Funny Kayak Videos

Over at Xtranormal, a website that allows users to easily create animated videos, a number of paddling related videos are appearing. They take a humorous look at serious issues and debates that occur within canoeing and kayaking. Many of the videos are based on some of the actual silly online debates that have occurred over at paddling.net.

Note: Xtranormal discontinued its video service many years ago. These videos were pretty funny, so it’s too bad that they are gone. Also the links to the old paddling.net threads were broken years ago when paddling.net change forum programs.

Pungo Kayak Expedition

A funny examination of the Dunning-Kruger effect:

1. Incompetent individuals tend to overestimate their own level of skill.
2. Incompetent individuals fail to recognize genuine skill in others.
3. Incompetent individuals fail …to recognize the extremity of their inadequacy.
4. If they can be trained to substantially improve their own skill
level, these individuals can recognize and acknowledge their own
previous lack of skill.

The above points, copied from Wikipedia, about the Dunning-Kruger effect spell-out the themes playing in the video. It serves as an excellent example of some of the dangers involved in rating your own skill level as a beginner in the sport.

Half Nut the Inuit Robot

A humorous poke at the American debate about rolling kayaks. The video shows the debate between kayakers who believe a roll isn’t necessary and those that do. It also pokes fun at the Greenland paddle movement in a way most Greenland paddlers will find funny.

Defective Kayak

A look at the frustration of beginners trying to learn the forward stroke.

Pammy Verses Nigel

A look at the quality control issues from NDK/SKUK. It sort of covers the debate over composite vs. plastic. NOTE: I removed the anonymous name of a paddling.net user that used to paddle a plastic Wilderness Systems Pamlico 140 by their request. They didn’t find a nonexistent video that used a paddling.net thread in which they participated funny. The video hasn’t existed for years and years and years, but it was essentially a discussion about the differences between plastic and composite boats with both sides using the typical arguments instead of just accepting that both types of construction have various features and benefits and disadvantages. It also in covered the differences between a recreational kayak such as the Pamlico 140 and a sea kayak such as the NDK Romany.

Conversations in the Sauna: This Euro is Like a GP

An example created from this thread. Sorry, Steve, Melissa, Roy, Paul and Jeff and everyone else involved in the thread, but the thread makes a good parody.

Find more conversations in the sauna here.