

For the few folding kayaks we haven’t tested personally, we interviewed kayak designers, boaters, and retail shop owners to help find options that kayak enthusiasts trust. These recommendations are based primarily on our many years of experience and expertise testing and reviewing folding kayaks.

My writing has appeared in outlets like Travel + Leisure, AFAR, Vice, Lonely Planet, and more. I’m also the founder of The Salt Sirens, a website dedicated to ocean sports. My grandparents were once long-distance outrigger canoe racers, and my grandfather still has a penchant for coaching my paddling technique. I’ve circumnavigated small islands in Fiji and French Polynesia by kayak and have paddled through the waters of Hawaii, California, Western Australia, and Tonga. The Expert (Chantae Reden): I have over two decades of kayaking experience. I got my hands on an early prototype Oru kayak, which I kept in the back of an old Toyota Camry for three summers to hedge my bets against missing out if an impromptu flatwater adventure came my way. In that time, I’ve personally tested over a dozen folding kayaks in conditions ranging from an inadvisable open ocean night paddle off the coast of Washington, to trying to fold one up while surfing in heavy beach break in San Francisco. The Expert (Joe Jackson): I have tested kayaks for a living since 2008 for publications like Paddler Magazine, Canoe & Kayak, and Outside.
#ORIGAMI PADDLER FOLDING PORTABLE#
Luckily, that’s why we’re here.įun in The Sun: Best Portable Grills It’s a win-win, so long as you pick the right one. A folding kayak will fit in the trunk of your car, so it’s easy to transport and won’t take up a ton of space at home. A rigid, 16-foot hardshell boat that rips through open water so efficiently that it makes you feel like an aquatic species can put a serious strain on your relationship while it’s filling up a quarter of your garage or half your apartment.įolding kayaks offer a best-of-both-worlds solution for folks who don’t have enough storage space to comfortably stash a boat at home, but love to glide downriver in a high-performance hardshell. Thank you tucktec.Kayaks are fantastic to play with on the water… And just as big a hassle to deal with off of the water. So far I am very happy with this purchase. I had to keep adjusting the strap for the back of the seat as it stretched throughout my first ride but there is plenty of adjustability in the strap. The seat I got only has one seat cushion and the back, I might add some more cushion at some point. It’s very wide so it’s stable but not the fastest.

I didn’t time myself but I have no complaints with the time it takes (took longer to load/unload my old one safely from racks with help). The first time folding is difficult but after folding all of the seams a couple of times it gets much easier. I work in manufacturing so I understand the difficulty with supply-chain issues. With Covid and the crazy world, this isn’t great but it’s to be expected. This gives me the freedom to kayak whenever I please and get back to my favorite pastime! I am a small 5’1, 115 lb woman so when my ex left I found myself very limited since I don’t have roof racks or the physical strength to maneuver my big kayak.
