Iâve test paddled a Trak (that exact model) the first year it was released, when I encountered one of their âambassadorsâ on a local waterway who had been sent to help an early purchaser with assembly and paddling his boat. The Trak is an extremely competent open water sea kayak, fast to assemble, and has a unique feature of having hydraulic jacks in the frame to change the hull rocker for performance purposes. I admit I was impressed, even though I have owned 4 equally costly high quality Feathercraft folders.
But as I followed the progress of the company a number of drawbacks to the Trak emerged. First off, the thing is beastly heavy. I started with folding kayaks when I got into touring models 23 years ago after dating a guy who had traveled with a tandem Klepper for years â I wanted to be able to take my boat with me when I explored the world. Every folder I have owned I have been able to pack and transport UNDER the airlineâs maximum weight for âoverweight baggageâ as well as have it manageable myself once on land.
Back to the Trak: There have been issues with failures of the hydraulic systems. Biggest turnoff to me is the lack of consumer service. They started off the company with a kickstarter requiring very high âprepaysâ for anyone who wanted to buy the boats, in fact I think it was the full price of over $3000 up front. They took forever to actually ship them â I know people who waited more than 2 years for delivery and the company stated âno refundsâ so those who ordered were trapped. They notoriously issued false shipping projections and left people frustrated and angry. I was a very active participant in the now defunct foldingkayaks.org folder forum and we saw many complaints on there. It was maddening to be on Trakâs marketing contact list and have them constantly showing up at trade shows and events with ânew colors and designsâ to try to tempt new orders when I knew people who were still waiting months or years for delivery. And they continued to require upfront non-refundable pre-payment with NO guarantees on delivery projections. I have heard they have changed their ways but admit I donât trust them. If I was going to invest in a high performance sleek folder now I would be more likely to go to Nautiraid.
It was a huge loss to the folder community when Feathercraft closed up shop â you have to understand that ALL their boats were made, literally handcrafted, in a small shop on Grandville Island in Vancouver, British Columbia. They had an impressive suite of CNC machines for cutting and heat welding and fantastic customer service by a dedicated team. I visited them twice during travels there â on one visit they loaned me a demo Wisper (their 15â Greenland low volume sea kayak) and one of their Klatwa 2-piece GPâs for the day and I launched from the seawall 50â from their workshop into Vancouver Harbor to find I loved the boat â subsequently bought one that I still use. 37.5 pounds at 15â 7" x 23" (specs below). I experienced great customer service from them with the 3 FCâs I owned while they were still in business (also owned a Kahuna and a K-1 Expedition). They were probably the most innovative of any of the folder makers until the recent expansion of models by the French builder, Nautiraid.
https://www.feathercraft.com/wisper-xp-1
But FC had some stumbles towards the end â just my opinions (based on some years of experience in the outdoor gear industry) â they began offering too many different models too quickly (there is a âconfusion factorâ with buyers of higher end sports gear that can cause paralysis when choices overwhelm), also selling direct as they did disincentivized dealers from stocking the boats. I lucked out in living near one of probably less than half dozen shops that actually had a FC in stock when I picked up my first FC from Outpost in Holland, MI. Their advertising was way too low key â in major paddling and outdoor adventure mags all there would be only an 1/8th page photo ad of several assembled models on a beach â pretty but no suggestion of how light and portable and unique of an option they offered. In the last couple of years before they shuttered they came up with a brilliant fully inflatable sea kayak, the Aironaut, but started having some technical issues despite high demand. Also I think the ultralight Kurrent models they developed around that time (the 13â x 25" Kurrent was only 23 lbs) did not sell as well as expected.
The most budget-friendly competent folders currently available are the PakBoats, though they went from being a US based distributor owned by their inventor, Alv Elvestad, to being part of the Scandinavian mega company , ScanSport. Their broad range of folding Pakcanoes (similar to the European Ally canoes, which Alv helped design during his years with them) are favorites of many hunting and fishing guides for float plane expeditions to remote locations. Iâve owned 5 Pakboat kayaks but they have some issues too. Iâm sure Alv was frustrated at Ally who has not changed their canoe designed for decades (I helped somebody with a 30 year old 19=8â Ally found in an estate get parts for it 4 years ago) but his constant âinnovationâ and turnover of models at Pakboat left a lot of people twisting in the wind (myself included) when they needed parts for older boats. And production of them is all off shore, mostly in Asia. They had some recalls of defective material over the years. I missed one when I bought a pair of kayaks with defective inflatable sponsons from a couple who failed to get the replacements when they were offered. But Pakboat kayaks are mad light. My 12â (and 21 year old) Puffin is 24 lbs and I can pack it and ALL the gear and clothing I need to paddle in a conventional rolling duffel under 48 pounds and within the airline dimensional standards. Iâve flown with it 4 times, including overseas, and paid no baggage fees, plus I can tow it through an airport and landside transport while wearing a back pack with the rest of my clothing and travel kit. Could stash it in my hotel room or cottage rental and carry it in the trunk of a rental car.
The now discontinued âsmaller personâ semi Greenland style Pakboat Quest 135 I bought in 2014 is nearly the equal in performance to my Wisper and a lot easier to assemble â plus is only 28 pounds . Even new it was 1/3 the price of the Wisper ($1100 vs $3300, though I bought a beta model demo for $700). Their present Quest 150 can be paddled with the deck as a closed boat or without it as an open hull sort of sit on top and is 31 and 26 pounds respectively in the two set ups. Also relatively easy to set up once you get the hang of it. Price is up to $1800 (donât know if that reflects the impact of tariffs yet â Pakboat is slow to keep their flimsy website updated) but good luck finding a 15â hardshell that light for twice the price.