I wanted a kayak for a long time and researched everything from rigid to folding to inflatables.
I wanted something I could paddle solo or put a human or canine companion in, and that I could just as easily load up with overnight camping gear or not. I wanted to be able to load and unload it onto my trailer or van without help, that I could keep with me all the time, and that I could portage long distances by myself.
These wants ruled out the Jackson Kilroy and several others for me. Someone suggested I look at
Peter Hornbeck's "double-paddle ultralight pack canoes," made in the Adirondacks. A backpacker at heart, Hornbeck is a pioneer in the pack boat business.
I ended up with a
Hornbeck Nomad Solo/Tandem Fourteen and LOVE it. I adore this boat. I've been out on the water for fishing, photography, and general paddling more in the year and eight months I've owned it than than in
any previous decade.
Weighs only 28lbs. Seriously. Fourteen feet long and only 28 lbs. It's a Kevlar/carbon fiber matrix. I can lift it with one hand. It stays on my trailer year 'round. Along with my trailer and bike, it's become one of three primary adventure tools.
Hornbeck's design of hollow cheeks and a round belly allows it to have a keel fore and aft--see last image below--but be flat bottomed otherwise. Not a whitewater boat, for sure, though tracks quite nicely. Comes in a few different profiles for customization to user's size and weight. Can also be fitted with oars for fishing.
This is the quietest, smoothest-moving paddler I've ever been in. It is a joy to take out on the water.
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