No Wake!
Published May 16, 2011 | 
Welcome to Monday! The great adventure around here over the weekend has been suffering more unseasonably cold weather and testing out my fancy new dry duds.. Well, not exactly… The Big, BIG adventure was heading down to Madison, Wisconsin to watch my daughter graduate from the UW. Seeing her get the diploma was the good bit, surviving 2 hours of pomp and circumstance was a challenge of to the very depth of my soul! Another challenge to the very depth of the soul is swimming in fifty degree water without the proper gear. Worse, thinking you have the proper gear only to find out it leaks when you need it most. That’ll “WAKE” you up! (Boo! Hiss!) This is why you never simply toss on new gear and go paddling. You need to get out and play with it awhile…
How’d it go? Well, right now I have to step away from the computer and run a child off to school. More to follow. 
New Website For Kokatat
Published April 30, 2011 | 
I got a gypsy woman givin’ me advice / I got a gypsy woman givin’ me advice / I got some red hot tips I got to keep on ice
Got my mojo working
Got my mojo working
Got my mojo working
- muddy waters
Check it out! Kokatat has just gone live with their fancy new website! And it is pretty nice. (That coming from someone who does this stuff for a living.) The new site is clean and easy to navigate and maybe most importantly, full of big beautiful pictures! I like how the feature carousel invites users to simply click on the sport they’re into, to be presented with the right gear for them. It’s sort of a suggestion box, navigation and sales tool all in one. Once in your chosen category, there are all sorts of ways to easily sift through the content to find something specific. It’s also nice to simply browse through the updated pictures. Mobile addicts will be pleased to note that a mobile friendly interface is coming soon as well. One thing though… I’m not quite sure what “Sort by Mojo” means? Calling Austin Powers! Continue reading
Songs of Experience
Published April 27, 2011 | 
Children of the future Age,
Reading this indignant page:
Know that in a former time,
Love! sweet Love! was thought a crime – blake
Yesterday I wrote about 10 sea kayaks that everyone should at least test paddle before they invest in a brand new sea kayak. One reader commented that I should have included at least one of the great traditional or Greenland kayak in the group. I got his point. Today I’ll talk about that a bit and explain why no Greenland style kayaks made the list and tell you which ones would have if they, well, would have.. Continue reading
Posted in Kayaks, Paddling, Reviews | 
Anas Acuta, Betsie Bay, Qajaq USA, sea kayaking uk, Tahe Marine, Valley Sea Kayaks, Water Field Kayaks10 Sea Kayaks You Should Paddle Before You Buy
Published April 26, 2011 | 
Oh well, there’s Flo on my left and there’s Mary on my right / And Janie is the girl with that I’ll be with tonight
And when she asks me, which one I love the best? / I tear open my shirt I got Rosie on my chest
‘Cause I’m the wanderer / Yeah, the wanderer / I roam around, around, around – Dion
Sea kayaks are expensive. To be honest, reading alone won’t tell you what you need to know before you drop $3,000 or more on a top-of-the-line kayak. You have to paddle them to know how they feel to you. What’s more, how you feel in a particular kayak may be nothing like what someone else feels in that same boat. That means, no one can really tell you what the right kayak is for you. From there you can infer that what I’m about to tell you.. is worthless.. but read on if you like! Continue reading
3.5
Published April 22, 2011 | 
I knew a girl who tried to walk across the lake, / course it was winter when all this was ice.
Thats a hell of a thing to do, you know. / They say the lake is as big as the ocean.
I wonder if she knew about it? – Yoko Ono
Today I spent the wee hours of my morning looking at the 3point5.com system for outdoor industry pros. The “point” as it were, is to get retail salespeople to earn their pro-deal discounts (You did know that salespeople sometimes get discounts right?) by learning more about the products & companies they sell. Not a bad idea. Nothing more painful to watch than a salesperson who has no clue what they’re on about!! Continue reading
MsFit Refit
Published March 19, 2011 | 
Previous Version
Lisa D commented a couple days back that she had seen the new Kokatat MsFit Tour down at Sweetwater in Florida. Well, here it is for the rest of us! Kokatat has actually redesigned a couple of their most popular PFDs for the new year including the MsFit & OutFit. (And yes, they’re still working on that new website. ) Continue reading
My Icebreaker Nightmare
Published March 15, 2011 | 
My baby says she’s traveling / on the one after 909
I said move over honey / I’m traveling on that line
I said move over once /Move over twice
Come on baby, don’t be cold as ice
I said I’m traveling /on the one after 909
– beatles
OK, this is the truth. When I happened upon a $109.95 price tag on an Icebreaker top at Canoecopia it took my breath away. I mean.. That’s 2 tanks of gas for my Jeep, 43 gallons of milk, or about 4 stops at McDonald’s for a family of 3. (Well, if you actually eat at McDonald’s…) What’s more, that was the special discounted “show” price. Unless you’re rich, crazy or in the business it’s hard to justify that expenditure these days… Isn’t it?
Well, by now we all know that wicking materials are simply paramount to staying warm when working out in cold and wet conditions. We’re told every day not to wear cotton on the water, and to always wear layers. Yes, we all know that tech gear is better. OK. But still.. $109 for a shirt?? That’s what I thought when I first got into the sport of sea kayaking myself. Of course after freezing on the water a few times I started rethinking my priorities. But to be honest, I still couldn’t justify the cost in my own mind. I managed with what I had or found something cheap at Farm & Fleet or Gander Mountain. Continue reading
Posted in More Gear Reviews, My Paddling, Paddle Gear, Paddling, Reviews, Winter Sports | clothing, Icebreaker
Recent Comments