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Quest Touring Kayaks |
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Wednesday, 09 January 2013 11:19 |
We are ready to start production of the Quest series of folding touring kayaks. The Quests are simple, very lightweight and inexpensive. They look great – and they are a joy to paddle! The Quests should be on the shelf about the end of February.
 In a way, the Quest development started with a 21 ft XT double. Pakboats introduced the XT series a few years ago as lightweight touring kayaks with excellent hull stiffness. The XTs are all of that, and we did not know at first just how far the XT structure could be pushed. The original 15 ft XT-15 and 16 ft XT-16 double are both very nice kayaks. So is the XT-17. We made a 19 ft XT double to test, and it performed very well. And a 21 ft XT-21 double was used very successfully in an offshore race last summer. In fact, it won its class! We are not sure what we will do with the long XTs. Clearly, the XT frame structure lends itself well to making long and sleek doubles. It is equally clear that the XT frame structure is overkill in a short solo kayak – and that realization was the seed that grew into the new Quests.
The Quest 135 and 155 share the same main design elements. Inflatable tubes along the sides have 3 cells on each side to provide ample and reliable flotation - an important safety feature. Quests inherit the excellent seat from our XT kayaks (a kayak is only as comfortable as its seat). The deck seal is improved with "wrapovers" from the hull onto the deck, deck rigging has been added, and the simple frame structure makes assembly a breeze. Each Quest packs into a single compact bag – it is the ultimate travel kayak.
We are very excited about the new 13 ft 8 in (416 cm) Quest. It is long enough for effortless cruising yet fits into a size range where there is almost nothing else available in a folding design – certainly not with polyurethane materials for $1515 and a weight of only 29 pounds (13.2 kg). The Quest 135 is ideal for smaller paddlers, and it is delightful to paddle even for average sized adults.
The 15 ft 6 in (472 cm) Quest 155 offers more space for overnight gear. It is the ideal companion when you need more boat than the 135 can offer. The 155 is in its element when your travels cover many miles and hours of paddling. |
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 09 January 2013 11:45 |
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Paddling the Saco on a River |
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Wednesday, 27 June 2012 13:57 |
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 I went paddling on Vermont's White River in early June with a friend. Usually, we use PakCanoes on this run, but we decided that it would be fun to see how a Puffin would behave on "bumpy" river water. Since I did not have many pictures of the black polyurethane skinned Saco, I made sure to put Juel Victor in it - hoping for a couple of good photo opportunities.The paddling was a lot of fun, quite white in some places without becoming intimidating. We did not bring spray skirts, but we would have been much drier in the end if we had!
From the second picture you might suspect that at least one of the boats was swamped. It was not. Juel Victor paddled out in complete control, but he got a good lapful of water. We both used PakPods as camera bags secured on the deck in front of the cockpit. The cameras were still completely dry when we got back to the car. 
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Real Greenland Kayaks |
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Tuesday, 27 September 2011 13:07 |
We saw a very interesting kayak at the KanuMesse, a paddlesport trade show in Germany last week. It was not just Greenland style - it was made by a Greenland company. Greenland does not have all that many export items, but this new Inuit kayak really stands out with traditional design and a unique blend of traditional and modern materials.
The frames are hand made of wood, and great care is taken to preserve genuine Greenland performance characteristics. A new material was needed for the skins. After all, the traditional seal hides only lasted a year. The new material blends space age and natural fibers with a highly advanced coating to make kayaks with a real Greenland look and feel. Here is the story of the new skin material as told on the Greenland Kayaks web site www.greenlandkayaks.gl.
SealSkin AD2010 - the story:
For thousands of years, the Arctic Inuit covered their kayaks with sealskin from local seals. Perfect in many ways, the skin lasted for a year at a time, providing a strong, elastic and waterproof finish.
Then there came sailcloth. The hunters struggled to keep it waterproof and elastic, but its ready availability ensured it stayed in use until the 1960s when fiberglass was invented. Fiberglass killed the kayak's natural flex and so the hunters stopped using kayaks altogether.
Now though, there is a proper alternative. GREENLAND KAYAKS™ has invented SealSkin AD2010™ - a high tech fabric with sealskin characteristics. Supple, compliant and tough, we believe it will last for 50 years. At its core is the world's strongest fiber - Dyneema® - combined with high quality polymer and cotton fibers on the surface. Finished with our own silicone coating, your skin is water, salt and UV proof yet still allows the frame to flex in tune with the ocean.
Unleash your kayak!
The Greenland Kayaks story is an interesting commentary on modern manufacturers who continue to sell hull stiffness as a feature because the materials they use result in stiff hulls.
Alv |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 27 September 2011 13:19 |
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PakPod on an open Canoe |
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Tuesday, 02 August 2011 16:01 |
This summer I canoed in the Lapland area of Norway and Finland where we ran two shallow and rocky rivers with lots of rapids - including a mile-long rapid that dropped 60 feet!
One challenge in preparing for the trip was to figure out a way to keep my new SLR camera safe, yet easy to get to. I decided to install the waterproof PakPod deck bag that we developed for use on kayaks, and it became my camera bag for the trip.
The installation was easy - I simply attached the webbing harness to two cross ribs so that the PakPod rested on a thwart, which placed it conveniently just in front of me about 2 inches below the gunwales. This gave me quick and easy access to the camera and kept it safe and dry while not in use. A nice enhancement to the setup was to keep my journal in the PakPod under the camera, thus creating a stiff floor under the camera. The PakPod was easy to remove from the canoe for portages with four quick-release buckles, and the roll-top closure made a comfortable handle.
On our trip we had PakPods on two solo canoes, running without spray covers, and we were very happy with the arrangement. I believe the PakPod will be just as useful and convenient on a covered tripping canoe - at least for the bow paddler. Give it a try sometime! |
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Last Updated on Friday, 12 August 2011 21:09 |
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My Summer Trip - with a Twist.. |
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Monday, 20 June 2011 17:00 |
I am leaving in a few days for a whole month in North Norway and Finland. The main feature of our trip is to canoe 3 rivers. Three guys in 15 ft solo PakCanoes - and one in a 14-footer that I saved for my own use when we stopped making the 140. We will put in as high in each river as you can float a boat. Actually, in the first river we will put in a few miles higher than you can paddle - except intermittently. As we work our way down each of the rivers, we will get into some excellent and fairly technical whitewater in a pretty spectacular part of the largest wilderness in Europe.
The trip is not all that long - just 170 miles or so, but the rivers drop well over 3000 feet from start to finish! I will tell you all about it when I get back about the end of July.
One special point of interest in the equipment: We are planning to change the Puffin kayaks from PVC to Polyurethane fabrics. Our first samples seem great, and we will do as much testing as we can this summer. But we need to put the new material through a real torture test - so I will paddle a canoe made of the new stuff on our Lapland trip. We will drag the canoes across the tundra, bang into rocks and lower the canoes by ropes down cliffs - all to make sure next year's Puffins will be even better.
I can't wait!
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Adventure Paddling Partner |
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Wednesday, 18 May 2011 09:08 |
Dear Paddlers,
I have never done a blog entry like this before – trying to help a group find a paddling partner. But the trip description is interesting – exploring a new canoe route in the far north. Even if you are an armchair adventurer at heart, you may enjoy reading it. If you are a real adventurer, here is your chance to do something exciting this summer!
You can reach Brian here: Brian Johnston [
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
]
Greetings from Alv
Hi there,
Our party lost our 6th paddler and we are actively looking for a 6th person to join our crew. Help us find a suitable 6th member.
We are planning a descent of the Lorillard River. We are chartering a single otter from Baker Lake. Most of us will assemble in Winnipeg on July 8 but we could meet you in Baker Lake if that is easier for you. It is a 3 week trip, returning to Winnipeg on July 30. The Lorillard was named by Lt. Frederick Schwatka of the American Geographical Society in 1880 while leading an expedition to find the lost papers of the Franklin party. He embarked by dog sled, adopting Inuit style for clothing and travel for what became the longest unsupported sledge trip up until that time. He went overland up the Lorillard to the Back River and on….for nearly a year.
Our plans are less ambitious but challenging just the same. We have scoured maps and believe the Lorillard can be paddled. Water Survey of Canada has a gauging station that shows a flat line most of the year….with huge flow in July. There are some steep section which we believe will require lining, rock hopping and portaging, but also some lake-like sections. It is about 280km from the upper reaches to Hudson Bay. We are trying to find an Inuit with a boat in Chesterfield inlet to come and pick us up and take us ~60 miles down the coast. If not we will consider paddling and portaging overland and before crossing the inlet. The last option out would be to fly out from the mouth back to Baker Lake.
We have folding Pakboats with covers and Gerry R and I are buying and packing the food. We have all the group gear so you’d need paddle and PFD plus your personal stuff. The cost is up there, $2000 for commercial flights, $1000 air charter, plus all the other stuff, so I'm guessing it could climb to $4500 total out of Wpg.
Let me know ASAP if you are interested.
Thanks,
Brian
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Bush Flying and Canoes |
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Tuesday, 03 May 2011 13:23 |
Cliff Jacobson sent me information about a discussion he had with Alex Hall of 'Canoe Arctic'. The discussion centered on the cost and difficulty of flying canoes to remote Canadian rivers. Canoe Arctic has run canoe trips on northern rivers for many years, and Alex Hall knows the situation first hand – so does Cliff Jacobson after a lifetime of canoeing northern rivers.
I was aware of most of the problems the pretty gloomy discussion touched on. We all know that the cost of bush flying is high - and rising. And it is not a secret that regulations for flying external loads are getting tighter. But a few items in the discussion were less familiar to me:
1. Air Tindi pilots have voiced concerns that canoes carried in the cabin of a Twin Otter could shift and block the exits in a crash. Air Tindi will no longer carry canoes and passengers on the same flight in their Twin Otters.
2. To carry external loads, each airplane operator has to go through an approval process and be inspected. Many operators may not go through this process for the short canoe season, so fewer float planes will be available to carry canoes on the struts.
3. The recession is hurting the canoe trip market hard, and 2011 will be the third slow year.
4. The weakness of the US dollar has turned the canoe trip marked from a majority of US customers to a clear majority of Canadians.
5. Commercial trips focus on relatively accessible rivers to reduce air transportation costs.
While most of these developments may have a positive effect for folding canoes that simply travel in the luggage compartment, we are not happy to see wilderness trips becoming more and more expensive. The result can only be that fewer people feel that they can afford the cost of a wilderness experience.
Alv |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 03 May 2011 13:31 |
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Pakboat Repair and Paddling Trips |
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Tuesday, 05 April 2011 15:38 |
This e-mail from Tom Welander solicits some information that many of you may find useful, and he provides a link to pictures from a great looking river trip in Alaska. Enjoy!
Hi guys. Could I get some advice please?
We spent a week on the Verde River in Arizona last month, which had a nice snowmelt flow this year. We worked the boats pretty hard, choosing the meatiest lines through the rapids and catching eddies for fun. The canoes (solo 150s) were terrific but we bent up the keel rods pretty well. I can get them reasonably straight again. Do you suppose the aluminum will be significantly weakened by the bending? Should I consider replacing them?
On a separate note, here are photos and notes from our Pakboats' first journey...the Tlikakila River in Alaska:
https://picasaweb.google.com/tomweland/TlikakilaRiver
Regards,
Tom Welander
Atlanta
And my response:
I don't think you need to worry about the keels. Straightening them is ok, and the canoe does not seem to care if the rods are bent a little - so long as there are no kinks.
Even a broken keel would not be a serious problem. It can be repaired temporarily with duct tape to complete the trip. There is enough redundancy in a PakCanoe frame to allow extensive field repairs. Once you are home, any part can easily be replaced.
You may find this article on PakCanoe maintenance useful: http://www.pakboats.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=90:repair-and-maintenance-of-pakboats&catid=29:articles&Itemid=123
It looks like you had a neat trip in Alaska. Thanks for sharing.
Greetings,
Alv
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 05 April 2011 15:49 |
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North American Fishing Club Test |
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Friday, 11 February 2011 16:35 |
 We have had the Puffin Saco tested by the North American Fishing Club. The format of the test is that boats are shipped to three members who put their boats to a few weeks of use. Each tester rates the tested product on a set of criteria, each on a scale from 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent). Then the testers comment on their evaluation of the product. If the product passes, the manufacturer is allowed to use the Seal of Approval in promoting the product.
The Saco passed with flying colors, receiving an over-all rating of 9 out of 10. Here are some comments from the testers:
"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 |
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Last Updated on Monday, 14 February 2011 11:41 |
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Love the concept, love the boat! Will start hiking with it as soon as the weather is right for the remote ponds and lakes! Almost there! I will keep you updated with fishing photos from my guided trips and personal adventures.