Touring/Recreation Kayaks

In what is billed as the new standard in how-to-roll DVD’s, “This is the Roll,” provides technical demonstrations on some of sea-kayaking’s hardest moves. World-class instructors Cheri Perry and Turner Wilson demonstrate and teach the three most important Greenland style rolls for open water paddlers: The Standard Roll, the Reverse Sweep and the Storm Roll.

The fear of being trapped in a closed-hull boat with a spray skirt is a barrier for may entry-level whitewater paddlers. Fluid hopes to eliminate that fear with their new sit-on-top whitewater kayak. Designed with hull characteristics similar to their top end whitewater kayaks, while providing superb stability and confidence, this new boat may make the difference for whitewater enthusiasts interested in learning to kayak.

Wilderness Systems remains king with third consecutive "Boat Brand of the Year" award. The entire outdoor retail community descended on Salt Lake City, Utah to celebrate at this year's Outdoor Retailer Summer Market.

Once a year, industry bigwigs gather in Salt Lake City for the annual Outdoor Retailer tradeshow, where those lucky enough to attend can ooh and ahh over paddlesport manufacturers' new designs for the upcoming year. For those smart enough to stay on the water instead, here's a quick PL sneak peak of what the tradeshow cronies will see...

Tim Niemier, 59, has always thought outside the box...or cockpit. It was in his garage in Malibu, Calif., in 1971 that he indented a surfboard hull to create the world’s first sit-on-top kayak. By the time he sold Ocean Kayak to Johnson Outdoors in 1997, nearly every kayak manufacturer worldwide had a sit-on-top in its line. Forty years later, the visionary’s light bulbs still burn at his Wild Designs firm as he tries to get more people out on the water...

Current Designs s getting more current. At least, that'sthe premise behind a new brand identity, logo and boat graphics...

Paddling Life is on hand at this year’s Outdoor Retailer Summer Market tradeshow, to bring you not-in-the-industry folk up to speed on what’s going down. First installment: a look at products for the stockier set. Turns out that Morgan Spurlock, whose 30-day McDonald's diet documented the fast-food industry, isn’t the only one going super size. Paddlesport exhibitors are also banking on beefier consumers by churning out products that excel for XLs. Following are a few tipping the scales.

Kayakers might soon be catching a whole lot more fish, thanks to a few Kiwis. After months of R&D, New Zealand's Fluid Kayaks has placed their dedicated fishing kayak into full production: La Bamba!

A small drift boat and kayak company in Northwest Colorado is going Hog wild. Tapping the burgeoning rec kayak market, rotomolded driftboat manufacturer Hog Island Boatworks has introduced a new eco-friendly sit-in-top kayak made from 100 percent recycled plastic...PL checks in.

Al Gore is not the only global warming crusader. Three sea kayakers are in the middle of a mission to the world’s most desolate place, Antarctica, to call attention to rising-thermometers as well as Antarctica's first self-supported kayak expedition...

The Outdoor Retailer Trade Show showcases new adventure products of all types, from the eminently practical to the downright esoteric, and the expo this August was no exception. PL sifted through the maw of hardware and came up with a list of schwag paddlers will be going ga-ga over from the upcoming fall sales through the end of the next season.

With a company name honoring his great, great grandfather Nicholae Talic, a woodworker from The Netherlands, Tim Tucker is changing the way paddlers store their boats...

What started as a weekend sale 18 years ago in the land of cheese curds has grown into the industry’s largest consumer show. Held the second weekend of March every year, once again Rutabaga's Canoecopia offered the season's first glimpse at new gear to hit the water this season. PL was on hand to sniff out some of the goods...

The MirageDrive system will have your feet moving for these kayaks.

PL looks over the Jackson Rec Tripper line and gives you an inside look at Jackson Rec's new outfitting package for '08: the Day Tray.

New Folbot packages for '08 set to please nature enthusiasts, photographers and anglers alike.

The Ride 135 ($800) is a modified version of its predecessor The Ride and will definitely maintain its popularity with anglers.

The Paddling Life crew loves surprises and nothing surprised us more this summer than the Coleman Exponent FastBack Kayak ($345).

When Paddling Life joined Johnson Watersports on a trip to Baja in March, it meant field-testing sea kayaks and fresh fish tacos. A look at 4 marquee sea kayaks, plus a review of the coveted Spyder, Spike Gladwin's customized surf machine...

It’s a good time to be a paddle (or pedal!)-powered angler. Long gone are the days when a cutting-edge fishing machine sported a milk crate in the back. A look at the Malibu Mini X, Hobie Mirage Revolution, Ocean Kayak Prowler Big Game, Cobra Tandem +1, and Perception Search 13 & 15.