I'm with steelie 69 decide what you will be doing with it and what your needs are spend the bucks now ,my .02 on this is if you have a 5 dollar head wear a 5 dollar helmet ,the only thing between you and a cold bath is the quality of your tubes,I use urethane tubes the best money can buy,this material was originaly designed for collapsable fuel cells I've pulled mine though blackberries and some of the worse conditions imaginable not 1 leak yet they are 4 years old ,also there is some thing about the material when it gets wet it just glides over anything my boat is a 12 footer it makes a great 1 man boat and is still big enough for 2 men the weight capasity is around 600 lbs and that rated for class 4 and 5 white water those other boats have simalar weight ratings but no where the ability to perform in dangerous conditions,my 12 ' cat spins on a dime, the steelheader is good boat for the money but against mine no contest ,another thing to consider a lot of manufacturs are going to a bladder cell (a tube in tube )the inner tube is usally a urethane based material very thin thats why they put a shell over it,the outer is a tougher cordura or something similar,they have zippers and such can you say rust and mildew? any way I've rambled enough,you get what you pay for drop me a line and I'll send you in the right direction....

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Tight Lines
FISH ON ------<*)>><
Men are like fish we get into trouble when we open our mouths to much!!