Highlander first-day checklist

Inflate to 10–12 psi with a real gauge, install the Traverse or fin drive, set the perch, and ease into your first paddle — then pack down rolled (not folded) and never stored wet at pressure.

Inflatable fishing kayaks have a different first-day flow than rigid ones. There's no roof rack to wrestle — but there's an inflation step, a drive install, and a pack-down at the end of the day. Here's the new-owner checklist for the Highlander 100, 120, and 140T AirTrek.

The night before

1. Pull everything out of the bag

Lay it all out somewhere clean and dry:

The hull (rolled in the bag)
The pump and hoses
The seat / perch
The drive (Traverse Pedal Drive or kick-up fin drive)
The Highlander Fin Drive Mount Kit (if you went the fin drive route)
The rudder kit (if you ordered one)
Quad Rails or accessories
Pressure gauge — a separate digital gauge is worth having before the first paddle. The gauge on a hand pump will not register anything until the boat is around 6 psi — that is normal, and it is a long way to go before the needle moves at all, so the boat will already look and feel inflated while the gauge still reads zero. Keep pumping in steady cycles until it comes off the peg. A digital gauge makes that stretch easier to read.

2. Skim the inflation steps

Don't memorize them — just know that the boat inflates in one chamber (single-chamber AirTrek construction) to 10–12 psi, and that the gauge stays on zero for the first stretch of it.

At the launch

1. Lay the boat out flat

Open the rolled hull on flat ground — a clean tarp, dock, sand, grass. Avoid sharp gravel and concrete with embedded rocks.

2. Inflate to 10–12 psi

Connect the pump to the inflation valve
Pump until the gauge reads 10 psi
Continue topping off to 12 psi
Don't be alarmed by a gauge reading zero early on — it won't move until roughly 6 psi. Keep going.

Typical inflation time with a decent dual-action pump: 6–10 minutes. You're working harder at the very top of the pressure range — that's normal, and that's why you want a good pump.

3. Visual check at pressure

Walk around the boat. The deck should feel firm — like a real floor, not a bounce house. The sides should be uniformly hard. If there's a soft spot anywhere, top off a bit more or check for a slow leak before launching.

4. Install the drive

If you're running the Traverse Pedal Drive:

Drop the drive into the molded socket on the Highlander
Confirm it seats fully
Lock the drive's retention mechanism
The drive bolts in the same way it does on a rigid Cajo

If you're running a fin drive (Hobie MD 180, Pelican, Vibe Hero 2.0-era, Lightning Kayaks):

Install the Highlander Fin Drive Mount Kit first (this is the inflatable-specific kit, different from the rigid Fin Drive Adapter)
Mount the kit per the included instructions
Drop the fin drive into the kit's socket
Lock per the drive's own retention

Hobie 360 isn't compatible. Hobie's ePDL+ is unconfirmed (we haven't tested it yet).

5. Set the seat / perch

The Highlander runs the Horizon Elevated Seat Perch — not the Horizon Pro Seat (Pro is rigid-line; on an inflatable, the Pro footprint doesn't seat well).

Place the perch on the deck in the seat zone
Use the included straps / D-rings to secure it
Set the seat back angle to a middle position for the first paddle

6. Install the rudder (if your kit includes one)

The rudder comes as a separate kit on Highlander inflatables (rigid models include it standard). If you ordered the rudder kit:

Install the bracket per the included instructions
Clip the steering cables and pull-up cord
Test the deploy and the foot pedals before launch

7. Load gear before launching

Tackle, drybags, rods, electronics. Loading from dry ground is easier than from the water.

On the water

1. First paddle

Get in the boat with the drive stowed, paddle out into open water. Get a feel for the hull at pressure — drop-stitch construction makes the boat feel surprisingly stiff, but it's still an inflatable. Hull balance is different from a rigid.

2. Deploy the drive

Once you're in open water and balanced:

Drop the prop or fins into the deployed position
Start pedaling gently — a slow ramp-up for the first 30 seconds
The Traverse Drive indexer should set; the fin drive should engage smoothly
Build cadence

If the Traverse prop sits at 45° when the indexer engages instead of vertical, that's a defect — stop, take a photo, file the claims form. See Troubleshooting your Traverse Pedal Drive.

3. Try the rudder

If you installed a rudder, deploy it via the pull-up cord and test foot steering left and right.

4. Standing on the AirTrek

Yes, you can stand on the Highlander. The drop-stitch deck is stiffer than people expect — but it's not the same as a rigid HDPE deck. For your first stand:

Pedal to a stop
Hands on the gear tracks
Stand up gradually, weight centered
Don't lock your knees — keep a slight bend, ride the small flex
Sit back down before you get tired

The Highlander 100's smaller footprint feels less stable standing than the 120 or 140T. Build confidence over a few outings before you commit to fishing standing all day.

5. Watch for pressure changes

A hot day can raise internal pressure as the air heats up. If you launched at 12 psi cold and now it's 90°F and full sun, the boat may be over-pressure. Crack the valve briefly to let pressure off if it feels overinflated.

At the end of the day

1. Rinse if you were in salt

Hose down the hull, the drive, the rudder, the perch — anything that touched salt. Salt sitting in moving parts is what kills drives.

2. Pack-down

Deflate — open the valves, let the air out
Once mostly flat, fold along natural seams or roll from one end to the other
Don't fold creases at pressure — let pressure drop first
Pack the seat, drive, accessories separately
Store the bag dry — don't bag a wet hull

3. Storage

Dry, rolled (not creased)
Out of direct sunlight long-term
Storage pressure of ~5 psi is fine if you're storing inflated short-term
Don't store at full 12 psi long-term — that's a stressor on the seams

See Maintaining your Cajo — wash, store, off-season for the long-term storage version.

Rider height note

The Highlander has a minimum rider height for comfortable pedaling — the Slide Lock pedal range and the seat geometry don't accommodate riders shorter than the rigid-line lineup's range starts at. See Minimum height for Highlander AirTrek pedal for the current spec.

What to do if something feels off

If something isn't right, submit a claim at caminojourney.com/pages/claims-form and our team will follow up. Inflation issues, drive issues, missing parts — all run through the same path.