Check out my new UA-cam channel! www.youtube.com/@KenWhitingAdventures is now the place to find all my paddling adventure videos, while PaddleTV will focus on Instruction and Gear Reviews.
Let's not forget that poling a canoe in the standing position is a fantastic way to step up the canoe game, low water river travel is very doable with a pole in your canoe, similar to SUP's but with sides on the craft.
A spray skirt on a pack boat can make it very wave resistant, but you are still going to suffer more weather cocking than a kayak. I default to a pack boat unless there’s high winds and no portage.
One addition to this list is the inflatable canoes and kayaks made by Gumotex or Grabner, which offer advantages such as stability on water, packability, and mobility.
Yeah, I have had normal kayaks and several hard canoes but atm my go-to choice is Gumotex Palava. It is a great all-arounder canoe, and I’m paddling it mostly with a kayak paddle.
Thank you Ken. Love your videos. I’m from Sydney Australia. The only thing I don’t like it’s not a real big deal is when you say it weighs 5 lb it would be handy if you put up on the screen weight in kilos other than that great channel I really like and enjoy all your videos.
@@marcusreuben4865 2.27 kg. I get the feeling as Australian UA-camrs are always talking in cm and kilograms. Ken is usually quite good at providing both metric and British.
Hi Ken. I'm anxiously awaiting your review on the Tucktec Boto that I'm considering adding to my collection. Unlike a Packraft or Pack Boat, the Tucktec Boto provides reasonable to half decent flat water paddling ability. I do flat water paddling only. But the major attraction is it costs just $250 and weighs just 10 lbs! There's nothing even close to that in price that is nearly so light weight. I'm interested in this as an additional kayak to my collection because I wanted something that is very light weight to occasionally take hiking to remote ponds. I've also wanted something that packs up a lot faster than my awesome Sea Eagle Razorlite. The Razorite without a doubt paddles way faster and is much more comfortable and superior performance . It would certainly be used a lot more than the Boto, but there is a time and place for everything. Or my Sea Eagle Paddleski 435ps (the older "kayak" model of the Paddleski), my favorite boat in the world as it is an inflatable kayak, and a motor boat with a 3 HP motor and a sail boat too. The Razorlite setups up pretty fast, but it is slow to pack up and I insist on completely towel drying too which takes extra time. I tend to think the Boto would packup towel dried a lot faster than my Sea Eagles. There are days where if I had a kayak I could very quickly setup and tear down and had half an hour water time, I'd go paddling almost every day. With my great Sea Eagles, I have to commit a lot more time to the setup/tear down part of it (especially the tear down part). Often it's a cloud day, possible rain and I'd like something I could just paddle near the launch and get out of the water all packed up as quickly as possible. And also times I might go somewhere with my parents and if I had a 10 lbs kayak, I could easily throw it in the trunk and not make a big deal of it. One of the beaches they go has a nice place to kayak across the street, but it's a long walk with a 35lb kayak and no parking near the launch. It's calm there and the cheap Boto might be perfect for that location. By no means do I think a folding kayak is the best option as a primary kayak however. I think their a lot less safe and the possibility of having to swim back with them. But in the right situation, it might be a good choice where time is very limited, and carrying something feather weight is more appropriate. Mixed reviews on the Boto so far, but very few reviews or info available. Its been out all summer. I thought everyone would be talking about this $250 10 lbs kayak. Sometimes on sale even cheaper! One reviewer on UA-cam said it was great and that he felt it could actually hold more like 300 lbs. I'm around 160. Another recent reviewer on the Tucktec FB group said when their husband about my weight used it, the water line was so low water entered from the sides. What's your take on it? I know your a little taller and maybe too small for it? You should still check it out. So unique a craft in the kayaking world.
I recently bought a packraft thinking I'd take it on a four-night trip through the Okefenokee Swamp next month. I'm paddling another inflatable (Itiwit x500) on the trip and thought a backup would be nice. The packraft is similar to the NRS in this video. It includes a foot pump, but the foot pump would take forever to pump it up. The pump for my x500 doesn't have a connector for the packraft's valve. The pump for my Advanced Elements inflatable kayak works, but I must take two pumps on the trip. The extra pump fits in the packraft's bag and doesn't add much volume, but the raft is the largest single item I'll carry, so I'm not sure I'll take it. If the x500 does spring a leak on the swamp, finding a place to inflate the packraft could be tricky anyway.
I am having this discussion with my wife right now, I really want to get a pair of packrafts so we can fly places and hit whitewater but she wants more of a traditional canoe. I am leaning towards a pakboat folding canoe. But I still want a packraft for a Baffin island climbing trip....
Sea Eagle makes a nice inflatable canoe, but it's pricey. The bladders are drop-stitch, so it looks and paddles a lot like a conventional canoe when inflated.
I am in Quebec Canada, I have Swift 13.6 Pack and an packable Pacboat that is ideal for wilderness or anyone that wants to put it in its own storage bag. Unfortunately I am limited now and need to sell one. Happy to discuss if you would like. Thanks
You mentioned the versatility of the SUP. I primarily use mine as a sit on kayak, but my wife has a kit for hers that turns it into a sculling craft with oars. She rows with friends when I'm not paddling with her.
You seem to be comparing what you can store inside a kayak with what you can lay out in the open in a canoe. Can't you stow a tent, sleeping bag and other equipment on top of the kayak? Maybe a backpack?
I just can't see using a stand up paddle board for camping. Doesn't seem to be good in early May in Algonquin conditions. Cold water. Rain. Wind. I'll pass on that.
Agree,but at 71 ,I find that a paddleboard handles my needs.camping,fishing, drifting,don't have to stand on it,can get ones with rocker and tie down straps for gear.good for streams
Kayaks are the best all round Canoes are the best if you have lots of stuff Pack rafts are the best if you have an onerous hike to the put in Pack boats are the best if you want the boat equivalent of supermodel girlfriend stand up paddle boards are the best if you regularly post pics of yourself doing sunrise yoga poses to insta
Check out my new UA-cam channel! www.youtube.com/@KenWhitingAdventures is now the place to find all my paddling adventure videos, while PaddleTV will focus on Instruction and Gear Reviews.
Let's not forget that poling a canoe in the standing position is a fantastic way to step up the canoe game, low water river travel is very doable with a pole in your canoe, similar to SUP's but with sides on the craft.
Basically a SUP is just is a modern pirogue. There’s nothing new under the sun.
A spray skirt on a pack boat can make it very wave resistant, but you are still going to suffer more weather cocking than a kayak. I default to a pack boat unless there’s high winds and no portage.
100% packrafting for me. My Alpaca packrafts range from the 1.5 pound Ghost to the 14 pound Forager!
This was extremely useful, thank you! I didn't even know that pack boats exist and they look really interesting to me.
You missed surfski. Picked one up a month ago to add to the fleet, but haven't got it to the water yet. 😆
gl with your new channel👍
Thanks!
One addition to this list is the inflatable canoes and kayaks made by Gumotex or Grabner, which offer advantages such as stability on water, packability, and mobility.
I bought a Gumotex Rush 1, really good boat. Comparable to my hard shell at a fraction of the weight, and it fits IN the car!
Yeah, I have had normal kayaks and several hard canoes but atm my go-to choice is Gumotex Palava. It is a great all-arounder canoe, and I’m paddling it mostly with a kayak paddle.
I can’t find the link on finding the right kayak and I need to give it to a friend. Thanks
Thank you Ken. Love your videos. I’m from Sydney Australia. The only thing I don’t like it’s not a real big deal is when you say it weighs 5 lb it would be handy if you put up on the screen weight in kilos other than that great channel I really like and enjoy all your videos.
@@marcusreuben4865 2.27 kg. I get the feeling as Australian UA-camrs are always talking in cm and kilograms.
Ken is usually quite good at providing both metric and British.
Hi Ken. I'm anxiously awaiting your review on the Tucktec Boto that I'm considering adding to my collection.
Unlike a Packraft or Pack Boat, the Tucktec Boto provides reasonable to half decent flat water paddling ability. I do flat water paddling only. But the major attraction is it costs just $250 and weighs just 10 lbs! There's nothing even close to that in price that is nearly so light weight.
I'm interested in this as an additional kayak to my collection because I wanted something that is very light weight to occasionally take hiking to remote ponds. I've also wanted something that packs up a lot faster than my awesome Sea Eagle Razorlite. The Razorite without a doubt paddles way faster and is much more comfortable and superior performance . It would certainly be used a lot more than the Boto, but there is a time and place for everything. Or my Sea Eagle Paddleski 435ps (the older "kayak" model of the Paddleski), my favorite boat in the world as it is an inflatable kayak, and a motor boat with a 3 HP motor and a sail boat too. The Razorlite setups up pretty fast, but it is slow to pack up and I insist on completely towel drying too which takes extra time. I tend to think the Boto would packup towel dried a lot faster than my Sea Eagles. There are days where if I had a kayak I could very quickly setup and tear down and had half an hour water time, I'd go paddling almost every day. With my great Sea Eagles, I have to commit a lot more time to the setup/tear down part of it (especially the tear down part). Often it's a cloud day, possible rain and I'd like something I could just paddle near the launch and get out of the water all packed up as quickly as possible. And also times I might go somewhere with my parents and if I had a 10 lbs kayak, I could easily throw it in the trunk and not make a big deal of it. One of the beaches they go has a nice place to kayak across the street, but it's a long walk with a 35lb kayak and no parking near the launch. It's calm there and the cheap Boto might be perfect for that location. By no means do I think a folding kayak is the best option as a primary kayak however. I think their a lot less safe and the possibility of having to swim back with them. But in the right situation, it might be a good choice where time is very limited, and carrying something feather weight is more appropriate.
Mixed reviews on the Boto so far, but very few reviews or info available. Its been out all summer. I thought everyone would be talking about this $250 10 lbs kayak. Sometimes on sale even cheaper!
One reviewer on UA-cam said it was great and that he felt it could actually hold more like 300 lbs. I'm around 160. Another recent reviewer on the Tucktec FB group said when their husband about my weight used it, the water line was so low water entered from the sides. What's your take on it? I know your a little taller and maybe too small for it? You should still check it out. So unique a craft in the kayaking world.
I recently bought a packraft thinking I'd take it on a four-night trip through the Okefenokee Swamp next month. I'm paddling another inflatable (Itiwit x500) on the trip and thought a backup would be nice. The packraft is similar to the NRS in this video. It includes a foot pump, but the foot pump would take forever to pump it up. The pump for my x500 doesn't have a connector for the packraft's valve. The pump for my Advanced Elements inflatable kayak works, but I must take two pumps on the trip. The extra pump fits in the packraft's bag and doesn't add much volume, but the raft is the largest single item I'll carry, so I'm not sure I'll take it. If the x500 does spring a leak on the swamp, finding a place to inflate the packraft could be tricky anyway.
I am having this discussion with my wife right now, I really want to get a pair of packrafts so we can fly places and hit whitewater but she wants more of a traditional canoe.
I am leaning towards a pakboat folding canoe.
But I still want a packraft for a Baffin island climbing trip....
Sea Eagle makes a nice inflatable canoe, but it's pricey. The bladders are drop-stitch, so it looks and paddles a lot like a conventional canoe when inflated.
Highly recommend Pakboat! Sure not cheap though.
I love my sea eagle canoe, you can fit a pack raft in it easily too
@@keithmacdonald3322 Definitely not cheap, but I want something I can run R3 in and I have seen guys do it
Get both. The right number of boats is N+1
8:52 Swift has a tandem Pack boat
As someone who doesn't have a motor vehicle a pack raft let's me use buses and trains to enjoy linear journeys.
I am in Quebec Canada, I have Swift 13.6 Pack and an packable Pacboat that is ideal for wilderness or anyone that wants to put it in its own storage bag. Unfortunately I am limited now and need to sell one. Happy to discuss if you would like. Thanks
Relating to carrying a kayak versus carrying a canoe, what specifically makes a canoe easier to portage than a kayak?
You mentioned the versatility of the SUP. I primarily use mine as a sit on kayak, but my wife has a kit for hers that turns it into a sculling craft with oars. She rows with friends when I'm not paddling with her.
Great information Ken.
You seem to be comparing what you can store inside a kayak with what you can lay out in the open in a canoe. Can't you stow a tent, sleeping bag and other equipment on top of the kayak? Maybe a backpack?
If your pack has a frame, you might need to mostly empty it and lash it on top. Then transfer what you need from the boat into the pack for your hike.
I just can't see using a stand up paddle board for camping. Doesn't seem to be good in early May in Algonquin conditions. Cold water. Rain. Wind.
I'll pass on that.
Agree,but at 71 ,I find that a paddleboard handles my needs.camping,fishing, drifting,don't have to stand on it,can get ones with rocker and tie down straps for gear.good for streams
My fave thing about canoes, you don’t get wet at all.
Kayaks are the best all round
Canoes are the best if you have lots of stuff
Pack rafts are the best if you have an onerous hike to the put in
Pack boats are the best if you want the boat equivalent of supermodel girlfriend
stand up paddle boards are the best if you regularly post pics of yourself doing sunrise yoga poses to insta
Ha! Nice summary. :)