training nights at Lee Valley. See them in action there - check with us first before going there
20/06/17 - Photos of the Expedition version of the inflatable WW river runner kayak ZelGear The ONE - with inflatable storage compartments in bow and stern. Photos
10/06/17 - Cats and inflatable kayaks available for try outs - ZelGear 'The ONE' inflatable kayak, ZelGear TourCat-2 Mini, ZelGear VectoR-2 and ZelGear SportCat-4 catamaran rafts
26/05/17 - Our demo / try-out TourCat-2 MINI has arrived! Some photos here
12/02/17 - New addition to the inflatable kayak range -
ZelGear "The ONE". A white water
single seater kayak that packs into a backpack. A demo is available for try-outs now. Some photos here
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Enquiries & Ordering
When you would like to order, write to us and
we will provide up to date quotes. We will also send you an invoice with relevant
payment details etc. Or if you need advice etc, we are more than happy to help
with your
queries.
ZelGear
ZelGear products are all made in Europe, using European made materials and high
grade German made PVC welding machines.
5 year warranty on all ZelGear products
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Looking for something?
If you are looking for something
that is not listed on our website please give us a call or email
us.
Important Notice
It is your responsibility to ensure that you have a valid license
/ permission from the relevant authorities to
use water craft on UK's waterways, rivers, lakes, etc. Not all inland
water is open to paddlers, some are privately owned or is bounded
by
land which is private, so do check beforehand. Membership of a
canoe union / club is very beneficial.
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ZelGear
Product Reviews
Feedback, reviews, and blogs from testers and clients. Where a
review or a blog has been submitted on an independent website
/ forum, links to
that
site will be provided.
01/07/18 - Review by Bart King, USA on the ZelGear TourCat-2 Mini catamaran raft
07/07/17 - Feedback from O Bukanova on the ZelGear Igla-2 Sport inflatable kayak
26/01/17 - Comments
/ Feeback on the UKRGB (UK Rivers Guide Book) forum
10/01/17 - Feedback / Review by M Thomas, UK on the ZelGear SportCat-2 cataraft
28/01/16 - SportCat-2 (BeaveR-2) cataraft review by Ed Powers, USA
01/07/18 -
Review by Bart King, USA on the ZelGear TourCat-2 Mini catamaran raft
A review by Barton King, with experience of using a cross selection of small rafts, on his purchase of a ZelGear TourCat-2, early 2018. Read here
07/07/17 -
Comments / feedback on the ZelGear Igla-2 Sport by Olga Bukanova
Review of ZelGear's Igla-2 Sport
The inflatable kayak I like the most is the ZelGear's Igla-2 Sport. My experience of using this IK has been a very positive. It's so quick and comfortable. Having knee straps and toe supports is very important! I can feel the boat as an extension of myself, so I do feel very safe and confident on the waves.
This Igla-2 Sport has the same high driving performance of plastic sea kayaks, together with all advantages of IKs. Even the toe supports are similar to those in WW kayaks and can be adjusted on the inflated kayak according to the paddler's preferred settings. No other inflatable kayak has such superior design!
A interesting benefit of the Igla-2 Sport is that the kayak can be used in solo version or tandem version. I can install one seat in the middle of kayak, use it like a spacious touring model and attain up to 9 km/h speed, or set up 2 seats and have a great sporty touring kayak.
The spraydeck is easily attached with Velcro in a couple of minutes and I only use it when there are bigger waves or rain. Both solo and tandem paddler version spraydecks are available.
And one more special thing I have to say. The weight of the boat is only 22 kg so it's possible to take the kayak as standard luggage on the plane to undertake many more exotic journeys around the world.
Olga Bukanova - July 2017 |
26/01/17 - Comments
/ Feeback on the UKRGB (UK Rivers Guidebook) forum.
You will need to be a member of this forum (free) to read / post.
One thread is :-
https://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=125809
One of the comments in the above thread, posted by an experienced
/ professional USA based rafting guide
has this to say about the differences between Cat and Rafts (Note - the ZelGear
R2 refers to UK's SportCat-2) :-
LeoF - 26/01/17
Yes, I own Star Inflatable WonderBug raft (13.6 ft - 6
people plus guide) and used it on many expeditions (Alaska,
Canada),
and on short weekend trips. Also I own a few different inflatable
kayaks (Aire SeaTiger, Aire Force, Star YellowJacket, ThrillSeaker
and a couple more), Alpacka packraft, PaddleCats - by Hyside
and Jack's Plastic Welding. Also a 4 hard-shell boats. I paddled
them all. If you wonder why my wife did not show me out of
my house, I have no good answer to that, maybe I just got lucky.
Just to complete the "experience", I have rowed the
large rented NRS 18-ft raft on Colorado river (Grand Canyon).
Lately - for the last 2 years - my tool of choice is ZelGear
R2 (or R4 if I have bigger crew). The Star raft was used
for only one day in 2016 and for 2 days in 2015. For a very
simple reason: ZelGear boats proved to be a better choice
for nearly all my trips.
IMHO, ZelGear cats are the future of both hardcore and recreational
paddle activities.
It is just a matter of time... If someone sees one these
boats somewhere on a water by chance - and tries to paddle
it - he is more than likely to buy it, sooner or later.
These cats do not flip in class 3-4 rapids (rafts do). They
are 2-3 times lighter than rafts, yet very sturdy - I had
to do only one patch and replace one D-ring over about 100
river days. They are a lot faster than rafts, have about
same speed as most inflatable kayaks (of course, both people
have to paddle). They can turn on a dime, execute difficult
lines on creeks and narrow runs. They are safer, thanks to
seat straps - no one is getting thrown out when your boat
hits the rock. Finally, they are a lot more technical and
fun to paddle... you can do all kayak strokes, braces, etc.
The more you paddle it, the better you feel it... I have
even seen one guy who was able to roll the R2 - when other
paddler bails out, he starts the move from under the deck.
That's all. Cannot wait to try out VectoR, I've seen videos
with it and it looked perfect. If someone decided to criticize
(older) ZelGear cats, it would be a knee pain or discomfort
that some people experienced after long time spent in a kneeling
seat. VectoR may not eliminate the issue completely, but
will certainly make knees a lot more comfortable, plus it
offers an option to seat normally on your rear... all has
to be tested, of course, but I like the ideas.
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10/01/17
- Feedback / Review by M Thomas - owner of a SportCat-2
cataraft, purchased summer 2016. Posted on UK's Song Of the
Paddle forum:-
http://www.songofthepaddle.co.uk/forum/showthread.php/52935-The-Severn-on-a-Cataraft-Ironbridge-to-Bridgnorth?p=630240
Preparing to paddle off the Sound of Jura, Scotland - Summer
2016 |
28/01/2016 - SportCat-2
(BeaveR-2) Review by Ed Powers, USA
Originally posted on the GDI Facebook group, reposted un-edited
on ZelGear USA site
http://www.zelgear.com/single-post/2016/1/28/Independent-review-of-Beaver2-by-expert-paddler-Ed-Powers
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