|
April 24, 2007
|
 |
Which touring kayaks have large weight capacity without sacrificing mobility?
|
Necky Looksha V Kayak (courtesy, REI)
|
I’m an experienced touring kayaker, but I have gotten out of shape and gained a lot of weight. I would like to get back into the sport but none of my current equipment fits or has the capacity to hold 400 pounds (me plus gear). Can you help me find a new boat?
— Nancy
King City, Ontario
Do you have a question of your own?
|
|
|
 You have a few choices, Nancy, but not a million of them. And all of them will have a caveat: Short of getting a sit-on-top, which I don’t think will work for the kind of paddling you want to do, you won’t know what really fits until you go sit in one.
But there are certainly boats designed for larger paddlers, and with the capacity to handle 400 pounds (boater and gear). One candidate would be the Necky Looksha V ($1,699 polymer/$2,999 composite; necky.com). It’s what’s described as a “high-volume” kayak, meaning it has more interior room and is a little bit wider in the beam than most boats. Still, it’s known for easy paddling and good tracking, and a rudder helps with maneuverability. Necky doesn’t list a total weight capacity, but it’s a big boat (over 17 feet), with roomy bow and stern hatches, so I shouldn’t think 400 pounds would pose any real challenge to it, especially for lake paddling.
Better yet might be Wilderness Systems Tsunami 175 ($1,650; wildernesssystems.com). It’s a roto-molded boat like the less-expensive Looksha, but it isn’t quite as performance-oriented and is a bit wider and even more stable. The cockpit, in fact, is three inches wider and four inches longer than that on the Necky. It’s rated to 400 pounds capacity, has a rudder, and comes with fore and aft stowage hatches as well as a small “day” hatch right behind the cockpit. Plenty of room for multi-day trips.
Lastly, Perception’s Eclipse 17 Airalite ($2,400; kayaker.com) offers 425 pounds of weight capacity with a cockpit that’s in between the Necky and Wilderness Systems boats. It’s made from Airalite, a really wonderful material that offers the light weight and looks of composite boats but doesn’t cost too much more than plastic.
 |
|
|
|
GEAR GUY FEATURES
Check out the bio of Douglas Gantenbein, aka the Gear Guy.
Readers' Mailbag: The Gear Guy digs into some of your more bizarre, obscure (and let’s face it, downright weird) posts from years gone by to see if he can make sense of it all, or if it’s just time to run up the white flag. Previous column: Beat the Cost of Gear.
The Gear Guy reports from the 2005 Outdoor Retailer summer trade fair, with his rundown of ten products to watch in 2006, plus the inside scoop on what shook down at the bi-annual gearapalooza.
|
|
|
|
|
Many of the items reviewed by the Gear Guy can be found at REI.com. Click here to find the internet's biggest selection of outdoor gear and apparel.
|
