AIRE Blog

Doing Our Part

Businesses that adopt “green” policies tend to find some financial savings and can pick up some good pubic relations.  So, here is my shameless attempt to impress you with our environmental awesomeness and with a cooperative relationship we have with a local Boise company.    

Early, every Monday though Friday our factory fires up and sheets of fabric are laid over two huge cutting tables.  The cutting tables are like reverse air hockey tables, they suck the fabric down tight so an automated blade can skate across the fabric whipping out amazing boats and accessories.  For the most part, we have been able to pattern our cutting to keep scrap at a minimum.  

But even with our efficient engineering, there is still a small rainbow assortment of waste that we don’t really want to pile into our dumpster.  AIRE has done pretty good keeping our scrap out of the landfill; some scrap is sent out to our service centers, some turn into d-rings and some of it is goes to Esh. 

What is Esh? I’m glad you asked!

Esh is a grassroots, local clothing manufacture that is beginning to gain a little niche in the climbing/outdoor market.   Rich Gardunia, the founder of Esh, is a crazy good climber, cranked a bike from one end of this county to the other, can brush his teeth while walking across a slack line and can run a pretty mean sewing machine.  He started Esh with one product called the Belay Slave and has since diversified his line using recycled materials such as old climbing gear, bike tires and now, scrap AIRE material.  

  

I think Esh is a pretty cool business and I’m glad our two outdoor companies can work together to save the planet one piece of scrap PVC at a time!

Peace,

Sheena

Tributary and AIRE are Not Created Equal

I have been pondering how to write this blog without sounding like I’m dogging on our Tributary brand, but it is true, Tributary and AIRE are not the same.  We created Tributary as a cheaper division of AIRE, and by cheaper I do mean lower in price, warranty and quality.  We’ve had Tributary boats for 6 years and it has been a great addition to our selection.  With Tributary we try to compete with the price of glued PVC boats and still give you a well constructed boat with good components. 

We try really hard to have a good reputation of customer service and satisfaction and do our best to go above and beyond expectations, so it bums me out whenever I talk to a Tributary customer who thinks they have an AIRE warranty.  I end up feeling like the bad guy and they end up feeling mislead.   Here is my attempt to explain and clear up any misunderstanding between AIRE and Tributary and be as entertaining as possible.    

Materials – All AIRE boats use Ferrari brand PreContraint PVC.  If you have ever been to the Denver Airport, you have seen Ferrari PVC.  It is high quality material, it has to be, it is associated with the word “Ferrari”.  We use Ferrari PVC on the callers and floor bottoms of Tributary Rafts as well as the tubes of Tributary Catarafts.    We didn’t want to skimp on the PreContraint technology on the bigger boats, however; it is lighter PVC (31oz per square yard) then the AIRE PVC (35/43 oz. per square yard).  We also cut a little corner on cost and quality by using Chinese PVC on the raft floor tops, thwarts and all the Tributary kayaks. 

All the Tributary Rafts and Catarafts and Strike series kayaks have urethane AIREcells (clever name for bladders) just like the AIRE boats.  The Tributary Tomcats and the Sawtooths have Vinyl AIREcells.  Vinyl is not as good as Urethane, but it is not as expensive either and we pass that cost saving onto the consumer.

Construction and Design – For the most part, Tributary boats are constructed and assembled the same way as AIRE boats, basically, a PVC shell with an air holding bladder layer.  We don’t glue seams; this is true for AIRE and Tributary.  Tomcat and Sawtooths have polyester stitched seams all the other Tributary boats have welded seams.  Most of the Tributary boats have designs based on old AIRE designed.  The Catarafts are old Jaguarondi and Ocelots, the Strike is an old Force Expedition and the Tomcat is based off the Caracals. 

Labor – All AIRE boats are made in the heart of Idaho.  All Tributary Boats are made in China.  Need I say more?

Warranty – NONE of the Tributary boats have a no fault warranty.  All of the AIRE boats have a no fault warrant.   Tributary has 1 and 5 year limited warranties which are not the same as the AIRE no fault warranty.  This piece of information is getting lost somewhere between shopping, buying and realizing the Tributary boat has flown off the trailer onto the highway and completed a few back flips on the pavement.   I beg you, please read the warranties, they are right here, they are short, you will see that the no fault warranty protects against user damage and the limited warranties do not.   

So, now that we have established that Tributary is a completely different product line then AIRE, here is some Tributary boats doing some Awesome whitewater, enjoy!

 

 

Peace,

Sheena 

Material Things

AIRE has been making boats for over 20 years with a PVC shell and the Urethane AIREcell (bladder) system.  Last year AIRE introduce a new fabric option and built a few boats with a Urethane shell.  Since that time we have been getting a few questions about our Urethane boats.   

At this particular point in time, we have no intension of going completely away from PVC.  We have been using PVC for over 20 years for good reasons.  PVC it is tough, resilient to river abuse, and relatively inexpensive which is a savings we can pass onto the users. It is also easy to work with in the manufacturing process and makes a strong weld.  We trust our PVC with the urethane bladder combination to give you top performance and durability and we back it up with a 10 year no fault warranty.

The urethane fabric we are offering is not PVC material coated in spay on urethane, the fabric is Urethane.  Both fabrics have a 1670 base denier polyester weave but instead of Polyvinyl Chloride being layered onto the bass fabric, it is Polyurethane. 

The Urethane fabric is about 10 times more abrasion resistant then PVC, which is a big part of why we decided to offer it as a custom, top of the line option.  For example, with a PVC fabric, it took a little over 1200 cycles using the TABER H-22 wheel test to expose the base fabric. The Urethane fabric took over 12,000 cycles before the base fabric was exposed.    (This test compared Erez PVC to Erez PU)

All our rafts and catarafts can be built with urethane in the colors yellow, blue and orange and they still have urethane bladders.  These boats will be a few pounds heavier then their PVC counterparts and they will look more shinny.  When we tested the above urethane boat on the Lochsa, I think it felt a little stiffer and it still looked brand new when we took it off the water.  The urethane material is much more expensive then the PVC and will increase the price of the raft or cataraft by about $1100.00.  At this point, we do not stock Urethane boats here at the factory.  If you would like one of these boats call your local dealer to place an order, it usually takes us about 4 weeks to get urethane boats through production.  Boats built with Urethane still get the 10 year no fault warranty.

If you have any addition questions give us a call at 1-800-247-3432 or send an email to info@aire.com.

 Peace,

Sheena

 

'Tis The Season

AIRE wishes you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Good Boxing Day, Wonderful Kwanzaa and Festivus for the rest of us!  May Santa Clause bring you river gear a'plenty and get nice and rowdy to bring in 2010. 

Peace on earth, good will towards man (and woman and animal),

Sheena

Living the Dream, Working for The Man and Kayaking with Grandma.

I had been working seasonal jobs and enjoying the variety of University life for 6 years, but on November 1, 2007 I had a desk; a green one with PC on it and one side bumped up next to a cubical wall.   It was a bitter sweet moment in life.  It was sweet to be working for an outdoor company and I was happy to have been offered a good job with some great people, but it was still a desk and this was my first year-round career working for the machine of industry, working for…The Man.  Then, as I was getting situated in my new surroundings, my desk gave me a little gift of inspiration and the bitter in the moment was gone.  Scotch taped to the inside of my desk drawer was a quote.  The quote probably originated on a 70’s era bumper sticker and is one we have all heard before:

“Life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn-out, shouting holy sh*t, what a ride!”

 It was a little reminder to keep it real. A reminder that the work week may be 40 hours, but the weekend is 48!  Working a “real” job was going to be okay, and it has been.  "Living the dream" can happen in any circumstance.    

People I get to interact with at this job remind me of the tattered little quote taped in my desk.  We have a dealer in Colorado and the owner lost his hand while playing in the great outdoors a few months ago. On Nov 9th he posted a picture of himself back on his mountain bike.  Another that comes to mind was an email I received from Grandma Dale (not my grandmother), she said;

 “I'm a 65 year old grandmother with two artificial knees and a hip replacement who has never been on the river before. My new husband has been a white water canoer for 30+ years. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get out on the water with him due to all those restrictions.  However, look at me!!!  This picture was taken on my 4 trip out in my new boat. I haven't had so much fun in years.”

Who needs original joints, you can go kayaking anyway and as it turns out, The Man is quite a good boater himself.

Peace,

Sheena

Sale Boats

We have had a few more Rafts and Kayaks trickle back into our demo stock from our regional reps.  They are posted on our specials page and are in need of a good home!

Peace,

Sheena

People of the AIRE Inbox

In the crazy summer selling months I sometimes have to live my river trips vicariously through my email inbox.  There is usually a good story to every repair questions.  I get to help people getting ready for big trips and get work with outfitters and dealers from around the world.  Most email conversation come and go as questions are answered and stories shared but some people I get to hear from a few times a year.

One particular favorite is man who goes by the call-sign “GHD”.  I first got to know GHD when he emailed me a small novel about the zipper he was fighting on an old, prototype 156E. I liked GHD right away and could tell he was a character; he kind of has that “old man of the river” feel and humor about him (thou, he would need a few more years to be considered old) and has talent for writing and enjoys to do it.   Everything with him is a good story, even the process of a zipper replacement. 

He emailed once and said, “ I got great news today.  I mentioned the Colorado River in my own boat is the last item on my personal "Bucket List."  Well today I got my ticket to ride... or row rather” he continued a few paragraphs later with, “The sad part of my news is that I will have to sell my IK's to afford to go on the trip.  I love them like I would a slightly handicap child.  But since I only use them a couple of times a year and I really NEED this Colorado River trip I will post them for sale soon.”   I laughed out loud.

GHD wrote a poem about a white man fire once and I was lucky enough to be on the email list that received it, here is a verse, “His ritual born, when Ancients reigned, required him this test, of leaping naked through the flames, and hoping for the best.”  The poem was an attached word file and at the end of his email he said, “So, if for some reason Mt Lemmon burns completely down this weekend ... I was not there.  Later – ghd”.  Again, I laughed out load.

He sent me a story about his solo run down the Salt River at high water.  Here is my favorite paragraph:

“I was so cold I was physically shaking or it might just have been my adrenaline.  Standing at the edge of the water, I kept fiddling around; I knew I was hesitating.  I was second-guessing myself, that armchair adventure charm when it all sounds so exciting sitting at home warm and safe was gone. I stood before the truth and most of my excitement had evaporated with the cold reality.  About that time I heard a group of people talking as they huddled together on the small sand hill behind me sharing some hot coffee. The wind brought me their words like a Biblical Prophet.  The small group was discussing my survival with a definitely negative slant. It was at that very moment I knew I had to at least get in the river no matter what outcome might result.  I had to at least try and find out if I could do it.”

I must admit, I get a little smirk on my face when a see a message from GHD in my inbox.  Without fail I get tidbits of life’s adventures, challenges and disappointments in the form of river stories, photos, videos and forwards. People and stories from my AIRE Inbox usually tie me over until I can get out of the office and back out on the river!

Peace,

Sheena

Cleaning and Storing a Boat

I read a post on Facebook last week that said 'Only 90 more days until Winter.'  I was surprised and not surprised that fall is here.  With the cooler temperatures also comes extremely low flow boating or 'gulp' no more boating until spring.  For those of us who are, resentfully so, done for the year, it's time to start thinking about cleaning up the boating gear and storing it for the winter.

· First, get the boat blown up early on a warm day so that all of the food wrappers, mud, rock, cans, bottles, gear and other forgotten items can be cleaned out. 

· Get out the hose and wash rag so the boat can be washed and wiped down.  You can use some dishsoap and water to clean the boat if there are patches of mud or other 'substances' stuck.  A little elbow grease should do the trick.

(Another reason to do a thorough cleaning before storage is mice! They like to chew through boats, especially if there is food residue left inside.)

· Prop the boat up in a shady spot to air dry for a few hours.  This let's the water drain off and out of the boat. 

· How you ask should the boat be stored?  In an ideal world it is best to store the boat softly inflated.  But really, who has room for that?  Not me, so roll the boat up, throw a strap around it and store it where the sun don't shine...in your garage or storage shed out of the sunlight and the elements.

Oh, if your boat does need some repairs done to it, now is a great time to get it to one of our repair facilities.  Give them a call prior to sending so they know it will be coming.

Be sure to email us at info@aire.com if you have specific questions or if you need more information.

Troy

DEMO SALE, DEMO SALE, DEMO SALE!

AIRE’s demos will be posted for SALE on Monday, September 14^th!!!  Be watching our specials page and get ready to call your nearest dealer to get your hands on a used raft, cataraft or kayak.

Peace,

Sheena  

Class V Swim Team

It wasn’t a very nice looking class V rapid at all.  It had some fairly serious swim consequence miles from a road or any help.  We scrambled along the bank of the river figuring out how to get our raft through the drop, round the rock and pass the munchy whitewater and logs below.   We scouted it, discussed it, and decided to run Double Drop on the Deadwood River, ID.  The drop was clean, we missed the raft tearing bundle of sticks at the top left of the drop but "around the rock" like we planned, didn’t really happen.  After back paddling like hell for a few strokes, I experienced the best highside of my life.  If you are ever in a highside situation, I strongly recommend doing it in a raft full of river guides. It was almost surreal how textbook it felt.  We were all on the rock with a paddle in one hand and the chicken line in the other.

 A second later the current took the raft which drug us like rag dolls off the rock.  I recall attempting to jump in the raft while still having my hand around the chicken line in a sort of acrobatic, aerial maneuver that, at some point, had my feet above my head.  It didn’t work very well and I was in the water.  My mind raced to the image of the rapid and the, “do not swim here or you will die on that log” conversation we had while scouting.   It was only for an instant, I still had my death grip on the line and had all ready scrambled half way into the boat.  I spent all of about 3 seconds in my Class V swim and it wasn’t even the worse swim of my life, but I will never forget that surge of adrenaline when my body hit the water.

I was reminded of my brief class V swim after Ethan, our shipping manager, flipped his cataraft in Jaws One on the North Fork of the Payette River.  You can view his flip here.  He was a little shaken up the next day and said his body was really sore after that swim, not because he bashed into any sharp rocks but from the intensity of the moment. 

Peace,

Sheena