The Travel Canoe is a full-size, 16-foot inflatable canoe that fits in the trunk of a car! But the question is, how well does it actually work as a canoe, and is it worth the price? Let’s see, with an in-depth and unbiased review.

The Sea Eagle Travel Canoe Specifications

Price: $1800-2000 (USD)
Width: 38”
Length: 16’
Weight: 64 LBS (29 KG)
Capacity: 915 LBS (415 KG)
Best use: All conditions

The Travel Canoe features:

• Drop stitch constructions that can be pumped to 10 psi
• Plastic bow and stern moulds to cut through the water
• Traditional wood and webbed seats
• A removable rear skeg
• 4 floor drains
• 6 D rings to secure things down
• 2 non-slip EVA deck pads

Set-Up

The big reason you don’t see inflatable canoes around is that they are so big! The Sea Eagle Travel Canoe is no exception. Despite that, it is very easy to assemble. It has three large chambers, a floor, and two sides, which need to be blown up to 10 psi. Blowing this up manually would take a long time, but using an electric pump took minimal effort.

Portability

One of the big drawbacks of canoes is that they are big, heavy, cumbersome, and hard to transport. So immediately the Sea Eagle Travel Canoe gets high marks for portability – it came straight out of my car trunk! It was also quick and easy to set up with an electric pump.

That being said, carrying this solo was not an easy task. While 64 LBS might be light for a canoe, it is fairly heavy to carry in a bag. On top of this, the bag is not a high-end, form-fitting carry bag. Once the canoe is fully inflated it is still difficult to carry. A 16’ and 64 LBS canoe is not easy to carry solo. Carrying it inflated or deflated would be much easier with a second person.

Comfort

The Sea Eagle Travel Canoe is a wide, open, inflated kayak so it feels spacious and comfortable. The seat is a classic webbed canoe seat. It has three sitting positions you can choose from. These positions depend on how many people are using the canoe. Overall it is a comfortable canoe seat without any special features.

Stability

The Sea Eagle Travel Canoe is the most stable canoe that I have ever paddled. I expected it to be stable due to its flat bottom but was still surprised by how stable it is. It is the type of canoe that anyone can feel comfortable in.

There are two types of stability. Primary stability is when the boat is flat on the water. The Sea Eagle Travel Canoe has a lot of primary stability. Then there is secondary stability. This is when you hold the boat on edge. It is more relevant for people who intend to take the boat into challenging water. The Sea Eagle Travel Canoe has really great secondary stability too. When holding it on the edge it locks into place.

Performance

As a general rule with paddle craft, when you have additional stability you typically give up performance. And that is the case with The Sea Eagle Travel Canoe too. It is not a speedy boat.

The Travel Canoe does travel through the water fairly efficiently due to the fact it is a 16’ canoe. But it does not compare to a canoe with a keel along the hull or a displacement hull that is designed for speed. The Travel Canoe is slower than other canoes.

Features

Canoes don’t tend to have a huge number of features, but there are a few features worth talking about.

The Sea Eagle Travel Canoe has drain holes. This means that you can open the drain holes if you get swamped while on the water. Drain holes work well in an inflatable canoe because the canoe will stay on the surface whether it is swamped or not, meaning the drain holes stay above water and work well too.

In fact, the inflatable nature of the Sea Eagle Travel Canoe means that it can never swamp and sink. You are basically paddling a giant life jacket. So if you flip the canoe you can simply flip it back over and paddle to the side without having to empty the boat. Perfect for paddling on large bodies of water or the sea.

The only other feature that this canoe has is the removable skeg. This is necessary on a canoe with such a flat hull because it helps the canoe track. Without the skeg, a little bit of wind would blow this canoe all over the place.

Who is The Sea Eagle Travel Canoe for?

This is a canoe for anybody who wants a canoe. But particularly for someone who wants a portable canoe. This boat allows you to throw it in the back of a car, and store it in an apartment, but also to take it on multi-day canoe trips. It has the stability for a beginner, but might not be as useful for advanced paddlers looking to cover a lot of distance.

Value

The Sea Eagle Travel Canoe retails for $1800 – 2000 (USD). This is about what you would expect to pay for a quality canoe. In fact, quality canoes can retail at even double this price. So for this price, you get a quality canoe with the added bonus of great portability. That means that, although it is a lot of money, it is really great value. It is definitely a canoe to consider.

Kayak: Sea Eagle Travel Canoe
Paddles:  Bending Branches Expedition Plus
PFD:   NRS Odyssey PFD (Touring and Rec)
Clothing:  NRS Short Sleeved Guide Shirt
Sunglasses: Wiley X

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If you enjoy solo, multi-day paddle adventures, then definitely add this hybrid-style craft to your off-season scouting list. I'll get you started with some basics about pack boats, since I haven't covered the canoe designs. After that I will discuss my first-hand experiences with the Swift Cruiser. Let's get into it. 

What is a pack boat?

A pack boat is the ultimate solo-trip paddle craft that combines the best features of a canoe and a kayak. A pack boat uses the body of a sleek, lightweight canoe. There is a kayak style seat built into the center of the canoe. This means a double-bladed, kayak-style paddle is used (no J-stroke necessary with this guy). 

What are the advantages of a Swift Cruiser? 

A canoe is an excellent choice for multi-day paddling trips. Especially paddling trips that involve portages (like we saw in Killarney Provincial Park). The open cockpit of the canoe makes it easier to pack and stow gear in bulky bags. This gear can then be carried more efficiently over land during the portage.

Things have to be compartmentalized in smaller doses when packing a kayak. This means more work when it comes time to reconfigure for a lengthy portage.

Canoes are also more stable than kayaks, which is another advantage of the pack boat approach. I found that the Swift Cruiser had excellent initial stability (sitting flat), as well as secondary stability (holding the boat on edge). 

Standard Canoe vs Pack Boat

A pack boat, or a “pack canoe,” preserves the assets of the canoe (i.e. stability, storage capacity, and portage management). The pack boat gets the canoe closer to the paddling performance of a kayak.

Middle Seat, Foot Pegs and Sculpted Gunnels

This is done by adding in a middle seat, foot pegs for generating extra purchase, and sculpting the gunnels to avoid any knuckle-knocking while using the two-blade paddle. Because of the difference in sitting positions, pack boats have a lower center of gravity than a classic canoe, which gives it the edge in windy conditions.

Lightweight Canoe that is Easy to Carry

Pack boats are also significantly lighter than standard canoes, which makes them more nimble on the water and much easier to carry on land. The Swift Cruiser even come with a removable yoke to assist in the portage process. It can be screwed on as a shoulder brace when needed, and then simply tucked away when not. 

How much do pack boats weigh?

One of the clear advantages for solo paddlers is how ridiculously lightweight pack boats are. For instance, thanks to its carbon-kevlar composition, the Swift Cruiser 14.8 weighs only 25 pounds, while the 16.8 only notched the scale up to 29 pounds.

I was able to pick them up with little more than a finger. That's pretty spectacular for something that looks and smells like a canoe. These boats are not only a breeze to carry, but they feel fast and maneuverable on the water. I was able to get a good clip going (the boat held its course beautifully), and using that exceptional secondary stability, I was also able to turn swiftly whenever I wanted.

Is the Swift Cruiser a comfortable boat?

The kayak-style seat in the Swift Cruiser pack boat is super comfortable. When I was younger, I used to be able to get away with sitting on just about anything. Nowadays, a good seat is a must. The lumbar support, in particular, was clutch. It's also worth noting that in the larger, 16.8 (16 feet, 8 inches) Cruiser, the seat is on a track, which allows it to shift forward a bit in order to compensate for a fully-loaded canoe. And finally, the openness of the canoe body allowed me to sit cross-legged, or stretch out my legs whenever I wanted. 

So in conclusion, the Swift Cruiser pack boat (particular emphasis on the 14.8) was incredibly fun to paddle. Given how light, quick, and comfortable it was, I'm in agreement that this is the ultimate solo-tripping boat. If you have the pleasure of making it out to Killarney Provincial Park (here's another episode of Paddle Tales to entice you with), there is no better craft for that kind of adventure. If you liked this review, then make sure to head over to my PaddleTV channel for more gear-talk, paddling tips, and plenty of other beautiful paddling destinations.

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