# Aire river couch?



## Bootboy (Aug 25, 2020)

My buddy has one and it’s nice, but it’s bulky and gets left at home more often than not. It’s not worth the hassle.


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

I know of 2 that bought them, like Bootboy's friend, they stay at home more often than not. In warmer weather, you really need a beach towell to sit on, they are hot and sticky. I did watch a guy inflate one with a K Pump once, that was entertaining LOL


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## IDriverRunner (Aug 18, 2015)

I have one and take it on about half my trips. It all depends on what river I'm on and how much water is in the river. I've never regretted taking it along, but I've also never missed it when I don't have it.


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## Blade&Shaft (May 23, 2009)

I took one down Shoshone and swam every rapid out of it. Don't think it's designed for running whitewater...


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## Electric-Mayhem (Jan 19, 2004)

They are more "cool factor" then anything for me... and not enough for me to get one. I've been on trips with people who brought one and was less then impressed with how comfortable they are. We had to leave them partially deflated to actually be reasonably comfortable but I found my camp chair to be nicer to sit in.

Whether inflated or deflated and rolled...they take up a lot of space. IMHO...if they were $200 I'd be more interested...but at $550 or whatever they cost there are other things I'd personally rather spend money on.


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## Electric-Mayhem (Jan 19, 2004)

Blade&Shaft said:


> I took one down Shoshone and swam every rapid out of it. Don't think it's designed for running whitewater...


Definitely not a water craft hahaa...

That said...if you strap two of them back to back they are a lot more stable and don't roll over evidently.


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## IDriverRunner (Aug 18, 2015)

Electric-Mayhem said:


> I've been on trips with people who brought one and was less then impressed with how comfortable they are. We had to leave them partially deflated to actually be reasonably comfortable but I found my camp chair to be nicer to sit in.


My trick is to fully inflate but find a log to roll under the front edge of the couch. It gives a slightly 'reclined' feel to it and makes it much more comfortable.


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## Blade&Shaft (May 23, 2009)

We ended up lashing a SUP to it that doubled as a foot rest and also prevented it from tipping backwards. Also found that running rapids in it sideways, pointed downstream vertically, was the only way to actually get through anything.


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## Bigwaterforeveryone (Feb 7, 2018)

Give it up, your wife is right.


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## mustloverafting (Jun 29, 2008)

riparian666 said:


> Anyone have an Aire River Couch? Seems like it would be a nice accessory in camp for multi-day trips.
> Convincing The Wife has been a tough sell, so I'm looking for anyone with positive experiences to
> relate to her, or negative info to convince me to give it up!


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

mustloverafting said:


> View attachment 68613


Wow, hit a rapid and ur passengers get to enjoy that hard ass aluminum chair that puts you up a good foot higher than anyone would want to be! The expression on their faces will last them the rest of their life {once they're released from the emergency room}

Neat idea I suppose.. practical? Naah..


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## IDriverRunner (Aug 18, 2015)

MNichols said:


> Neat idea I suppose.. practical? Naah..


It works very well like that when only the top half is inflated!


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## gdaut (Jul 30, 2019)

Having a fully inflated River Couch strapped to your boat would make it easier t right the boat when it flips. So there is that.


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## HElias (Apr 16, 2019)

Forgiveness is easier than permission. It is way more fun to play offense rather than defense. Cheers!


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## scottcsu (Mar 2, 2012)

They’re big and bulky, but can be fun in camp. Mine is currently inflated on our back patio. The biggest challenge I’ve found is rigging them for transport and accessibility. They also don’t have enough D rings, so I added 2 to the front nose on each side of the bottom tube. Also as was mentioned previously, don’t inflate the top tube to max.


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## Dr.AndyDVM (Jul 28, 2014)

They are bulky. And it’s a lot easier to set up a camp chair than inflate a couch every night in camp.

I have one I added a thwart to. I anchor it off shore and the kids love to play on it. It also can be paddled pretty well. Especially if you go sideways.








We have taken ours down the Main Payette several times. Even paddling it straight on like you see in the video we make it through most of the rapids.


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## MT4Runner (Apr 6, 2012)

Would be cool if there was one made of a lighter fabric--like packrafts. If you could roll it up to the size of a sleeping bag, it would be a lot more fun to have along.

Inflation? that's what my Milwaukee blower is for.


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## zbaird (Oct 11, 2003)

Mine goes on most mutlidays, and comes off the boat 75% of the days. Dr Andy and MT4 have it right. The thwart ottoman is a mandatory addition as far as Im concerned. Makes it way more useful in camp and on the water. A cordless blower makes it a 3 minute job in camp to inflate. They are a bulky extra 40 lbs to haul around.


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## scottcsu (Mar 2, 2012)

The thwart ottoman is an awesome idea! I’ll try this on our next multi-day. Great call!

we (rather…I) bought ours before kids, and since we’ve found some creative ways to use it between camps. Once inflated on the river (or at home), I loathe to deflate it.

I made a sleeping tramp for our 14’ rig (again pre-child) and the couch now serves as an extension to that so we don’t need to break the couch or deck down between camps and we have a play/crash tramp… a bonus for mom and our 2 y/o (sleeping under the orange)









During runoff, It does also make for a fun creek toy. It’s much more stable if the bottom tube is deflated some.









and this I believe is the critical mod:


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

MT4Runner said:


> Would be cool if there was one made of a lighter fabric--like packrafts. If you could roll it up to the size of a sleeping bag, it would be a lot more fun to have along.


Your next build ? Perhaps design a recliner mechanism into it ?


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## bolen3 (Jun 12, 2018)

We take it on most trips and set it up for the kids to play on. They have an absolute blast running at it and flipping it over 100's of times. But we are picky because we choose to keep it on the sand to reduce injuries so it comes out about 50% of the time.


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## Hoomalimali (Aug 19, 2021)

scottcsu said:


> They’re big and bulky, but can be fun in camp. Mine is currently inflated on our back patio. The biggest challenge I’ve found is rigging them for transport and accessibility. They also don’t have enough D rings, so I added 2 to the front nose on each side of the bottom tube. Also as was mentioned previously, don’t inflate the top tube to max.
> 
> View attachment 68719


Dude, that's a terrific image, thanks.


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