In my bag always ready
I can comfortably keep a dry bag between my knees and it holds the following. First aid, spare rudder cable and tools, compressed air horn, flash light & head lamp, VHF radio, compass, batteries, GPS, canned food & spoon, hat, dry clothes appropriate for the season, toilet paper, towel, sunscreen and bug dope in season. I also carry a spare paddle, bailer & sponge and hydration bag W/ sippy tube. PFD is typically stowed behind seat unless conditions indicate use. In my PFD pockets are a small survival kit, loud whistle and a PLB. In winter I’ll add a hypothermia kit in the drybag if I’m out over night.
And sometime I don’t take anything but a paddle & water.
What to carry and Where to place it
– Last Updated: Aug-22-05 9:30 AM EST –
You may wish to read Charles Sutherland"s safety article "One Paddler's Achilles" in Sea Kayaker Magazine's online articles. Click on resources & then online articles at www.seakayakermag.com
The article on safety by Herman and Green in the August 2005 issue may also be of interest to you. You may also want to contact the United States Canoe Association @ USCANOE.COM to see if they have any guidleines regarding safety equipment and placement for your kayak. Pam Browning is the kayaking guru @ U.S.Canoe and Pam posts on this site.
If you correspond with Pam and find that the organization has guidelines it would be a nice service if you post them on this site. Happy Kayaking!
Thanks,
I will take a look and see if I can find it on the net. I have a “shaky” roll but even as it gets better I can see the benifit of something like that in some instances.
thanks,
Mark
URL for BackUP RollAid
Here’s the URL:
http://www.roll-aid.com/
Oral version may also be handy after a lot of time rolling in circles… 
BackUp RollAid use issues?
"It inflates most aggressively when deployed under water…
Is that good or bad? If it’s that aggressive, and you add a wave and rattled nerves, will you still have hold of it? Will you trying to control it cause you to lose your paddle? If it comes on on the other side that you wanted are you OK with that? Even if your other arm over there has the paddle and they’re twisted up, and maybe on the downwind side so the boat is being driven over you toward both of them? The mind reels with possible complications here.
“It is a bit of a thing to handle once inflated…”
So now, assuming you’ve kept hold of it (and your paddle?), not had any other issues, and are now upright - you have a big balloon to deal with. Again, add waves and wind and this seems problematic at best.
“…when inflated with the CO2 cartridge it will start deflating fairly quickly…”
How quickly? Quick enough that it is quickly useless to brace with or roll up again (pretty important since you have a hand on it and off your paddle), or slow enough that it is in your way and hard to deal with if you want to stow it quickly? If you can’t stay upright with your paddle, how will you do it with deflating bag in one hand?
“So in a real emergency you’d need to tie it off quick to your deck right after, probably behind you, while you got on with business.”
How could you stow it - behind you (probably? You mean you haven’t practiced with this to know?)- and keep hold of paddle and conditions that flipped you even with full control of your paddle? If you have to stow your paddle, then stow this device, then all I can say is good luck. I hope you’ve rigged and practiced with a simple reliable clip you can quickly snap to a deck line or bungee one handed without turning around - and that once so attached it is not interfering with your bracing/forward progress, and cannot become an entanglement issue in subsequent capsizes…
I ask you not to pick on you directly or trash this device without cause (it is what it is) but simply because you have one and I hope you’ve thought this all through (before recommending it so regularly here).
I’ve ad reviews and tests of this items and I’m not just pulling these issues out of thin air - but it’s not hard to envision a host of problems even without reading them from the testers.
To me it sounds like another flat water wonder device preying on the fear factor and giving people false confidence (the worst part IMO). Something that works fine when everything is just right - but is meant to be used when everything’s all wrong. The speed and easy deployment are nice, but the one shot aspect and other complications during and after deployment seem to be a deal killer to me. Anyone who would rely on this as their safety backup probably shouldn’t paddle anywhere they might actually need to use it.
The smaller paddle float is already too much for most to deal with stowing after getting back up in any serious conditions, but at least you can keep both hands on the paddle - it doesn’t deflate until you do it - and you can continue to use it to brace. Puts you in the water a little longer (only a little if practiced!) but better at keeping you out after. Still, it’s a pain in the rear too and should be the 3rd, 4th, or even 5th option down the list.
Gadgets and gimmicks are always going to be poor substitutes for boat/body/blade skills.
Get the junk off the deck
Putting things like pumps, paddle floats and water bottles on deck is unnecssary and an invitation to losing them. Pumps fit easily under the foredeck (in foam holders) or beside the cheek plate. I typically keep a pump on one side and a sponge on the other.
Although I rarely use it, I keep a paddle float rolled up and tucked into bungee loops on the back of my back band.
For hydraction, I use a 1.5 liter (50 oz.) bladder in a home-made pack on the back of my PFD. It holds twice as much as a typical water bottle and it’s much more convenient to use, which means that I drink more often and stay hydrated better. It also can’t wash away.
I find bungee cord to be nearly useless for actually securing anything, at least anything with any weight. Cords and sliding tensioners are a much better system.
If you want to see a few ideas for boat setup, check out my Webshots albums at:
http://community.webshots.com/user/brian_nystrom
I keep most of my day gear in the day hatch (imagine that?!), with a few bulky items in the rear hatch. I rarely use the front hatch and then only for lightweight gear.
Enough already
I just mentioned that I carry it in this post, only indicated the reasons I feel it can be good when asked for more info. I have mentioned it maybe a few other times.
As far as thinking about it - not exactly a shortfall. I obsessed about the right paddle float for several weeks.
The device works as advertised. It is advertised in a very prudent manner, and I have spoken of it in those same terms. It deploys just fine. It would probably be best if you tested one yourself as I have.
I have a BackUp and it is just another
tool.
According to the manufacturer, it is NOT supposed to replace a roll.
It is for those times when your roll has failed and your only other option is to wet exit. If used properly, it can prevent you from having to leave your boat.
I have practiced with mine and it is very easy to stow after use. There is a clip on the the tether that you can just clip right to the deck line behind you. It is then there to be used if you capsize again (remember the conditions haven’t gone away).
The handle is quite easy to keep hold of and you can easily decide which side to deploy it on just by choosing which hand to grab it with.
You do need to know how to do a bow rescue for it to work. Basically, you use it just like the bow of another kayak to help you roll up.
It’s not the end all be all, but on solo ocean paddles, I carry mine. When paddling with others, I leave it behind.
As far as losing your paddle is concerned, you can lean on it for stability as you pull your spare paddle out from under the bungies.
Most important point is to remember that it is just another ring in your total defense. First, option is always a roll - this comes into play just before you wet exit only.
And like all safety gear, it does require some practice to use. It can be manually inflated to save on costs while you do.
I keep flat pack duct tape in my PFD
Many uses. Boat repairs, first aid, attaching race numbers…
Boom Box
Doesn’t anyone else carry a boom box and CDs? What do you do if stranded on a desert island?
Home theater
actually the sub fits so nicely in the day hatch 
bad day Greyak?
Wow, what a cranky post. Have you been forced off the water? Stuck in the office? Argument with the spouse?
waterproof mp3 player and headphones
I’m definitely one of those
aforementioned people whose PFD is bristling with stuff–as are most of the highly competent paddlers in the North Shore Paddlers Network. Cold water ocean paddling calls for a bunch of safety gear that you might not need every time, but that, when you really need it, there’s no substitute for.
My back deck has a single cleat for towing, nothing else. One line goes to the stern from that cleatm to a front deck cleat, to the bow, and back to another front deck cleat. In that way, I can tow or be towed using the same line, which also serves as deck rigging to grab onto the boat (no perimeter line). On the front deck I keep a norsaq (hand-rolling stick) as an ultimate rolling back-up, and a spare Greenland paddle, which is fitted for instant removal, even when upside down, but which can also be tightened up so it doesn’t get lost in surf. There are 3 bungees to hold a chart, and two extra bungees to hold water bottles (I use bottles with ridges, so they can’t get washed away easily) and a VHF. That’s it for the boat. I don’t usually carry a pump any more, as the sea sock in my Mariner means so little water enters that a sponge dries it out quickly.
It’s my PFD that bristles–a towing unit, EPIRB, thermometer/anemometer, hook-type knife, whistle, laser flare, keys/money in drybag, and sometimes a hiker’s compass that I use for hand bearings.
Inside the boat, first aid kit and emergency supplies (depending on the outing, e.g. dry clothes, food).
Call me a gear weenie, but I’ve used everything on the list except the EPIRB, and been very grateful I had it. The boat’s light, so even with all the extra gear, I can carry it in one trip up to a half mile or so.
Sanjay
Guilty
ten years ago I was loading down my deck with clutter every time I went out. Talk about time consuming when I could be paddling. Things sure get crossed off the list as time goes by. I try to be safe when conditions warrant, more from fear of other boat traffic or hypothermia in early or late season but otherwise be comfortable and paddle.
Loaded PFD’s
More stuff in the boat than Sanjay mentions, but the PFD is close except for the EPIRB. Though one of my would-like pieces of gear is a lighter weight smaller VHF w/ weather alert that I can add to my PFD. Of course with all that stuff in the PFD, most women really start needing an upside down self-rescue, roll or re-entry and…
PFD outfitting
This is very interesting. It would be great to see how people outfit their pfd’s also.
Paul
All depends how you read it.
Try reading it again with a happy and inquisistive tone instead of whatever you added!
I’m just making some (to me) obvious points and asking questions abou the thing’s use (some of which were answered).
Geez some of you folks are touchy!
Boat and PFD
Boat:
-----
Hatches
Usually empty - I day paddle.
Aft deck
Nothing (might want to climb around back here, put a swimmer on deck, tow someone…)
Foredeck
Spare/alternate paddle (GP Storm - recently added Norsaq too)
A coiled leash (rarely used - and mostly to tie boat to stuff when I’m out of it. Takes up no space and comes in handy sometimes.)
Small low profile GPS mount (for when I use the GPS - just clicks in). Basically part of the hull now.
Cockpit
Pump - above under deck bag (and end fits in foam foot brace surface - will stay put without the bag)
Sponge - wedged between left seat post and hull - or laying on bottom.
Paddle float - Folded up an clipped to backband on right side. Not needed/used, but you never know when you might get tired or injured…
Hydration pack - on floor behind seat (pretty secure there - too big to wash out).
Under Deck Bag - holds various items depending on plans. Common items: Cell in Aquapac & VHF [both usually OFF], swim mask, extra water, food, etc. Also occasionally my LED running lights if I may end up out past sunset.
PFD:
—
Small blunt tip BCD type knife
Whistle
Small flat first aid kit
Signal mirror (also handy for first aid use)
Flat pack duct tape
Small Aquapac with keys, ID, $
Light duty tow rig - PFD has built in quick release belt (I’m not doing surf/heavy weather rescues. If used at all it would be to assist a tired paddler or recover a wayward boat in pretty mild conditions. If I have greater need, I’ll look at upgrading).
Optional
VHF may also ride on PFD if I plan to use it for comm and not just safety backup.
C-Light (on rear shoulder), a small strobe, and Skyblazer type flares (stopped carrying all these as standard gear as I’m mostly inshore/near shore day paddling in populated areas.
happy and inquisitive?
“To me it sounds like another flat water wonder device preying on the fear factor and giving people false confidence” …Hmmm