Trusted advice from Ken Whiting about how to choose the right paddling gear.
Quick Answer The right inflatable kayak isn’t the cheapest one, and it isn’t the most expensive one — it’s the one that matches how and where you want to paddle, and how far you want to take the sport. A cheap inflatable kayak can make sense for occasional, calm-water paddling close to shore. A higher-quality…
Verdict: A sea kayak or touring kayak do the same job — efficient travel on open water — and neither one is only for advanced paddlers. The biggest difference is that a touring kayak trades some speed for extra stability. If you’re shopping for your first long, narrow kayak, you’ve probably run into both terms…
Choosing a kayak should be easy, right? I mean, how many different types of kayaks are there? Well, you’ve got sit-on-tops, sit-insides, recreational, touring, sea, whitewater, portable, fishing, folding, skin-on-frame, inflatable, modular, tandem, pedal, composite, plastic, thermoformed, rotomolded… Point is, it isn’t easy to choose a kayak! But I can help you narrow it down,…