I remember when you posted about travels and boats in the past, too.
Folders are a pain in the ass to put together. When you demo the folder, take it apart and put it together. They suck.
Between that, the airline surcharge, carrying your paddle and PFD and other crap with it, my guess is that most humble kayakers wind up with a folder in teh closet. If you are driving, of course, few would choose a folder over a hard shell on the roof or a sectional. So, assuming flying, if your full assessment turns out to be like mine, you will not want to shell over the money for a folder. I am not even mentionng the dampsness, letting it air out befor packing, et cetera. PITA
Rather than spending, say, $2500 on a 1/2 price folder, you could use the money for--you say $1000 in rentals over five years?--about 12-13 more years of rentals. Not including teh airfare surcharge each time you take it with you (add that in, and it's a dealbreaker).
That's my assessment after asking all teh same questions as you, seeing tsunamichucks' in person,. and owning many kayaks and sectionsal--but, thankfully, not a bag boat. C yah
...except when you travel to a place that doesn't have rentals. That's my assessment after two trips in two summers with a folder to places where a rental would have been difficult in one place and impossible in the other.
Other than that, I use a hardshell about 99% of the rest of the time to your point and given the choice, would rather rent or borrow on the other end - if feasible.
It's nice to have the flexibility in any case.
For many people that select one, it's the only solution due to lack of storage and/or an easy way to move the kayak to water. I think TC has storage issues thus his selection of folders.
dont forget about pakboats No experience with folder kayak but I use a folder canoe frequently. High quality good paddling boat. Pakboats.com definitely up to a two week expedition.
Id make you a deal on mine as I am eyeing a sawyer solo with empty pockets…
Really is a good boat, takes 30-45 minutes to assemble but is an easy process and can be stored and treated like a hard shell when assembled. More comfort and capacity than a folder kayak. Mine is the 16.5 and is my fastest solo - I almost used it on the MR 340. I decided to paddle a decked Rob Roy in the 340 instead only because it was a tad faster (took a double blade to be faster though).
Folbots I own both a Folbot Yukon and Kodiak. They are absolutely terrific boats, and very stylish too - they get a lot of attention wherever they go.
I’m planning to take the Kodiak up to Alaska for six months next year, and have no qualms at all about its performance.
Folbots aren’t the cheapest folders, and they’re also not the highest quality. They sit right at that money-quality intersection; the better boats will cost a fortune and the cheaper boats won’t be as well-made.
Far Fetched But Build your own crate, make it top notch. Meke it so they can’t break it. Suspend the kayak inside the box using straps, add a few moving blankets, then add a ton of styrofoam popcorn. Take it to a local terminal and ship it by common carrier close to your destination and pick it up at he terminal. Leave the crate at the terminal for the return trip.
If you take the time to call the dispatcher at a local terminal they’ll take care of you…Insure it.
truck lines can make most destinations in two days depending on where you are going and for cheap. i get about 600 pounds in a odd configuration from Michigan for less than 100 bucks. 80 one way is a common cost. They are hurting like all of us and most deliver without damage.
This sounds like a pain in the butt but you will have your #1 boat with you for far less than buying a folder. You can save the crate for next year.
several things to consider The Cooper weighs in at 37 lbs. add paddle, pfd, and a splash jacket or maybe watershoes and you are very close to 50.
The paddle that comes with is a shovel. get an aquabound 4 pc or higher quality paddle.
I actually like the seat but not the seat back and had them make the seat without it and use a paddlefloat as a backrest.
I can literally have it out of the bag and ready for the water in 15 minutes. It is that easy to put together, They have an interesting screw wheel at the stern which lengthens the frame so it tightens the skin really well and adds a lot of rigidity to the boat.
Boat comes ready for rudder instalation but I have never felt the need for one or a skeg.
for one that is used to the purchase of a smaller cockpit or a masik, the cockpit on the Cooper will be large. I solved that by having a thin piece of wood covered in minicell which I put across the cockpit frame locking my knees against it for rolling which the Cooper does very well.
You can get their neo skirt or nylon skirt which I believe comes with but a whitewater skirt works well too and you may be able to find one used.
I have never felt that drying out the skin was an issue. when you take the boat out of the water, it is only a matter of seconds to get rid of any large accumulation of water and a shamwow or sponge will get it damp dry which is fine to transport. just remember to dry it out when you get home. (really nowhere near the hassle it sounds like)
cd1’s flawed logic Cd1 is entitled to his opinion but his characterization of folder owners is off base and his logic re travel expenses doesn’t add up. I’ve owned and traveled with and used the heck out of my Feathercrafts, particularly my Kahuna. No way does it sit in the closet. Travel with it is a huge timesaver over either renting or trying to haul a hard boat anywhere. First off, I grab the bag off the regular baggage carousel and haul it with a small folding cart, so I get to my ground transport lickey split without having to negotiate some oversized package shenanigans. It’ll fit on the shuttle bus or in the trunk of a cab or rental car. Second – so what if it takes me 30 minutes to assemble it (my usual time)? Big deal! You only do it the first day of the trip. How big of a hassle is the person who air-shipped that hard boat going to have getting it to a hotel or the car rental location? How long is it going to take a renter to locate the outfitter and deal with getting the whole kit fitted, paid for and loaded at their trip destination (presuming there is even an outfitter that rents quality gear)? And then having to return it? And what if your plans go awry and you get in when the outfitter is closed and have to delay your paddling for a day? Talk about a real PITA.
NOt least of which, the folding kayak is going to be 25% to 50% lighter than the equivalent length and volume hard boat – a HUGE consideration in traveling with your boat.
And someone who has never owned what he dismisses as a “bag boat” can’t know that a high-end folder performs quite differently than most rigid boats. I love the feeling of contact with the water I get in both my folders and skin-on-frame kayak and the folders outperform most hard boats I’ve paddled with when the water gets rough. I can say this with confidence because I do own a good quality hard boat as well (it’s my “loaner boat” but I sometimes paddle it for various reasons) – it’s a nice craft but it feels almost dead in the water compared to the “soft” boats.
And what’s with the “dampness” crack? My folders paddle just as dry as any hard boat.
And, costwise, rentals are money down the drain. A good quality boat has decent resale value, averaging 50% of the original price.
Most of all, when I am on vacation I want to be paddling a boat I love and am well familiar with the performance of.
Excellent post. I usually split the boat into 2 duffels under 50 pounds and have a carryon bag with things for the trip to minimize shipping costs, if any. Easy stowage of bags too, so I don’t have to find a place to store them. Everything goes with me. Other than water and fuel I’m ready to go when the cab drops me off at the put in.
Yep. For the Al River trip, I shipped everything by Fed Ex ground and avoided the airline costs and hassles. I didn’t worry about losing the boxes either.
For the Brazil trip, we were allowed 2 x 80 lbs each which is mandated for travel to/from Brazil. Between myself and my buddy, we paid $100 in total, each way for the extra bag: 2 hull bags, three snowboard plastic containers for long wood parts and paddles for a total of five bags). We also had a small carry-on each. I did worry about everything making it. We had two connections and three flights before we arrived in Manaus.
I toyed with the idea of leaving my kayak in Brazil but we may do another trip next summer. If we do the Cahaba River, I want my folder. If we do a coastal trip, my buddy Paul will loan me a kayak or I’ll rent one.
For me the folding kayak is simply another boat in the fleet. I do take it out to paddle as it is very comfortable and I do consider it a performance boat. The Kahuna and the Khatsalano are very tough expedition and rough water boats. I would not want to surf the Cooper as I do not think it is strong enough but I do know lots of others who have with no issues. I have had it in pretty rough seas but no 5 ft breaking waves. 2 feet is the most I have had it in and it performed just fine.
If I could only have one boat, it would be a feathercraft that would stay assembled 95% of the time. but since I have the luxury of a couple of hardshells a feathercraft expense just doesn’t justify for the number of times i really need to have a folder for travel.
But that is just me. I built the Yost Cruiser with a friend because I thought another friend was going to be using the Cooper and when he bailed out, it became a matter of pride to take the boat I built there.
you can make your own using good quality cord and a monkeyfist and tie it so that it can be disengaged very quickly. The one on line looks sweet though and has more bells and whistles which appear to be very well thought out.
Hmm my birthday is on the 15th. Maybe I will get one but my heart was so set on getting a Tilley…not.
