How to Outfit your Whitewater Kayak

Video Transcript

"Outfitting your kayak could help you have a comfortable day and a effective day. You want to think of your self almost like a 3 legged stool where there is 3 key parts to it you hips and buttocks area need to fit properly. Your thighs or knee area would be in these thigh braces and you feet which is down on the kayak. So what you want to do is have comfortable contact with all 3 of those points and we can talk about different methods to do that. The reason we want our boat to fit snuggly or comfortably is that any action that we make with our body you want to transfer that same action or motion right into the boat so there is no waste of time there. So you can use things like premade hip pads or find yourself some clothes foam to form what you need. So of the boats these days come with amazing outfitting so you can find what works for you. In this case I also have a back band that helps give a little support on my back and I can use these ratchets on both sides to help tighten up the back bend so that it snugs to your lower back. Now this does not make you sit up straight this reminds you to sit up straight on your own. If I where going to put hip pads in this boat I will do it somewhere here so then my legs would form right in this area. I have actually something for my buttocks that I can sit on a nice foam pad here that gives me some comfort and some warmth as well. If you come over to this area these are the thighs braces and my legs fit right underneath here. In my kayak there is adjustments along the way to have a proper fit for your leg length. What you can't see in here is the foam that is down near the kayak kind of where your tools are. If you come and look at my feet right here so you want to sit in the kayak kind of like a frog where the balls of you feet will be touching something and in my case it is foam in my boat. Some boats has bulk head that you can adjust forward or away from you and you want your knee and thighs in these knee braces so you can have a comfortable fit for your day of paddling."