The bucket-as-a-float thing is really handy. It gives you dry storage (if the lid is removable) for small things you might find along the way. It's also neat that we got a canoe re-entry option in this side bar.
All that said, we are still talking about this being applied with a paddler who has let us know they are a female with quite compromised lung capacity, is not young and plans to vacation on a lake in far northeastern Michigan which may be colder than a w's t.
Another point that hasn't been mentioned here is the issue of getting the boat upright after a capsize. I can vouch for it being harder for a less-strong-up-top female to get a boat flipped from being in the water than for most guys, and I am talking about sea kayaks with very small cockpits full of water compared to a Pungo. Guys tend to be able to just reach up and get it flipped via their upper body/shoulder strength, I find that I often have to use some leverage. I have never tried flipping a Pungo back over, but I envision the boat compared to my sea kayaks and it just doesn't seem nearly as easy.
To skloss, unless you are able to carry two boats you need to find a place to take both these boats and practice somewhere BEFORE you go to Black Lake.
well now… where were you? I thjought you were coming to the Mountain Man show in Old Forge?
Shoulda been there dude, you could have SEEN a Pungo rolled, rescued and fully trick paddled!
I used a Pungo 120 and Tempest 165 for my 1hr. ‘Boat Control’ demo and showed the audience the ‘possibilities’ that both boats are capable of.
You have to really hook your knees under the deck and really ummmph the boat when you hipsnap but it’s totally rollable. It also ends up nearly FULL of water as a spray skirt is a royal PITA. Rescue is another story. w/o suplimental flotation the nose can sink about 1’ under the surface making pulling it up to dump challenging, even for me.
OP- take the pungo back and learn to accept the Tsunami’s stability. It’s actually quite good.
"As for the SPOT, I don't want to wait till I'm stuck somewhere to find out that there's no contact at that particular point."
You can check the coverage of the Spot at their website. Virtually anywhere in NA that you would want to go, as long as you have good view of the sky. It is not a cell phone where you have to worry about coverage and signal - it is a satellite device.
You can test it for the places you go by checking with an OK message, or a conventional help message. If you get the message (you always will in my experience), you know that it is ok.
Sean Morley used the Spot only on his recent record breaking circumnavigation of Vancouver Island, and it worked perfectly. If you are especially worried about the risk on a day trip, you can set the track feature on, so that even if you are incapacitated from pressing the 911 button, somebody will have a track on your last know position.
The people who criticize them, as far as I am concerned, are not experienced users. I have not talked to a single user that has had a problem. And even if it is just 99% ok, that is a lot better than no Spot when you need one. I have never experienced a place where it does not work, nor has anybody I know.
While it is great if you can roll your boat, you could also be injured such that you could not roll up. Examples - dislocated shoulder or heart attack.
I never paddle alone without the Spot on - even in my local lake. It also comforts my wife if I am on a paddle with any risk to receive occasional OKs, and a final OK when I am in the parking lot.
I did check those negative reviews at Amazon. Some of what they say is legit IMO.
It takes some time to learn how to use it and realize its limitations. You have to have a clear view of the sky (not a problem in kayak usually) and you have to know how to use it - it takes awhile to acquire the satellite, so leave it on. You have to press the button long enough to get it to flash correctly.
I went through the same thing before I bought mine. My dealer offered me money back if I did not love it - he did the same for everybody. After some problems at first learning how - it works perfectly for me and everybody else my dealer (Penguin Paddlers) has sold to.
spot I have read a number of folks that don’t like SPOT that used it, but it’s a matter of the right tool for the job. Safety gear isn’t black or white but on a continuum. What you need to paddle around the south tip of South America isn’t the same for along the coast of a populated area. I can use VHF much of the time and many managed just fine with no such gear at all. So a SPOT is more fun than an EPIRB because friends can follow along and oh maybe you may even get rescued when you need it – so it fits a middle area of safety, cost and extra functionality. If you want FULL safety go for EPIRB (okay, still not 100%) or just stay home, but few need that extra level.
I spent Saturday learning how to flip and self rescue, and I did all of this in my 12 foot pungo.
everyone else had nice long low sea kayaks and I did have a few extra challenges, but it was totally doable. My deck was higher so it took a little extra effort for me to haul my fat butt up on the back of the boat. the seat back got in my way a bit when trying to get my legs back in the cockpit, but it was doable. I wish I had rigging instead of bungee cords becuase the rigging seemed easier to grab ahold of, but I made it work with the bungees.
I found I only had a lot of water in the boat after flipping it 5 times and not bailing it out each time in between. I am a 5’3 chunky not in the best shape 37 female and could flip it back over by myself, use my paddle float to climb back up and scoot myself back in the cockpit, but not very gracefully. and this was all done in water over our heads.
yes, it seemed easier for the other folks in their sea kayaks, but my pungo met my needs better than a 16 foot long sea kayak.
I live in Charleston and have been told the boat is perfectly fine to take out in the harbor/lakes under the right conditions. I wouldn’t take it out in the ocean, but I wouldn’t even take a sea kayak out in the ocean! lol. I wished I still lived in Pellston, - I’d kayak with you!
why not just buy some out riggers for the tsunami? just kidding…