The Z-Pro Tango 3 is a high quality inflatable kayak for 3 persons. The review of this kayak is based upon the experiences of using the kayak in open water.
About Z-Pro
Z-Pro is owned by Zebec and make a range of inflatable products with kayaks and canoes being just one part of their business, they are very experienced and make good quality inflatable products. They are based in S. Korea, I believe that the kayaks are made in their factory in China.
The Tango is available as a single person kayak, a 2 person kayak called the Tango 2 as well as the 3 person Tango 3 or Tango 300. They are all based upon the same general shape and design with differing sizes depending upon the amount of seats. Whilst I haven’t used the 1 or 2 person boats, I would think that this review will help anyone looking for either of these products.
The Tango 3
Construction
What is the Tango 3 made of? This is a high specification inflatable, made of an Oxford fabric cover coated with polyurethane 1000 for durability. The bottom is made of 1000 denier reinforced PVC material for strength.
There are 3 air chambers, the floor and both sides. The floor chamber has reinforcing with smaller air pockets, and is V-shaped underneath for good stability and tracking when paddling in rougher weather.
This air-chamber type design has been around for as long as inflatable kayaks have been, but it is now superseded by new technology in fabrics and stitching which has created the dropstitch kayaks, this provides an even more rigid and stronger kayak body.
Size
- Length: 410cm
- Width: 95cm
- Weight: 18kg
- Max capacity: 3 (2+1)
This is a large kayak designed for 3 persons, the manufacturers recommend 2 adults and 1 child. I have used it for this purpose and it has plenty of room for 3 people and our gear too, we have even managed to squeeze two small children in the middle with no problems.
Features
The Tango 3 has the following features:
- Removable skeg
- Large Boston inflation/deflation valves
- 3 adjustable seats
- Drain valve
- Cargo netting and pockets for gear storage
- Front and rear carry handles
The skeg and the V-shaped floor increase the straightness when paddling especially in wind and waves.
It is available in a choice of 3 colours, red, blue and yellow-green.
Accessories
The Z-Pro Tango 3 comes with the following accessories and equipment that you will need to operate the kayak.
- Hand pump
- 2 aluminium kayak paddles, detachable that come with 2 canoe t-grips
- A repair kit
- A carry bag
It didn’t come with life vests.
Using the Tango 3
The kayak folds quite easily and neatly into its carry bag which means that it is easy to carry and transport in your car for instance. The seats, paddles, pump and anything else you might need will not fit in the bag as well, so bear that in mind when transporting.
Inflation/deflation
Blowing the kayak up or letting it down is easy with the large valves. If your pump doesn’t fit there are always different sized nozzles you can get hold of. I use a separate pressure gauge and you quickly learn roughly how many pumps you need to do to fill each chamber. Our pump allows for about 60 pumps before we have reached the correct pressure in each chamber of about 10psi.
We can pump up ours with a reasonable hand pump that pumps on both strokes in less than 10 minutes.
Letting it down is easy by unscrewing the valves and opening them up to let the air out, the air rushes out of the chambers with a pop.
Attaching the seats
After inflating the kayak you will want to attach the seats. Although this is a 3 person kayak, you can still use it as single or double kayak.
The seats clip to the walls of the kayak with clips that go forward and backwards. The bottom of each seat has a Velcro pad which aligns with the opposite Velcro strips on the floor of the kayak.
The seats are comfortable, waterproof and filled with foam. They have pockets on the back for storage.
The paddles
The two paddles have detachable stems, which means you can turn them into kayak or canoe paddles if you wish. Whilst they may not be professional standard they do work very well. The fact that they can be dismantled helps with transporting the gear.
Kayaking in the Tango 3
The handles at the front and back make moving the kayak into the water easy and good for holding on while you are boarding and placing any gear into it.
Once you are in the water the Tango 3 is very stable and the design of the hull and skeg means that it keeps a straight-line very well.
Paddling is easy and despite its size it turns well in the water.
It is constructed well enough that it can used on still water like a lake or slow flowing river and as a sea-kayak for paddling around the coast.
Coastal trips are what I have used it mostly for and it has handled light waves and wind with ease, not been blown off course or buffeted about.
Exiting the water is also very easy and the strong bottom means it can be dragged onto sand and light rocks, before deflating it to take it away again.
Conclusion
This is a good strong 3 person inflatable kayak, well made of tough material and rigid when fully inflated it paddles well on all waters.
The round air chamber construction is quickly becoming old fashioned and obsolete, it may be that in the near future all inflatable kayaks will be made of the drop stitch technology meaning this style of kayak is a little out dated.
It inflates and deflates easily through the large air valves. You will need life jackets which are not included.
There is plenty of space for 3 persons and it is equally good when used by one or two people.
It folds up well when deflated and fits into the supplied carry bag, which although heavy, when down, at 18kg is light enough to pick up and carry to a car or truck.
Putting the kayak away
It is possible to roll up the Tango and place it into a large canvas bag provided for carrying and storing. It fits easily into the trunk, or boot, of most cars, and is easy enough to carry from the water to the car.
Comments
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