Sometimes in the paddling community we are just too nice. “All boats are good boats”, “whatever’s right for you” and so on. Well, the truth of course is NOT all boats are good boats and often as we are getting into the sport we choose a lot of bad kayaks because we are selecting them for all the wrong reasons. Let’s be honest, not every boat is well. . . good.

The same of course goes for gear. I mean, we spend millions of dollars each year buying all the stuff we need to go out on the water. We buy clothing, safety gear, camping equipment, tents, hydropacks, filters, lights, food, ropes, compasses, GPS, cameras, shoes, hats, sunblock, and the list goes on. Of course in the end we often spend a good amount of money on pure, unadulterated junk until we find a good product, or get advice from someone honest and experienced.

With that in mind let me tell you some of the good and bad about the gear I took to Puerto Rico. From the hip. . .

1. Digital Concepts Battery Adapter (Good) - I found this little toy in Wal-Mart. Basically it uses 4 AA batteries to charge anything with a mini-usb port. In this instance, my blackberry. It was a total lifesaver. Considering the cost (under $30) of the adapter and including the price of batteries this was not all that high of price to pay to get a quick charge when we needed communication. Usually it would provide a single charge to a dead phone and if I kept my BB powered down unless I needed it, one charge would last for days.

2. Garmin ( Junk) - I can’t tell you how many “waterproof” Garmin GPS units I’ve trashed. Of course I know the rule. Don’t believe them and put the unit in a dry bag. OK. I got that. However, should we let them off so easily?? If they say the bloody thing is waterproof, can we at least expect it to be SPLASHPROOF??. You know if it were just me, I’d think it was karma but I know too many other people who’ve seen the same issue. Remember don’t depend on GPS, and certainly don’t depend on Garmin to be waterproof.

3. Northwater Gear ( Good) - I had a few things from Northwater. On this trip I had my deck bag, my tow belt and that guide vest to go over my PFD and carry lots of gear. All of them of course worked just great. My little deck bag is a couple years old now and still has not succumb to the sun. Some gear as you know will start rotting and tearing the first year if you let it bake in saltwater and intense light. (I’m the absent minded forget to rinse gear type) All my NW gear is faded but still strong as ever. The Guide Vest was the perfect answer to a PFD only one pocket and one attachment point. At first I really thought the vest would be in the way, but once I got it all strapped down I found it was just fine. I’m so glad I choose the guide vest. I only have one complaint about Northwater. . . If they can make Freya a black tow bag. . . then why can’t I get one?? LOL!

4. Pentax Optio W series ( Not quite ready for prime time) - “Ever the perfect camera for capturing adventure in the outdoors”. Well as long as adventure means being very, very careful. Alright. I bought two Optios. Yeah I loved them at first. That was before I found that it did not take too long before water would get into them. Again, it’s not just my karma, but I’ve talked to others with the same “$300 paperweight”. Ok, but what really ticks me off about Pentax is that corporate minded customer support that is only there to keep them from having to support their products. When mine died in PR we called them and asked if they could help us out a bit on the expedition. I would send them the bloody thing as soon as I could get back, but could they send the replacement asap so I still had one for the trip. After all, it’s under warranty and we were only there for another 3 weeks!! Well, what they said was, send us $350 bucks or whatever, and we’ll ship you a new one from the Philippines and you’ll get it in a week or two. C’mon guys!

Ok, put a disclaimer on the Optio. . “Works well, under pampered conditions.” Thing is, each time you take a battery or disk out you have to be sure to be totally dry handed, brush off the little gasket, and click down the little latch. Something I was getting quite skilled at, even in waves LOL! But even with pampering the cover may not set on the gasket correctly. It can get loose over time as the plastic begins to wear. It’s way to easy to get water into the camera and certainly not worth the risk or the hassle. So I went back to my Canon in the dive case.

5. MSR Ventana (Very Good) - Hey, this is a great tent. Remember to pack a tent in your kayak the first thing you do is toss the bag the tent is in. Rolled, the tent takes up too much space. Each day I would take down the tent in no time, then toss the 2 poles into the bag and toss them up into the bow of the kayak where nothing but tent poles would fit. Then I’d just crush up the tent and rain fly separately and crush them in there as well. They take up very little space. The tent has all sorts of great little pockets and is prefect for solo camping. Well, you can share if you are “close”. LOL! The little vestibules are perfect for all that sandy gear you don’t want IN the tent. What surprises me is how warm that tent can get. It holds heat quite well. Of course in PR that was not always a good thing. But you could always just take off the fly and sleep under the stars. My Ventana is 3 years old and has been on both coasts, all over Wisconsin, to Wales and PR. And I’m not kind to gear. Still, it looks like new and is holding together perfectly. Thanks MSR for showing that quality can exist. OH, and I did have to pay for it myself!! LOL!

So there are just some of the things that stood out. Sure I had a couple dry bags that were never anything like dry. My Tevas were kindly put to death before I returned. They shared their grave with my NRS gloves which were becoming fingerless before their time. I had issues with my Icom VHF and issues with the Icom VHF that I borrowed, but I’m not ready to say it’s their fault. We found those fun dried meals you get at REI were actually quite tasty! Oh, then there’s that knife I bought from NRS that rusted right up in salt. Good thing I could pretty much just wipe it off.

And of course my sponsored gear was great. I have to say that!!! Well, that’s not true exactly. I’ve been lucky. The only sponsors I had were companies that I already trusted. I didn’t have to be “won over”. No one questions the quality of Reed Chillcheater. Considering I wore the same gear for a month and they are still presentable and functional today says a lot. Werner was not really a sponsor of the expedition but they were really helpful in getting me my 4 piece Ikelos paddle. It performed like a dream in some pretty hairy moments. Yeah, I did get sand in it and had to get it back apart with a butter knife! Yet other than that little comedy I was glad to have a paddle that didn’t snap on me! My Rockpool of course took a good beating, but there was never a fault in workmanship. I still wish Mike would put in a recess for a compass. Oh, and there is the backband. . . A backband on an Alaw Bach is like an appendix. Just take it out. There’s no need. LOL!