I have a Dagger Alchemy 14L sit in kayak. ANy suggestions for the best after market high back replacement seat. The original has too low of a back rest. THank you for any suggestions.
The boat you have…
– Last Updated: Oct-09-16 10:49 AM EST –
is a fantastic little sea kayak. But it is designed to be useful for people with skills including rolling or messing around in surfy stuff, where you want a low back band rather than a high seat back. The latter would only interfere.
The back band is not intended to be a full out back rest, which would encourage a poor paddling position. It is just intended to provide a little support at the base of your spine while your core muscles do their job of essential support.
Are you a newer paddler, or do you have some physical issue which means that the better paddling position encouraged by this boat is not going to work? In the case of the first, I suggest you spend some time learning why a low back band is preferred for this boat. I don't recall seeing a profile, so don't know whether there is a kayak place near you that someone can recommend or it'll have to be on-line.
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Kudos
Ok, that has to be the most friendly, politically-correct response I’ve ever seen. My own first response would have gone something like “A kayak isn’t a La-Z-Boy recliner”… lol
You make some excellent points for someone who is quite likely new to long(ish) boats.
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lower back
I have a compromised lower back, somewhat crooked with a missing disk. I have sometimes (but not always) needed to retrofit a new-to-me kayak by modifying the back band. Fortunately. I’ve never needed to build it up above the back of the coaming. Flexibility and stretching exercises help significantly.
I also am aware of others with no back problems who have difficulty with sitting comfortably in a kayak. Often, putting a thigh pad somewhere in front of the seat pan has been helpful. This can make a remarkable difference for some.
Wonder if a Redfish seat would be the fi
They make basic blocks for the seat, which most find to be easily customized, as well as blocks that can be shaped to build up and forward from the rear bulkhead. It’d take some time shaving things to a nice shape, but once done you would have a seat that both stayed below the coaming while still giving a lot of back support.
Link for Redfish Seats
Here it is. Looks like they are messing with their site, not the easiest thing to find right now.
http://www.redfishkayak.com/seats.htm
seat back
I’ve always had trouble paddling kayaks with back bands, they just don’t work for me. I put wilderness-systems high back seat back in all my kayaks, just put 1 in a brand new essence 170 kayak. you can, I think still order them from wilderness-systems. you will have to take the seat out to do it, but it will work. I can sit in my kayak 4 or 5 hrs and be comfortable, if you decide to go this way and have any trouble, send me a email and i’ll guide you through it. good luck
There is one available
There’s a part out there from Confluence designed to allow you to replace an Alchemy or Stratos backband with the high back seat that’s in the Tsunami boats (both designs use the same seat base). It’s their part number 8070031.
I know Offshore in Chicago has them available, but you should be able to order it from any Confluence dealer.
Current Designs
– Last Updated: Oct-12-16 6:06 PM EST –
sells nice adjustable height seat back in two widths. http://cdkayak.com/Category.aspx?cat=12
I have a missing vertebrae and need a firm back support. I have installed a custom Redfish seat in my Dagger Stratos. It is very comfortable and saves 4 pounds, but now I have to decide what to do with the support between the knees that runs vertical from the floor to the underside of the coaming. It is loose on the bottom without the original seat. I can either shim and glue it to the floor, or remove it altogether. Looking for advice. Not sure if it is critical to hull integrity.
Bil
I believe the “grey things”, as they are often called here, are meant to prevent the deck from collapsing in extreme conditions. With the seat you have, I suspect you are not taking the boat into extreme conditions, so likely you don’t need it. But you could always shim it and keep it in.
In boats without bulkheads (which yours does have, so not relevant here), the grey thing may also be flotation of last resort keep the boat from totally sinking.
100% for sure?
I may be buying a Stratos this spring, and that’s been one of my concerns moving from a 12’ rec kayak to this one, is that i’ll still want to go out on the lazy, slow days for a 4-6 hr paddle… flat water, wide/slow rivers etc, where the high back would be perfect… never being in a “back band” type kayak before, not sure how a 4-6 hr paddle would feel on my back. If this seat isn’t too much of a pain to swap in and out, you just made my day!
I just confirmed with Confluence Customer Service that the Phase 3 Airpro Seatback (8070031) will not work with the Stratos. It will with other Dagger boats (axis, Zydeco and Alchemy) but the seat pan was re-designed for the Stratos.
They did mention other aftermarket companies that offer some solutions that might work (surf to summit or Cloud ten gear) which i’ll look into…
Give the backband a chance - they are pretty good for support. On a lazy float you can always lay back on the back deck to stretch.
Hamstring & lower back stretches along with core strengthening do help.