Features and Materials Details

Mountain Ash and Baltic Birch Wood Frame
The wood is air dried over three years and every frame member is protected through three dip-painted coats of premium marine varnish. The rugged I- and T- beam construction withstands bending, twisting, and compression. This ensures safe and successful transit through the most adverse environments. The Aerius is carefully engineered for demanding military and expedition use in rough open seas, white-water navigation and sport sailing. The natural wood frame enables quick and easy repair and requires a minimum amount of maintenance to ensure a lifetime of reliable service. Wood as a boat frame material offers several major advantages: it is one of the strongest and most functional materials available, is literally maintenance free, allows for easy field repairs, and has a specific gravity of less than 1.

Carbon Frame (in PDF format): Carbon frames are available for the Aerius I 490 and the Aerius II 545. The carbon frame is made of epoxy resin, carbon fiber fabric, fiberglass netting and aramid fiber. These components are very light and are also used in aircraft construction. The right combination of these materials allows for light and solid frames. [return to top]

Orthopedic Seats
Contour-Molded seats and backrest provide a superior body-to-boat contact. These are arranged in a spacious cockpit for the best trim and efficiency. The seats may be supplemented with an adjustable lower lumbar support system to provide hours of comfortable and stress-free paddling.[return to top]

Cotton / Hemp Deck
All decks are made from selected Egyptian long-staple, self-sealing cotton/hemp. This allows the deck to "breathe". The natural air circulation eliminates excessive condensation and provides natural waterproof insulation. In addition, the natural material provides a perfect fit of the boat skin and seals the deck watertight without the use of chemicals or artificial sealers. The cotton hemp fibers swell in contact with water, thus naturally waterproofing the boat deck while still allowing air ventilation. This eliminates the use and/or periodic reapplication of chemical sealers.[return to top]

CSM Hull (hull also available in TPU or PVC)
The boat hull is made of a heavy-duty Trevira-Polyester weave core (similar to a car safety belt) that is coated on both sides with a thick coat of proprietary synthetic rubber (CSM, same family as Hypalon). The synthetic rubber offers hull life expectancies of 25-35 years. This manufacturing process allows the hull to maintain it's shape and pliability from - 25° C to + 65° C.

The trevira-polyester core increases significantly the puncture resistance of the hull and provides the necessary flexibility for the skin and makes the hull nearly indestructible.

The hull is built like a conveyor belt. Upon impact it flexes and absorbs the energy, thus avoiding damage.

The multi-layer hull provides the very best cold water insulation and comfortable boat interior.

CSM (same family as Hypalon) is a synthetic rubber. In the case of an accident a hull puncture can simply and quickly be repaired, similar to a bicycle or car tire inner tube, even in the field and under the most adverse conditions.

Grey CSM: The Aerius Classic models have a grey CSM hull which has the same thickness as black CSM (see description below).

Black CSM: The Aerius Expedition, Quattro, Scout 380 and Sprint 400 come standard with a black CSM hull which has an added external coating for abrasion and resistance (not available on the grey CSM) as well as reinforced keel strips made with an extra layer of CSM/Trevira which provides superior protection against coral, rocks or other hazards. The bottom keel strip is 10” wide and the two side keels are protected with 2.4” strips.

TPU hull material: TPU is short for Thermoplastic Polyurethane.  Klepper TPU hulls are constructed with an interior fabric nylon and a polyurethane external coating for excellent abrasion resistance, very good tear strength and outstanding low temperature flexibility. A TPU hull on a Klepper folding kayak skin can be up to 40% lighter than a CSM hull kayak skin. The single, double and triple/quadruple Aerius Expedition and Aerius Quattro models can be upgraded to a TPU hull, instead of the standard CSM hull.[return to top]

Slide'n Snap Fittings
The corrosion-resistant Dural alloy slide'n snap frame fittings make assembly effortless in minutes, provide frame flex under the harshest conditions, and are 100% mud and sand-proof. Further details at 'Assembly'.[return to top]

Upwind Sailing
Mast foot, mast support bracket, stayfittings and rudder bracket are standard on all models for the set up of several upwind and downwind sail rigs which range from 14 to 55 square feet of surface area. Further details at 'Sailing'.[return to top]

CSM/Trevira Keelstrips
The keel is reinforced with additional CSM/Trevira layers which provide superior protection against coral, rock, and man-made hazards for Expedition models.[return to top]

Contour-Molded Rubber Caps
Bow and stern are reinforced with thick contour-molded rubber caps for maximum protection during landings and take-offs.[return to top]

Tow and Lift Fittings
Heavy-duty Dural alloy fittings on the bow and stern of the boat deck allow for 600 pound tow and lift operations. [return to top]

Integrated Air Sponsons
Two (or four in the Quattro model) internally-mounted, full length air sponsons contain between 65-150 liters of air and assure maximum stability, safety and hull protection. The air sponsons allow for effortless assembly of the boat frame inside the boat skin, maximum protection against capsizing and easy re-entry into a stable very buoyant boat when swamped.

The Aerius Quattro models with 4 Air Sponsons, are unique with adjustable boat hull capability. Full inflation of lower sponsons will result in a flatter, rounder hull shape. With fully inflated air sponsons, the hull shape changes from a V to a U. The latter mode allows for maximum payload and shallow water efficiency. You can therefore slightly change underwater shape of hulls, as illustrated below.

Air pressure in the air sponsons tightens the skin and acts as a shock absorber to protect the skin against puncture. Also, a flexible skin absorbs more wave energy, thus making the kayak less susceptible to hydraulic forces. Air pressure in the air sponsons compresses the boat frame, and turns the frame into a very strong, flexible "air plane fuselage", thus making the frame more damage resistant to impact while retaining its energy-absorbing characteristics.[return to top]

Bow-to-Stern Warranty
This covers all defects in materials and workmanship. All models of the Klepper Aerius series are hand-crafted in Germany with the finest materials and master workmanship. Proved through decades of use from the arctic to the tropics, Klepper Kayaks are consistently selected by expedition outfitters, military special forces and professional sportsmen. [return to top]

Conversions to: Solo-Paddling, Rowing, Motoring, Sport Sailing
Conversion to rowing and solo paddling is an option for all two seater Aerius models.

Conversion to sport sailing and motoring is optional for all Aerius models.[return to top]