Kokatat Neo Kayak Mitts Kokatat’s cozy new 3mm neoprene pogies were designed with sea kayakers in mind. The unique platypus-bill shape provides a long finger box for ample wiggle room for your digits and space to do the open-palm paddle push to keep the circulation flowing. An elastic loop near the palm pairs with a Velcro strap at the cuff to secure the pogies around your paddle shaft or deck lines when not in use—also makes them easy to hang on a clothesline. The eight-inch-long cuff extends well over the sleeves of a paddling jacket and narrows enough at the opening to avoid scooping up cold water. Also available in a shortie six-inch version. $52.15 Cdn, $37.50 US.
www.kokatat.com.
Serratus
Aphrodite PFD The Aphrodite, available from MEC stores in Canada, hinges around eight foam panels to spread
flotation snugly and widely across the contours of a woman’s body. The chest panels are half-thickness for extra room, cut high and wide for modesty—try it on to make sure this doesn’t restrict your paddling. This is a sturdily constructed jacket with lots o’ features including convenient front zipper entry, six adjustment points, two side mesh pockets, two generous zippered front pockets and reflector-tape daisy chains on the front and back for clipping rescue gear and all the other shiny gewgaws befitting a goddess of paddling. Male-deity version: the Poseidon. $125 Cdn.
www.serratus.com.
INthehatch Feathercraft Arc Drypack
The Canadian folks famous for high-end folding kayaks have adapted the tough, ocean-proof welded polyurethane of their impermeable boat hulls to a new line of water-resistant backpacks and drybags. The Arc is a 22-litre backpack that straps securely to a kayak to form a large, dry deck bag. A perfect multipurpose item for extra capacity on small boats and for paddlers of two minds who want a knapsack along for day hiking. Feature-packed with mesh pockets, an internal hydration-bag sleeve, and two zipper options— standard water resist zip or the premium water-stop zip (a worthwhile $40 Cdn/$31 US upgrade that makes the main compartment nearly airtight). $150 Cdn, $115 US with standard zip.
www.feathercraft.com.
Seaward Hi-Pro Nigel Foster Paddle The kayak company Seaward also offers a fine line of Canadian-made composite paddles including this riff on the Brit-meets-West tune—a paddle complement to Seaward’s three Nigel Foster–designed kayaks. The Hi-Pro is an 8.5-inch-wide blade that provides clean slicing and maximum support when dancing through fancy sculling and drawing manoeuvres, extreme boat tilts, rolls and other tricks—any performance paddling sessions where you want to dig deep. Graphite construction weighs only 975
grams. The blades, with ultra-thin tips and a contoured foam core, slice sharp and smooth and gobble sea miles in big bites. Hungry? $456 Cdn, $349 US.
www.seawardkayaks.com.
44 Summer 2004
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