Subscribe now and choose from over 30 free gifts worth up to £49 - Plus get £25 to spend in our shop
Hi all,
I'm planning on purchasing a kayak this spring. I am the newbie when it comes to kayaks, so not really sure what to look for or even stay away from. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The plan is to use it in the rivers around my area, and also lake Erie (the bay only). I was looking at one from kayak fisherly
Ocean Kayak 12 Recreational Kayak
Looks like it has enough space for gear, and since I'm a double amputee, I can use the space for legs as extra gear space if needed. Thoughts, and comments welcome.
My main thought is to get lessons in how to roll effectively. My local club does winter 6 week course in a pool, see if you have something similar near by. Bei<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">ng upside down in a kayak with a spray skirt in a murky loch can be quite disorientating... </span>
Other than that, will you be planning to go out alone? If so a canoe may be more suitable.
Depends on what you want to spend. I would definitely try and find a local club and then you can usually borrow a boat and go on a trip with someone experienced. Maybe look at something like a pyrahna fusion which would be a good allrounder
From the link, I see you're looking at a Sit On Top (SOT), not a closed sit in kayak. SOT like that are good for cruising on flat-ish water. The width makes them sit flat on the water, making them very stable unless the water is sloping steeply, so not suitable for areas with steep or breaking waves. The width also makes them slower. Forget rolling, they are not designed for that; if you fall off, flip it upright and climb back on (practice somewhere safe before you need to do it for real).
The only Lake Erie I know is on the USA/Canada border so I assume that's where you are, and I'm guessing the rivers you're planning to paddle on are fairly placid, not whitewater. In the UK, there are lots of local canoe/kayak clubs and joining one is a good way to learn; I don't know if you have that culture. If not, I'd buy a used kayak in fair condition, and see how you get on. You'll quickly learn whether you need something larger, smaller, lighter, etc, and you won't lose much money selling it on when you have the experience to know what you want.
Always wear a pfd, check the weather forecast and carry a waterproof means of calling for help.
Hi, I just bought 2 sit on tops, rtm tempos for use in the med. I bought them secondhnd for about half retail so reckon if I get bored with them i will sell them on and get my money back. So far I love it, a really good workout. Budget for a wetsuit, carbon paddle, roof rack and j bars.we havedecathlon here so I just spent an extra 150e all in for the latter.
My friends have inflatable kayaks so always have them in their car boots. They are certainly lighter at c 12kg, v 24kg for mine. I can load mine on the car top but any more than 25kg i think I would struggle.
I got a trolley too to get it to the beach. Good luck btw.