By John Mathieu

One of the more common questions I get asked while guiding is what kind of kayak should I buy?  The answer is simple:  Buy the lightest possible boat you can afford that meets your expectations for use.

One of the biggest obstacles for people to go kayaking is transportation of your watercraft to access the water.  You will paddle more if this process of ground handling is simple and easy.  It can be very difficult for a small framed person or senior to throw a 90 pound boat on top of a car then hand carry it to the put in.  Yes, there are tools to help facilitate this such as trailers, carts, and water side storage racks.  But I will circle back to the notion that you will paddle more if the transition of sitting in your kitchen to sitting in your boat is simple, quick, and efficient. A sunrise paddle before work or an after dinner full moon paddle will be easier with a lightweight boat.  That simple. 

There are pros and cons to this direction of using ultra light boats.  The biggest detriment is expense.  Lightweight boats can be much more expensive than their heavier kin because they are usually made with more exotic materials such as kevlar or carbon fiber.  The next concern ultra light boats are more fragile.  And the third concern is an ultra light boat may not meet the requirements for what you want to use for. 

There is a reason that most kayak rental outfitters use plastic boats. Plastic can take more abuse and some have pretty good performance characteristics.  But yes, they can be much heavier.  Ultra light boats have to be treated gingerly and are not recommended for situations that may involve scraping barnacle encrusted rocks. 

The intended primary use should be paramount in the decision process before deciding how light you are willing to go.  Some uses of kayaks include multi day expeditions, surfing, scuba diving, playing in tidal rock gardens, open ocean crosses, and whitewater paddling.  These activities are very use specific and will require a kayak made for that activity, and often can be sometimes heavy.  But if your kayaking needs involve day trips, short duration trips on protected waters, an ultra light boat will find you using that boat more often.  This is the type of paddling the majority of people do.  You do not need extra volume for gear like you would find in an expedition boat. My personal day tripper kayak is a kevlar tandem that is less than 17’ long, which is short compared to some tandems.  It is 42 pounds and I can easily put in on my car by myself.  I have other boats I use for overnight trips, racing, exercise, fishing, sea kayak guiding, and surfing but the ease of ground handling a 42 pound tandem makes going out with my partner for a paddle easy to do and therefore we do it often.  It would not be that way with our 80 pound tandem kayak we use for overnight trips.  

Having multiple boats for different uses is something that may evolve over time as your paddling interests broaden. And it is also wonderful to find something you like and stick with that.  I still have a kevlar boat that I still use that was purchased in 1979.  If you take care of your craft, it will last a life time.  And there is no kayak that does everything well.  But if you focus on purchasing a boat that you wish to use often, light is right.