Today we paddled the Sawtooth and the RTM Disco for about 1.5 hours, swapping back and forth.
I parked by the bay, and used the 12 volt pump to fill the Sawtooth. Total setup time was 10 minutes from car to water. I was able to solo carry the Sawtooth the short distance to the water with no problem.
Winds were variable between 5 and 10 MPH. The bay was 6 inch chop when we launched, and up to 1 foot as we crossed under the nearby bridge.
Comparing the Sawtooth to the RTM Disco is really not a fair comparison. The RTM Disco is one of the fastest plastic sit on top hard shells on the market. It's dimensions of 14' * 26", with most of the length in the waterline lends to speed, and it handles well with good tracking. The Sawtooth dimensions of 13' 3" * 32", with a waterline length of under 10', means it cannot compete for speed.
The Disco pulled away from the Sawtooth every time. Using a GPS, under moderate paddling effort and pace (our usual cruise/touring pace), the Disco was 'cruising' at 2.6 to 2.7 mph into the headwind, the Sawtooth 'cruising' at 2.1 to 2.2 mph into the headwind. The Disco paddler was using the smaller blade Aquabound Stingray paddle, the Sawtooth the larger bladed Werner Camano paddle. We saw similar speeds as my wife and I swapped kayaks back and forth. We "should" have tried both paddling the Sawtooth at the same time (tandem setup) to check speeds, but did not think of it at the time. I should note that if you paddle the Sawtooth as a tandem, it may well be faster than the Disco.
The 230 cm Werner Camano paddle with it's longer blade design is barely adequate for the Sawtooth with it's higher seating position and the 9" side tubes. I'd recommend a 240 cm Camano paddle for this kayak. A 230 cm in a Aquabound Stingray blade design would work fine.
The Sawtooth sits higher in the water than the Disco, and the paddler sits higher as well. The Sawtooth did well in the 5-10 mph winds, and tracks very well. From a side wind, a quartering head wind, and a direct headwind tracking was perfect. I did need to do some corrective strokes when paddling with a quartering tail wind, but at the time the weight distribution was not the best with the seat a bit too far forward. I adjusted the seat a bit further back and the tracking improved "some". Aire recommends the seat to be slightly forward of center.
The Disco is a very quiet kayak cutting chop and swell silently. The Sawtooth has some "hull slap", which is reported to happen with most, if not all inflatables.
The Disco "feels" tippy, though we have never dumped one (yet). The Sawtooth feels and is very very stable. Solo deep water re-entry into the Sawtooth is much easier than the Disco, and both are easy enough with a 2nd kayak bracing the re-entry kayak for a rescue. You can move around on the Sawtooth, changing positions and even crawling around the kayak, which is something I won't try on the Disco.
The Sawtooth tracks well, yet still spins on a dime. 180 and 360 spins are much much easier than on the Disco. The Sawtooth can way out maneuver the Disco, which would be great in rivers, creeks, mangroves, etc. We did not try it without the skeg due to the wind and chop. I can see paddling without the skeg in a creek, river, or mangroves - this is a good handling boat.
The Sawtooth kept me high and dry in the chop (I am 5'7" and weigh 197 lbs). The water never made it to the seat area, staying down below the crowned top of the floor and well under the seat. No water made it to my legs or feet either.
Overall the Sawtooth is a decent kayak. However, we don't intend to swap our 2 Discos for another Sawtooth. The Discos are fast and require less effort to paddle. The Disco is more like a sports car, and the Sawtooth a family sedan. Again, I know it is an unfair comparison, but it is what we have on hand for our test. At this point, we plan to continue to car top the Disco hardshells into the future.
A note on the zippers covering the inner bladders and possible water entry under the outer shell - it is not likely under normal paddling conditions. The zippers sit higher than water will normally reach on the side tubes, and also on the crowned floor.
For us as full time RV travelers, packing the inflatable kayaks at the recovery point, then pulling them out again in a campsite to rinse them, then drying and re-packing will take some extra effort and camp space. The actual inflating and launching is very easy with a 12 volt pump, drying and re-packing takes more effort.
Overall I like the Sawtooth. The Aire brand is tough and reliable, and way better than inexpensive inflatable kayaks by almost every measure. It is comfortable to sit in, much more comfortable than the Disco cockpit. It handles and tracks very well. It is reported to be faster than the Innova Sunny and Safari. The drawbacks are it can't compete for speed with a Disco (unfair comparison), takes more effort to paddle than a Disco (unfair comparison), and the drying and re-packing will take some effort and space within our campsites. For our style of 1 to 3 hour paddles, hardshells turn out to be much easier, but with the decided draw back of being on top of the tow/drive-around car 24/7, 365 a year.
For now, we "might" keep the Sawtooth, and also try a tandem paddle test in it (without buying an additional seat for the initial test). The Sawtooth will be a good additional boat when the brother in law visits, and I'd like to try it in the surf as well. It will also be great boat for creeks, rivers, mangroves, etc. Although I don't intend to sail, others may want to google "Anna's Bananas" for a great sailing setup with Sawtooth for the base. (Link: http://www.foldingkayaks.org/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=2614&p=17798&hilit=Sawtooth#p17798 , http://smalltrimarans.com/blog/?p=1848 )
As full time RV travelers, our needs are pretty specific. For our use, the Sawtooth is a mixed blessing. We may still decide to sell it at a loss on ebay and just stick with the hardshells for fulltime RV travel.
Edit 2 Oct 2010: We have decided to list the Sawtooth on ebay and craigslist in Tampa, then in the FL keys as we travel to those areas. We have decided to keep the RTM Discos, and re-sell the Sawtooth.
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