Inflatable Kayak Blog

And I thought kayaking was fun! The latest “thing” in paddle sports is Stand-Up Paddle Boards. They’re very similar to a surfboard, but you don’t need waves to enjoy them. They can be used on any kind of water; rivers, lakes, flat water or waves. You stand on the board and use a long paddle with a handle on top and a blade on the end. Because you’re standing, you’re using more muscles than you would sitting in your kayak, so it’s a wonderful workout. Standing on the water also gives you a great view of what’s around you on and in the water. If you do get some waves, you can actually surf with the board, but the neat part is you don’t need much wave action to propel the board. They’re available in solid core models like surfboards and there are a couple inflatable versions on the market.

I saw this picture of Jennifer Aniston on a stand-up paddle board, so I guess even the celebs are getting into this unique paddle sport. So, how do I find out where she paddle boards?

I was out paddling my Sea Eagle 330 Inflatable Kayak after I wrote my previous paddling tip that dealt with “course corrections’ and turning, and I got to thinking about something I should add to it. Remember to rotate your torso. When your torso is rotating instead of strictly using your arms and shoulders, your paddling experience will be much improved. Putting some rotation into your torso makes you use the larger muscles in your back, rather than the relatively smaller ones in your arms and you will be able to paddle for a longer time before feeling any fatigue. Your strokes will be more powerful with less effort. It also helps you to exercise more of your body.

It’s pretty obvious that when you’re paddling a kayak, canoe or any other watercraft that to turn toward the right, you paddle harder on the left side and vice versa. That said, paddling “harder” is a relative term. Often, when you’re paddling, there’s somewhat of a delayed reaction to aggressive paddling on one side or the other, especially in calmer water. Think of it as a change in momentum. Correcting the course of your kayak is not necessarily an immediate reaction and two or three hard paddle strokes may be more than you need to correct your heading. You’re then faced with paddling “harder” on the other side to correct your original “correction”. It can turn into more work than necessary. So … temper those paddle strokes and try to smoothly correct your course. Unless you really want that additional exercise, ‘over-paddling’ is just not the way to go.

This concept also applies when trying to paddle hard to add speed. Most of the time smooth consistent strokes will develop more speed than the harder, deeper strokes that tend to throw the kayak slightly sideways as they dig into the water. This can be especially true with inflatable kayaks that ride slightly higher in the water. Keeping the kayak moving in a steady straight line will help a lot when you’re trying to generate some speed.

After doing a little research about paddling as an exercise, I was pleased to learn that an effective way to flatten your abs while toning and strengthening your upper body and is paddling a kayak. You can burn up around 100 calories with about twenty minutes of paddling. That means I can get into my inflatable kayak for a few sessions this weekend and earn some extra bites of dessert!

At the Outdoor Retail Show I had a chance to try out some boats that I had never paddled before. I really enjoyed paddling the Sea Eagle 340x inflatable kayak. The 340x is the smallest of the three Sea Eagle ‘Explorer’ kayaks. They also have a 380x and 420x. The Sea Eagle 330 that we own is one of the two ‘Sport’ kayaks that Sea Eagle makes. The 330 does get us where we want to go, however the 340 is so nice to paddle, I now have a new favorite inflatable kayak. It is a more expensive boat but it is certainly worth the extra money.

You can tell by the feel of the material it is made of that the 340x is much better boat. There is also an optional directional stabilizer that can be attached to make the boat track better in the water. The stabilizer was on the boat I paddled. The 340 was easy to paddle and is very stable. Not to say that the 330 isn’t stable. It is, but the 340 feels rock solid. I also liked the extra room of the boat so you don’t feel cramped in. I even paddled it well enough to avoid the guy on the ‘Stand Up Paddle Board’!! LOL! …… As I said, I now have a new favorite!

The Outdoor Retail Show was a fun experience and I enjoyed the Open Air Demo Day where I got to try paddling several inflatable and folding kayaks. The PakBoats were a fun, new experience as I had not had the chance to try out a folding kayak before this. The feel of a folding boat in the water is totally different from our inflatable. It is very similar to paddling a hard shell kayak. I had the chance to paddle the Puffin Sport (10 foot model) and the Puffin Kayak (12 foot model). The Puffin 12 was easy to maneuver and get some speed, but I found getting into the kayak was a bit difficult since it had a deck on it and it was a little narrower than the hard shell kayak I had been in before. I guess like anything new it takes some getting used to but after figuring out how to do it, that wouldn’t be an issue. I liked the Puffin 10 the best. If it was just me paddling a kayak, I think the smaller boat is easier to handle. In just a few paddles I felt very comfortable and at ease. The Puffin Sport also did not have a deck on it and I think I liked that better as well.

I mentioned to PakBoats owner and designer, Alv Elvestad, that I thought the smaller size was easy to handle. He told me that a lot of older women liked that boat. I wasn’t exactly sure how to take that remark, I don’t usually consider myself an older woman, but he quickly explained that he had an 80 year old woman that came to them at the beginning of summer and had them put the boat together for her, and she used it all summer. When she was ready to return home, she would stop by and they would take the boat apart for her. I guess it really is a good boat for older women. We’ll see if I am still paddling when I am 80!

There were so many paddling opportunities at the “Open Air Demo’ at the 2008 Outdoor Retailer Show that we’re going to back track and review them individually.

PakBoats is introducing a new folding, touring kayak, the XT series. There was a slight delay in the arrival date, but the boats will be available sometime between now and September. Touring kayaks are generally longer and have a flatter hull shape to allow the kayak to move faster and cover longer distances than a kayak designed for whitewater use or for situations where turning ability is more important. There will be two XT’s, the XT-15 (15 foot) folding kayak and the XT-16 (16 foot) kayak. The XT-15 will be sold strictly as a one-person model. The XT-16 will be sold as a two-person model with the option of purchasing a solo deck to also use the kayak as a one-person model.

We paddled the XT-16 at the ‘Open Air Demo’. The ride was smooth and both paddlers could totally stretch their legs out for a comfortable ride. I’d guess it would accommodate heights up to 6 feet 4 inches, maybe more. It was evident that the touring design enabled us to create more speed and when some higher waves crossed our path from the speed boats farther out in Pineview Reservoir, the boat cut nicely through the water and felt very stable. Better paddlers could very well use it effectively in some rougher water. The XT-16, like all the PakBoats, though, is designed for best use in calmer water and will make a very good kayak for couples to take relaxing trips on lakes and rivers.

Over the next few days we’ll continue to post several blogs that will have specific information about more of the individual products we’ve tested and seen here at the 2008 Outdoor Retailer Show.

There were so many paddling opportunities at the “Open Air Demo’ at the 2008 Outdoor Retailer Show that we’re going to back track and review them individually.

The Sea Eagle PaddleSki is a catamaran style inflatable kayak. By ‘catamaran style’, I mean that the tubes on each side do not come together at each end. Unlike a pontoon, the PaddleSki is much narrower and easier to paddle. The first thing I noticed when I jumped on the boat was how much more stable it felt in relation to an inflatable kayak, Probably due to the separation of the tubes. I was on the 395ps PaddleSki. It’s the smaller of the two models offered by Sea Eagle. The other is the 435ps. Both models can be used in various ways. First of all, they can simply be paddled like a kayak. Then it gets interesting. Sea Eagle offers a sailing kit, a rowing kit, a fishing seat and a motor mount. They say it’s “five boats in one”.

The 395ps at the demo was equipped with the rowing kit. I grasped the oars, and after a brief explanation of rowing technique by Cecil Hoge from Sea Eagle, I was rowing, smoothly along the water. I tried rowing while sliding the rowing seat and while sitting still. Either way worked well. The hardest part for me was going backwards, as you do when rowing. I prefer paddling straightforward. I could tell, though, that the exercise benefits of rowing were more beneficial than strictly paddling. The additional leg exercise adds significantly to the overall benefits of paddling.

Over the next few days we’ll continue to post several blogs that will have specific information about more of the individual products we’ve tested and seen here at the 2008 Outdoor Retailer Show.

So, the start of the trip was probably the part that was the hardest. That feeling that I could not do it wouldn’t leave me, no matter what the instructor said to assure us.  I had never been in a kayak before and it just felt like I was getting in way over my head. But in actuality, once the first leg of the trip was through, the trip was more fun than difficult.  The pace wasn’t too fast, but it also wasn’t too slow to be boring. When I needed a rest, it seemed like everyone was on the same page and I never had to actually say I was tired. I’m thinking about getting a sea eagle kayak  for myself later this month.

At first I didn’t think that I could do it.  It seemed like too much distance for anyone like me to cover in a portable kayak.  But the idea of getting to a beautiful island, where my friend had rented a lovely cabin on the water (I was shown pictures) was too tempting for me not to try. So I gave it a go and you know what?  It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.  Not just the wonderful fun that was had on our own private beach, but everything else that went with the trip.  I felt like I created something and it was well worth the anguish of getting my foot in the water.