I have, and have had as I realize now, two inconsistent (kind of) drives in assembling my kit. First, I AM drawn to gear and even more so to the idea that I might DIY some gear that I really like. So I have collected various stuff over the years. Second, I like a small kit…just a grab the bag and go kind of thing. One trip from my truck to the kayak sitting on the ramp…minimalist paddling (within the confines of safety of course). I’ve bought binoculars and monoculars, anchors of various sorts, a clip on sunbrella, a thing that made kind of a lounger in my boat that’s hard to describe, beach umbrellas and towells, camp chair to sit and drink coffee in between paddling legs. Some of these are things I’m still exploring because I remember them more than the many pieces of forgotten gear that now live in the attic. I’ve enjoyed taking photography equipment but now find that my smart phone is more worry-free (and versatile obviously) than a bigger camera setup. I haven’t yet found binoculars that don’t fog up on the water and other than looking at birds I don’t really need them (and for birds, “need” is certainly an exaggeration). The big beach umbrella I recently bought is great for the beach and perhaps surprisingly, it DOES fit in my kayak but I don’t want to deal with the weight. Now I’m thinking about a Shibumi Shade which packs down smaller, weighs a lot less, and seems to be well thought of (I saw a lot of people using them during a recent trip to St. Simons in GA). The ENO camp chair also worked out great for a day at the beach but maybe too much for an on-shore coffee break between paddling legs (which is really what I bought it for). Well, I don’t have a question I guess…just making an observation about what I now realize are strong yet competing impulses I have. I think I AM going to buy this clip-on-a-branch anchor though and use it a time or two before I put it in the attic with all my other mothballed gear.
1 Like