Saturn Rafts?

[Lawless]

Does anyone know anything about Saturn Rafts? They seem to be a lot cheaper than any other raft company on the market right now. Has anyone ever used one? Why are they so cheap?

http://www.saturnrafts.com/

Looks like they are based in the Boise area.

[FatherOblivion]

Here's for a Jong jonging a jong... Tech Talk Jong...

[saturnrafts]

Just wanted to respond to this post to give you a little information on why our prices are set where they are for 2009.

We are the largest distributor of Saturn Whitewater Rafts and we are based in Boise, Idaho. What started out as a small hobby and become a much great organization over the past few years. We keep our prices low mostly because everything we sell is manufactured overseas where the labor market is just small percentages of what US labor costs would be. Since about 75% of our sales come from "word of mouth" or "repeat customers" we are able to limit our marketing dollars and keep our overhead to the lowest level in the industry.

Lastly, we are composed of a very small group of business partners and are able to reduce our capital costs to a bare minimum passing our wholesale pricing directly to our customers.

All of this said we're putting 150+ rafts on the water each year now and are starting to populate even the most remote rivers in the U.S. Our customers continue to praise our products and we continue to listen to all the their feedback (positive and negative) to put the best possible product on the market in this price range. For 2009 we've added removable thwarts standard, removed all interior rope attachments, increased the tube diameters on some models, and made other minor adjustments to our technical specs. Our production techniques have been perfected and we continue to work to adapt to the newer technologies on the market.

Lastly, for late 2009 we've worked with a few outfitters and guides to come up with a new "Outfitter" series that we've yet to add to our website because we're producing our bulk quantities at this time. These rafts are available in a 15'x7' model (22" tubes) and a 14'6"x6'10" model (20.5" tubes). We already sold out of the first 10 prototype models but will have these models in stock in late June.

Our #1 goal is just to get people out on the rivers to enjoy these great resources. Give us a call if you have any questions about our products at (208)559-5449 or visit our website at www.saturnrafts.com.

[BakerBoy]

So who's gonna do the warranty work? Expensive US labor or some little chinese guy who could probably just crawl inside the tubes? You would be doing yourself a favor by providing better pictures of the thwart attatchment system, and the floor/tube system as well. Can you buy a raft without those stupid and potentially litigious nylon foot straps and useless aluminum paddles and get a discount?

edit: Pressure relief valves in the main tubes? Weird.

[saturnrafts]

The manufacturer does not warranty the product, we do! Any warranty work would be taken care of by working through us. We can help you work with a local whitewater repair shop and reimburse for the repair costs.

Our customers continue to rave about the nylone foot straps for paddle rafting. They don't have enough slack to concern with getting a foot caught. They are only intended to hook in the first half of a foot. They provide great support for anyone who intends to paddle. Our commercial rafting outfitters and rental shops continue to state how nice the nylon footstraps are for their uses. The nice thing about them compared to foot cups is that they sit flush to the floor and are out of the way when not in use.

As for the paddles, they are very generic but are a good start for Class I-III. We can always add in additional paddles through NRS or Cascade Outfitters. We recommend a 60" guide paddle (Carlisle or otherwise) for an affordable upgrade option.

Thanks for your questions.

[saturnrafts]

I forgot to mention that YES you can buy our rafts without the nylon foot straps or any other accessory provided. However, it takes time to custom order so it can take 2-3 months. Our new Saturn Outfitter rafts are a good example of a few customers doing just that, customizing a raft that we liked so well we worked with them to produce in large quantities. Check out the Saturn Outfitter series only available at www.saturnrafts.com.

[markb]

I picked up one of the 15' Canyons from them end of last year and got it out on the Klamath for 3 days, fully loaded supporting a paddle boat. No issues and seemed completely solid. If you don't want to spend 4 grand+ or buy something 15 years old, I'd do it again.

Cody throws in a nice repair kit, tons of extra material, and a top-off pump. Paddles are worthless. Good guy.

It'd be a shame if this company fails because people think something this cheap is too good to be true. If you're only putting your boat on the water a couple times a year I don't see a reason to worry. I'm thinking about one his funyaks to expand the flotilla.

[refried]

There's some good threads on Mountain Buzz and boatertalk about Saturn rafts, I'd read those and then think about it.
http://www.mountainbuzz.com/forums/s...earchid=704408
I'm sure there good boats but I'd rather buy a high quality used boat that will last 20+ years. look around and wait for a deal on an Aire, NRS, or other quality boat, a few years ago I bought a nice boat, frame and trailer for $1500

[saturnrafts]

Each year we take the input received from customers, our guides, dealers, and outfitters and spend the offseason determining whether any changes should be made to our product line. The evolution from our original Saturn rafts to the new 2016 models is the result of great customer input and a great production team. The Saturn Rafts already include the upgraded Leafield C7 valves (best in the world), 1.5mm PVC bottom floor/side tube protection strip (among the thickest in the industry), 6" thick drop-stitch floor rated over 6psi (you won't find a more rigid pressure rating), and technical specs which provide the ability to handle the toughest conditions you can find (rated to Class V whitewater).

Our continual improvements have taken another positive step for 2016 and the result in a new drop-stitch inflatable floor with the rigidity that will rival anything in the world. The new floors have now been rated up to 10 psi (nearly 3x the rigidity of most whitewater rafts). We have also produced an "outfitter" option which provides a thicker 1.2mm PVC base floor material (nearly 50% thicker) to better handle even the most rigorous commercial use. The outfitter option is available on select rafts at this time but will be available on all rafts by summer.

The last decade has seen the Saturn brand grow from selling a few hundred boats per year to over 3,000 per year in 2015. We estimate that over 15,000 Saturn Rafts, Boats, Kayaks, SUP Board, and KaBoats are on the water around the world. Customer satisfaction continues to be among the strongest in the industry and even with all of the improvements over the past decade we continue to keep our entire product line priced at wholesale price points. The value is the greatest you'll find and if you mention you saw this writeup on TG and order a new boat/raft/kayak, we will provide FREE SHIPPING on any instock product. Enjoy the upcoming boating season.

Saturn Rafts

[Woolly the Mammoth]

Trash raft is trash.

[saturnrafts]

Over 3,000 Saturn Rafts, Kayaks, SUP Boards, and Boats made their maden voyage in 2016 making Saturn one of the fastest growing inflatable boat brands in the world! The 2017 product line is now available and there are some great new products and upgrades.

My favorite is the NEW 12'6" SATURN WHITEWATER RAFT which fills a niche market other products don't. It's a custom raft based off of the 12' Saturn Raft/Kayak RD365X and we have produced them in very limited quantities.

If you are interested in purchasing this product at our discounted introductory price of $999 (plus $69 shipping) please contact Saturn Rafts at (208)350-6572.

The upgrades include:
Raft length increased to 12'6" (6" longer)
Raft width increased to 54" (8" wider)
Exterior tube diameters increased to 15.5"
Inside width increased to 23"
Top tangent length with extra frame wear protection layer (90" x 4" wide)
Overall kick of 19.75" (bow and stern rise to top of tube)
Weight - 79.5 lbs
Inflatable Outfitter dropstitch floor is produced with 1.3mm PVC and also increased in total thickness to 6" (4" is intalled on standard 12' Raft/Kayak)
Bottom protection 1.5mm thick black PVC stretched to cover full bottom surface area and half way up the exterior tubes for added protection where it's needed the most.
5 Heavy-duty 2" D-rings installed for frame strapping (replaced 1" standard D-rings)
Width increased to 54"
Additional soft rubber/nylon lifting handles added
Circular wear patches installed on bottom surface cornes for triple wear protection
Stainless steel lifting handle installed on the front of the raft for carrying and frame strapping
Top chafe / frame wear pad installed on top of both side tube and rear of the raft
Solid black rub strake added to protect side tubes and bottom PVC covering wrap
4 (four) exterior air chambers installed for added safety (only 2 exterior air chambers in the 12' Saturn Raft/Kayak)
Interior thwarts removed (this design is meant for frame package and rowing option - frame packages sold separately)

[saturnrafts]

This is a great achievement and a thorough comparison of the 13' Saturn Whitewater Raft vs. 5 other brands. The #1 ranking as the best whitewater raft on the market for fishing is pretty awesome and much appreciated.

https://www.flyfishingatlas.com/best...fishing-rafts/