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The Best Shoes for Kayaking: Two Great Wetshoes You Should Own
Over the 15 years that I’ve kayaked, I’ve used a bunch of different shoes and I’ve had my favorites, but I haven’t found a shoe that I loved enough to buy it twice until now. And, now I have two shoes that I consider the best shoes for kayaking. I’ve purchased one twice and the other one, after it wears out, I’ll purchase again. NRS Comm-3 Kayaking Wetshoe NRS’s Comm-3 Wetshoe is designed for outfitters and guided kayaking trips. It’s made from 3-mm neoprene with titanium, which means that it’s durable. I bought my first one out of a used commercial shoe fleet, guided in it for a year and wore…
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While the rewards may be great, you might not like the consequences
At one of the entrances of Yellowstone National Park, they collect the innocent and naive questions that some of the visitors ask when they come to the park, such as “When do the rangers pen up the bison for the evening” or “When do they turn off Old Faithful?” They also collect stories of some of the dangerous things that tourists do there. Years ago a friend of mine related to me an incident that she witnessed as a park employee. A park visitor placed his toddler on the back of a bison, walked off, took and picture and luckily retrieved the kid without incident. When my friend confronted the…
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The North American Odyssey Expedition
On May 9th, Dave and Amy Freeman, the leaders of the Wilderness Classroom Organization, kayaked away from Grand Portage, Minnesota on Lake Superior for the fifth leg of their North American Odyssey Expedition. The North American Odyssey is a 12,000-mile expedition across North America. It started on Earth Day in 2010 in Seattle. A team of four kayaked from Seattle to Skagway, Alaska via the Inside Passage. After finishing the paddle, half the team journeyed home with the kayaks, and Dave and Amy continued by backpacking over the mountains following the Klondike Gold Rush. Once over the mountains, they canoed north to the Arctic Ocean. After the snow set in, two more adventurers joined…
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What Kind of Kayak Cockpit Should I Buy or Build?
I recently found this question in PaddlingLight’s inbox (BTW, I answer all questions that I receive. Sometimes they spark article ideas): I am considering the Siskiwit SOF build. My son & I are about to skin a Sea Tour 17 Explorer, but I haven’t formed the cockpit yet. Can you enlighten me on the different cockpit shapes? I see round, oval and egg shaped with “arm rests”(?) at the narrow end. So, what kind of kayak cockpit should you buy or build? Short Answer: I personally like the egg shaped with the “arm rests” cockpit, which is called a keyhole cockpit. The “arm rests” are knee or thigh braces (depending on…
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Learn to Kayak Because Zombies Can’t Swim
Learn to Kayak Because Zombies Can’t Swim is a t-shirt design that I’ve been working on inspired by the Paddling Instructor website. David got a picture of a sweet billboard about boating with the same premise and came up with the idea “Zombies can’t swim – Buy a Kayak.” I liked the idea, but changed it to “Learn to Kayak Because Zombies Can’t Swim.” I found an artist to draw up a zombie vs. kayaker scene. I found a printer in Grand Marais, MN to make the tshirts. T-shirt Pre-order Now I’m offering up a pre-order for the t-shirts. They run $16.99. This print run will come on black with…
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Goal Zero Solar Panels: Expedition Solar Power Made Easy
About 10 years ago when I first started to switch from film photography to digital photography, I started looking at solar power options to keep my batteries charged on long trips. At the time, I found that the Brunton SolarRoll did the trick, because it was light, it could charge my batteries and it was easy to pack away. Since that time, I’ve found myself carrying more electronics into the woods. I sometimes carry a GPS, a laptop, hard drives (gasp, even with some movies on them), my Kindle Fire, two cameras with different batteries, a VHF radio, a mp3 player, headlamp and a cell phone (p.s. on trips less than two…
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Polarmax Comp 4 Tech Fleece Review: the Perfect Layers?
Base layers have been something I’ve battled both in central Canada and now out here in Newfoundland. Balancing bulk to not look like that kid on A Christmas story and still feel comfortable rolling or bobbing around after a incident in a surf zone is a delicate balance. While there are many articles on the importance of dressing for immersion, not many are out there discussing clothing options in cold climates. (You beautiful paddlers in the warm south feel free to enjoy the pic’s and ignore remainder of the article!) My normal paddling base layers kept me warm while moving; yet restricted movement due to its bulk. Many combinations of…
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Kayaking the Canadian Sauna Islands on Lake Superior
Last week I did a kayaking trip from Grand Portage to Squaw Bay. I was paddling with Dave and Amy Freeman of Wilderness Classroom (Facebook page), their new intern Dan Modahl and John Amren who used to own Superior Coastal Sports in Grand Marais. Dave and Amy just started out on the last leg of their 13,000-mile trip across North America via kayak, canoe and dog sled. They’ll complete the trip next April in the Florida keys. They started the trip in 2010 by kayaking the Inside Passage. John sold his store a couple of years ago, which freed him up to finally do the Lake Superior kayak circumnavigation that he…
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Kayaking to the Sea: Sault Ste. Marie to Quebec City
Last weekend, Tim Gallaway, a PaddlingLight contributor, left on a 850 to 900 mile long trip from Sault Ste. Marie to Quebec City via kayak. I asked him to share a little information about his trip to PaddlingLight’s readers. The goods are below, but first this is how you can follow Tim’s journey: Soo to the Sea Facebook page Tim Gallaway’s Twitter Kayaking to the Sea Webpage Kayaking to the Sea I’ve had to repeat this bit so many times it has more or less become a script. It’s quite interesting really. I’ve come to recognize what questions are about to be asked and if the person asking me the…
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What’s Our Burden as More Experienced Kayakers?
I had an interesting experience yesterday afternoon. I went out paddling on Lake Superior in 1- to 3-foot waves, sub-40 degree Fahrenheit water temps and air temps in the 50s. There’s a really rocky and nasty surf break near town, so I paddled there to ride the outside of the break, then I made my way back to the parking lot landing in dumping waves on the beach here and there just for fun. A rec boater apparently saw me paddling and thought it looked fun. Just as I was about to go to the car, I noticed her without a lifevest and no wet/drysuit trying to get out through dumping waves.…
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Kayaking in the Apostle Island Sea Caves
In April of this year, we joined the Gear Junkie on a short trip to the Apostle Islands for their new Off the Map video series. We spent the day exploring the mainland sandstone sea caves and filming the trip. I hadn’t seen the video until today. It’s pretty sweet. Here’s the video: It makes the sea caves seem pretty fast paced, and I love the footage of me doing a roll. All in all it was a great way to get off the north shore and spend time with friends. Check out my original Apostle Island trip report.
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Summer and Instruction Speaking Schedule
This spring and summer I’ve been invited to speak and teach at a number of events. The first event happens this upcoming weekend in Minneapolis at Midwest Mountaineering. I’m presenting two different slide shows and am sharing a booth with the Wilderness Classroom Organization, a non-profit that you should help support. If you’re in the Twin Cities this weekend come see me speak at these presentations: Outdoor Adventure Expo (Twin Cities) Canoe & Kayak Expedition Photography Fri, April 27, 7:30pm Hanson Hall, Room 104 Elevator pitch: Whether on a long distance paddling expedition or a shorter trip to a nearby area such as the BWCA, chances are that you’re going to…
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How to Choose a Dry Suit for Kayaking
How do you choose a drysuit for kayaking on cold water? When do you use it? What brand – always Kokatat? How do you get one to fit right? Do you get used to the feeling of claustrophobia with the tight gasket around the neck? How do you care for it? How long can you expect the gaskets to last? These were all questions posed on Paddlinglight’s Facebook page when I recently asked for article ideas. These are all great questions to get answers for when you’re preparing to buy what might be the most expensive piece of kayaking gear that you buy after your kayak. What are my options…
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Wetsuit vs. Drysuit for Kayaking
When it’s cold out and the water temperature starts dropping, dressing for immersion might mean the difference between surviving a swim and succumbing to cold shock, cold incapacitation and eventually hypothermia. At a base level, paddlers should dress to survive a swim of any length and still function in the canoe or kayak afterward. This means dressing in a wetsuit or drysuit when the water gets cold. The ultimate question: what’s the difference between a wetsuit vs. drysuit for kayaking? Defining Cold Water Paddling There’s no commonly accepted threshold at which water changes to cold water, so various organizations use different guidelines. Some of the commonly used guidelines are those…
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U.S. Coast Guard Required Signalling Devices for Kayakers
When kayaking on the Great Lakes, U.S. Coastal Waters or territorial seas, the U.S. Coast Guard requires kayakers (or other paddlers) to carry signalling devices. An other article, Signaling Devices to Carry When Kayaking or Canoeing, covers the most common signalling devices that you should carry, but if you want to get by legally, you must carry these. Don’t be caught without them. Don’t want to read the article and just want to know what you have to buy to be legal? Scroll down to the summary below. It has bullet points. Visual Distress Signals The U.S. Coast Guard requires kayakers to carry three visual distress signals for night. For…
