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Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown Review: the Rescues, Vol. 2
Simon Willis, a journalist and film maker, and Gordon Brown, a world-class BCU 5 Star sea kayaking coach, have teamed up to make Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown Volume 2, the Rescues. This DVD, like Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown Subscribe to Blog via Email Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Email Address Subscribe Or if you use a RSS Feed Reader subscribe via our RSS Feed. Volume 1, combines a sea kayaking journey to a stunning destination with instructional components. The end result is a DVD that you can watch in a couple of ways. You can watch…
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Fuselage Frame Boats: A guide to building skin kayaks and canoes — a Review
Fuselage Frame Boats: A guide to building skin kayaks and canoes Subscribe to Blog via Email Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Email Address Subscribe Or if you use a RSS Feed Reader subscribe via our RSS Feed. documents S. Jeff Horton’s, Kudzu Craft, method of building plywood-framed skin-on-frame kayaks in a similar method to those developed by Tom Yost of Yostwerks. The idea is to connect a series of frames with stringers to make the basic shape of the kayak or canoe. Over the frame, you sew or attach a fabric skin that you waterproof with varnish or…
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Werner Cyprus Review: A Lightweight Carbon Kayak Paddle
The Werner Cyprus paddle is Werner’s most popular Performance Core high-angle paddle. It features mid-size carbon fiber blades filled with foam, which gives the paddle a more buoyant feel when on the water. The ferrule features a geared adjustment system for a precise fit. Werner claims that the Cyprus fits a wide range of paddlers, and that the paddle is great for linking strokes, bracing and rolling. This is my Werner Cyprus review. Specifications Surface area: 610 sq. cm Blade length by width: 46 by 18 cm Weight for 210 cm: 23 oz. Available length: 205 to 230 cm Werner Cyprus Initial Thoughts I’ve owned a 210 cm straight shaft version…
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The Fat Paddler Book Review
If you visit PaddlingLight often, you might have noticed the new advertisement in the sidebar that proclaims “Recovery Can Be Life’s Greatest Adventure.” You might have also been attracted to picture of a book cover with a man in a kayak under a waterfall who’s grinning a wide grin. If you haven’t, just look at the picture at the top of this post. It looks similar. The ad is for a new book called The Fat Paddler. Sean Smith, aka THE Fat Paddler, wrote a book about his life and how discovering paddling (and eating sausages — well, okay, maybe not sausages but his website does reference them in the…
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Marine-Tex Review: Rapid Set Repair Epoxy for Emergency Repairs
The skeg box in my NDK Explorer sea kayak is made from plastic and glued in the boat. There’s no fiberglass protecting the outside edge. Instead, NDK/SKUK just covered the exposed plastic edge with a layer of gelcoat. Although gelcoat takes abrasion well, it fails in impact and really needs fiberglass under it for any strength. Before my last expedition, I noticed that the gelcoat was wearing off the skeg box and the plastic was actually fractured. On its website Sea Kayaking UK actually offers repair advice for this problem, so it’s not entirely rare. Subscribe to Blog via Email Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and…
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SeasonFive Phantom Review: A windproof, waterproof rash guard
SeasonFive, a recently launched watersports clothing company with a purpose of making innovative clothing to keep you on the water longer, attempts to do just that with the Phantom Long Sleeve shirt. The Phantom uses SeasonFive’s proprietary Atmos 1.0 fabric, which combines a water repellent outer fabric, a waterproof/breathable membrane and a soft inner fabric into one top. I tested the top for the last six months and used it on a 45-day kayaking expedition. This is my SeasonFive Phantom Review. SeasonFive Phantom Features In addition to the waterproof/breathable Atmos fabric, the Phantom features a zippered expansion on the shirt’s back, flat lock stitching to make the seams feel comfortable…
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Tear Aid Review – An Emergency Repair Kit and Patch
On a 45-day kayaking trip about a week from the end of the trip, I stopped for lunch and took my top off to cool off and change to a lighter layer. After lunch, pulling on the drysuit, I felt the neck gasket tear — a smooth, soundless rip that released the tension in the gasket, but caused my stomach to turn. The rip was huge. It ran from the top of the gasket almost all the way to the base. My standard repair kit includes Aquaseal, duct tape and bulk bike tire repair material, but for various reasons my repair kit didn’t come in the resupply box that I…
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The Best Pants You’ll Ever Own: Wintergreen Northern Wear Boundary Waters Shell Pants
Whether I’m backpacking, canoeing or kayaking I want a pair of pants that fits comfortably, dries quickly, packs small, looks good, offers functional pockets and is light. Typically, I end up using a pair of nylon hiking pants. In fact, I found a style I feel in love with over 10 years ago and bought three of them. Those are still going strong. Recently, I had the opportunity to test Wintergreen Northern Wear’s Boundary Waters Shell pants. Over the years, I’ve heard great things about these pants from friends who either worked for the original owners guiding dog-sledding trips or from friends who used them on expeditions. The common theme:…
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Comfy Pants for Paddling: Piragis Boundary Waters Pants Review
In the BWCA, I want pants that feel comfortable while sitting in a canoe, that dry quickly because I end up stepping out of the canoe into the water often at portages, look good for pictures and keep stuff such as compasses and maps handy for when I need it. At least, that’s my criteria for picking a pair of pants. Recently, Piragis, a retail store in Ely, Minnesota, sent me a pair of their Boundary Waters Pants to review. I put the pants through the paces starting with snowshoes hikes in the winter and finishing with spring paddling. Fabric Piragis makes the Boundary Waters Pants out of a comfortable…
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Kanuyak Canoe and Kayak Decal Review
One of the problems with mass produced canoes and kayaks is the lack of personality. Your boat looks just like another one off the same shelf. You can try to personalize things by changing the color of deck line, or you could paint something on the side. Or you could add a little pizazz to your boat with a sticker. Kanuyak makes easy-to-apply canoe and kayak decals. I spent this spring reviewing two versions, a 5-inch sticker and a 8-inch sticker. The stickers I tested come as a set of two, mirror images cut from commercial-grade decal vinyl with the color going all the way through. You apply one sticker…
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Bushbuddy Ultra Wood-burning Stove Review
A guest post by Rick Beaty of a Crooked Blue Line. I’ve always relied on canister fuel. I’ve always been a pocket-rocket-style-stove-type guy. Usually, my kit is made up of only what I can buy from REI or other large outdoor retailers. I never considered cottage industry equipment. The Bushbuddy Ultra wood-burning stove, manufactured in the cottage industry, was the first piece of kit that made me rethink every other piece of gear I hauled in boat and on portage. Other than over coals from campfire, I have never cooked in the backcountry without my “technology”. The Bushbuddy Ultra changed that. Subscribe to Blog via Email Enter your email address…
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North Water Sea Tec and QR Tow Line Review
North Water Rescue & Paddling Equipment makes some of the best paddling gear. Everything that I’ve tried or owned from them feels high quality and seems well thought out. I may not like all their gear, but some I’ve found that I just can’t live without, such as the Under Deck Bag. North Water likes to give paddlers lots of options, and, boy, do they give a sea kayaker options in tow lines. As of 2011, they offered seven different styles of tow lines in their sea kayak line, plus several lines in their whitewater section that might interest sea kayakers. I’ve used both the Quick Release Rescue Tow Line…
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Terra Nova Bothy Bag Review
Over the last couple of years, I tested and used Terra Nova’s bothy bags, which Terra Nova bills as “Lightweight, compact and inexpensive shelters for emergencies or lunch stops.” Basically, bothy bags are giant stuff sacks designed to hold humans. You get out of your kayak or canoe, pull the bothy out of the stuff sack and pull it over top of you. The bags are just large enough to accommodate you and your friends, but nothing else. The fabric blocks the outside weather and warms up quickly. I own both the Superlite 2 and the Bothy 4, and I’ve used both in a variety of weather and situations. I’ll…
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North Water Under Deck Bag Review
The North Water Under Deck Bag acts like a glove compartment for your kayak. Once glued into place under the front deck, it hangs down between your knees. It’s perfect for the little items, such as sunscreen and snacks, that you need quick access to during the day. I’ve mounted one in almost every kayak I’ve owned and have used them for over seven years. (Plus, I’m quoted in the Spring 2011 issue of Adventure Kayak Magazine singing praise about them. Thanks, David!) It only makes sense that I review it. The Under Deck Bag is exactly what it says it is. It’s a bag that attaches under the deck…
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The Best Winter and Cold Water Paddling Gloves
The hardest body part to keep warm during winter paddling is the hands. Because water drips down the paddle shaft and the splashes saturate any gloves or mittens used, they need to be waterproof, or they must be waterproof enough to slow new cold water from penetrating the glove’s interior. I’ve always liked neoprene gloves or mittens to keep my hands warm verse using a poggies, because my hands stay warm when removed from the paddle shaft and I can easily manipulate items without have to touch an icy surface. I have a few favorite gloves. NRS Natural Gloves Subscribe to Blog via Email Enter your email address to subscribe…