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Stroke & Stern

Guides: the arithmetic behind every ranking here

Eight reference pages built from published manufacturer specifications, with every derived figure showing its inputs. These are where the numbers in the roundups come from.

Colourful kayaks lined up along a waterfront dock
Disclosure Some links on this page are Amazon Associates links. If you buy through one we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change what we recommend or the order we recommend it in -- here is how we rank, and here is how the site is funded.

This is the reference section. Every figure quoted in a roundup on this site comes from one of these pages, and every one of them shows its inputs so you can check the result rather than take it.

They exist because of a specific gap. Across the eleven competitor buying guides measured during our research, all eleven publish product weight, six publish packed dimensions, three address airline baggage, two give an inflation time, one publishes a recommended pressure, and none publishes a pump stroke count. Every one of those gaps closes with published specifications and division.

What the ranking competition publishes, measured across eleven buying guides
Data the travel buyer needsCompetitors publishing it
Weight in lb11 of 11
Packed dimensions6 of 11
Airline or checked-bag guidance3 of 11
Inflation time2 of 11
Recommended working pressure1 of 11
Pump stroke count0 of 11
Measured from live page fetches of eleven ranking competitors on 2 September 2026 during this site's research phase. Every one of these is derivable from published manufacturer specifications -- no test lab required, which is why a site that has tested nothing can still fill the gap.

The four numbers everything else rests on

Packed linear inches -- length plus width plus height. It is how every US airline measures a checked bag, and 62 is the line. Pack size explained covers why cubic volume is a separate question with a different answer.

Working pressure -- 1.1 to 6 psi for kayaks, 15 to 18 for boards. It predicts how a thing feels, how long it takes to inflate, and what your pump needs to be capable of. Every published figure is charted here.

Board volume in liters, which is the input to every inflation calculation. The model that turns it into strokes is written out in full, caveats included.

Material and construction -- mostly published as trademarks rather than specifications. What the names actually mean is the page that unpicks that.

What these guides will not do

They will not report how anything feels on the water. We have not paddled any of it and every page says so. What they will do is compile the published specifications, do the arithmetic nobody bothers with, cite every page we read with the date we read it, and leave a cell blank when the manufacturer left it blank. That is the entire method, set out properly here.

Everything in this section

Guides: every page

Each of these carries the published specifications, the figures we derived from them, and a buy link for its top pick.

Rolled gear being packed away into bags
Guide

Pack size explained: linear inches, cubic volume and why both matter

Linear inches for airlines, cubic volume for cars. What each one means and every published figure in the registry.

Read it
A person working a pump beside an inflatable board
Guide

How long an inflatable actually takes to inflate

Stroke counts and minutes computed from published volume, pressure and pump displacement, with the model set out.

Read it
A pressure gauge on a valve fitting
Guide

PSI chart: what pressure each model actually runs

Every published working pressure in the registry, what over- and under-inflation do, and which brands publish nothing.

Read it
A traveller with luggage in an airport terminal
Guide

Flying with an inflatable kayak or paddle board

The 62-inch and 50 lb limits, the fees past them, and which products clear both on published figures.

Read it
A weathered inflatable boat pulled up on a rocky shore
Guide

How durable are inflatable kayaks, really?

Material, thickness, chamber count and warranty across the registry -- plus the puncture data nobody prints.

Read it
Rolls of technical fabric stacked together
Guide

PVC, polyurethane, Hypalon and drop-stitch, explained

The four material families in this category, what each is good at, and which brand names refer to which.

Read it
Small repair tools laid out on a work surface
Guide

Repairing an inflatable: leaks, seams and valves

Finding a leak, the three places they happen, and why the material decides which adhesive works.

Read it
Boards and kayaks resting on a shoreline
Guide

How to fold an inflatable back into its bag

The packing sequence, why the fins come off first, and what a tight roll is worth against an airline limit.

Read it

Questions people actually ask

Which guide should I read first?
If you are buying to travel, pack size explained, then flying with an inflatable. If you already own something and want it to work better, the PSI chart -- under-inflation is the most common problem in this category and the easiest to fix. If you are trying to decide whether the pumping is worth it, inflation time.
Where do the computed figures come from?
Published manufacturer specifications and arithmetic, with the formula printed on the page beside the result. Board volume and target pressure come from the maker; pump cylinder volumes and flow rates come from the pump maker; strokes, minutes, packed volume and linear inches are calculated from those. Nothing here was timed or measured by us.
Why do so many cells say 'Not published'?
Because the manufacturer does not publish that figure. Our rule is that a missing spec produces a blank cell that says so, never an estimate -- an invented number would be indistinguishable from a measured one and would make every other number on the page worth less. In this category the blanks are often the most informative part of the table.
Do these guides recommend products?
Most of them link to the roundups where the recommendations live, and some carry picks directly where a product genuinely answers the question. Two do not carry any -- the repair guide and the whitewater page -- because nothing in our registry honestly fits, and attaching a tenuous product to trust content is worse than an empty section.

Sources

Every specification on this page was read from one of these, on the date shown. Specs change between model years, so the date matters as much as the link.

Units we claim to have tested: 0

Everyone in this category says they tested twenty boats. We have not tested any, and we say so. What we did instead: pulled the published specifications and the owner's manuals, computed the pump load and the packed volume for every model that publishes enough to compute them, checked the packed sizes against the airline limits you will actually meet, and cited every page we read. The full method.

Prefer to start somewhere else? Every page on the site is listed here.