Inflatable Kayak Blog

February is a popular month for sales on many kinds. Seems like everyone has a President’s Day sale and this year there will be lots of sales on or because of February 29th. 2012 is a ‘leap year’. That’s a function that was added to our calendar to correct the ‘drift’ and synchronize the calendar year with the astronomical year. If you want the complete geek explanation check out Wikipedia.

February also may not be the best time to paddle a kayak or use a fishing boat, but it’s a good time to buy one. Especially if it’s a folding or inflatable kayak or boat. PortableKayaks.com is having a leap year inflatable boat sale on three brands of boats and kayaks. The discount is $29.00 off, across the board. That’s $29 because of February 29th, you get it! However the sale is in effect all month long … through February 29th.

You will need a discount coupon code, which can be redeemed within the checkout process. To get the code go to the Portable Kayaks FaceBook page, “Like” them, then click on the ‘Fan Coupons’ page to reveal the code. If you are already a ‘fan’, you already have access to the code.

The $29 discount applies to the following products …
* Innova inflatable kayaks, even the already discounted clearance models.
* Sea Eagle inflatable kayak packages, including catamaran models.
* PakBoat folding kayaks.
* Sea Eagle inflatable boat packages.
* Sea Eagle inflatable pontoon packages
* Sea Eagle stand up paddle board packages

That’s a lot of possibilities. So if you’re in the market, head over to the Portable Kayaks FaceBook page, check out the coupon code and save yourself 29 bucks. Happy leap year!

The TRAK kayak is an amazing folding kayak that has an adjustable hull shape. This innovation is accomplished by a patented lever system that actually changes the hull shape to match water conditions or desired tracking. However, that’s not what I want to tell you about.

This innovative kayak has been on the market for a few years now, but they’ve never had a blog where people can share their TRAK experiences, photos, etc., until now. Actually the new blog started publishing in December of 2011. It’s called World Of TRAK and it includes a photo album, several articles and links to the videos of a series called “The TRAK Files”, which is a 7-episode series designed to cover all the areas of the TRAK that are unique and comparable, while giving people a reference point for how the TRAK folding kayak might fit into their paddling adventures. Part 1 of the TRAK Files has been posted with others to follow over the next few months.

The video below is a cute intro/promo for the series.

Check it out and tell us what you think. You can click this link for more detailed information about the TRAK folding kayak and how it works. And if you have any questions about the TRAK, be sure to drop in a comment.

Some of the best videos of PakBoat folding kayaks in action have been posted online by a group of paddlers from Thailand. I fetaured one of the videos a few weeks ago that showed how to assemble a PakBoat Saco. This video shows three PakBoats (a Puffin Saranac, Puffin Saco and PakCanoe) traveling down one of Thailand’s most scenic rivers, the Mae Ngow river.

In an excerpt from the PakBoat Blog, one of the paddlers, Tatrawee, summarized the trip …

“Our Canoe trip started in the deep jungle of Northern Thailand. From a small village called Sobkhong, we paddled along Mae Ngow river (translate to river of reflection from its crystal clear water). There some rapids up to level 2-3 on the first day. We paddled for 3 days and camped along the river for 2 nights.”

“We had one PakCanoe 150T, 1 Puffin Saranac and 1 Puffin Saco carry 5 people, our gear and food. These boats performed extremely well both in rough water at the beginning and calm water toward the end of the journey. We are planning a few more trip in Thailand’s rivers with these boats very soon.”

The video features the music of Billy Joel and shows how well PakBoat folding kayaks perform. The scenery’s not bad either!

Alv Elvestad, owner and designer of PakBoat Folding Kayaks told me recently that the Puffin Saco received a very favorable kayak review from the North American Fishing Club. The Saco, a 12 foot solo folding kayak that was introduced in 2009, received an over-all rating of 9 out of 10. Not bad!

The club testing procedure is conducted by shipping kayaks out to three members who put the boats through the paces over a few weeks. Each tester rated the Puffin Saco on a set of criteria supplied by the club, giving numerical ratings on a scale from 1 to 10 (one being poor and ten being excellent). The testers also offered comments to complete the product evaluation. If the product passes, the manufacturer is allowed to use the Seal of Approval in promoting the product.

Here are some of the comments from the members who tested the Saco:

“I would recommend this product to anyone who likes to access hard to get to places. This kayak is extremely portable and very easy to set up and operate. It is an overall great design.” CH

“I was very amazed by how well I was gliding across the water with little effort. I was able to move around and make sudden movements without fear of being dumped in the water.” CM

“Light and functional. Easy to fish out of and was really durable and tough.” TB

“My wife was amazed by how small it packed up and how light it was.” CM

“I was able to fish lightly fished waters and caught a limit of reds and five flounder. That would not have been possible without this kayak.” CO

The PakBoat Puffin Saco comes in your choice of two hull colors, Gray or Red. An optional deck is available in either Red with Gray trim or Mango with Gray trim. You can check them out online at PortableKayaks.com.

Although assembling a PakBoat folding kayak is really a fairly simple task, there are some nuances and tricks for speeding up the process. It’s always the hardest when you open the box and assemble a Puffin for the first time. The best way to learn is to see someone performing the assembly, but until recently there hasn’t been any video available.

One of my customers recently mentioned to me that he saw an assembly video on YouTube and I checked it out. It’s not in English, because it’s done by Thailand Outdoor, however it’s very detailed and shows the entire process of assembling a PakBoat Puffin Saco. The Saco is the 12 foot solo folding kayak. And even though, as of this writing, there are no videos showing other PakBoat assemblies, the process is very similar whether you’re putting together a Saco, Saranac, XT Series or any of the other older PakBoats.

Hope this helps anyone who’s purchased a new PakBoat or those folks who are shopping around and want to see how easy it is to put these lightweight folding kayaks together.