This is our No. 1 seller, the quintessential two-person craft for a weeklong trip on the National Wild and Scenic Middle Fork of the Salmon River. The Jaguarundi drives like a sports car, but it’s big enough to haul plenty of gear. Regardless of whether you’re taking an extended trip, or taking on a daring Class V river, the Jag will make you smile.

I happen to agree with that description and I hope you will consider that maintaining production of this current model may very well be in your best interest.

Certainly the current model could be improved by the addition of wear pads, better handles and a tube end D ring mount similar to that found on the Lion series.

However it is my opinion that changes that decrease the water line and load carrying capacity will not be appreciated by people, like myself, who rely on the extreme versatility of the jag.

Some of the trips I have taken with my jag can be seen at http://www.restwhenyoudie.com/raft.htm  From low water Bruneau and Middle Fork trips to high water Middle Fork and Desolation trips the jag has been a great craft.  It deals very well with a very wide range of conditions.  For boaters who want one boat to do everything with it is hard to beat a jag.  It is not too big and not too small.  It is not too sluggish and yet it does not sacrifice too much capacity for performance.

The outer shell/inner bladder design makes for easy and quick field repairs, if they are ever needed.  I have never needed any, but when I do I can guarantee you I will like that design better than any  design that requires patching on the exterior of the tube in order to hold air.

The waterline and curvature of the tubes make them handle well and not as sluggishly as the Lion and similar designs.  Clearly the jag is not as maneuverable as tubes designed for "sporting about" but the jag is a versatile cat, not a sport cat.  People who want a 16 foot sport cat might very well like the newer designs you are making.....as long as they are not trying to keep up with me on a 3 day Middle Fork trip in late August.

The load carrying capacity of the jag makes it deal very well with 800 pounds or so on low water trips.  Changes that diminish that ability will probably not be appreciated by people who rely on the extreme versatility of the jag.  Even in high water it is hard to overload a jag, unless you are a boater who really wants the capacity of a 16 foot raft.

I like my jag so well that I was ready to buy a new tubes early next season.  Sure my tubes are only 4 seasons old but they have well over 2000 river miles, no holes and 5 or more years of warranty left on them.  I figured I could get a good resale price from them and buy a new set and have a new ten years of warranty.  I had heard you were upgrading the jag and was hoping for wear pads, better handles and better tube end D ring mounts.  However I am not so sure about decreased waterline and decreased load capacity that I am hearing about so now I am going to wait and see.

Certainly there are those who will truly appreciate the newer design you are going to produce, but I also think there are many of us who would be very interested in the current design, especially with the aforementioned upgrades.

I realize that I am just one person, but I think there are many who will share my opinion.  Based on that assumption I am going to post a copy of this letter on my own website at www.restwhenyoudie.com and also on the Idaho Whitewater discussion group page.  Perhaps doing so will generate enough feedback for you to determine if maintaining production of the current jag, or something very close to it, will in fact be good business for Aire.

Sincerely

Jed Miller

Satisfied Jag owner since 2002