I bought 2 Dick’s Sporting Goods stadium seats to upgrade my open two seater kayak. I have a lumbar roll I use in the house for back support, but that would absorb water. I noticed this very old water ski belt which I had intended to throw out and realized I could trim it to create a waterproof lumbar support. Any suggestions as to tools(s) to cut it?
If it is like the old water ski belts I used to wear, I imagine it is softer than closed cell foam. A very sharp fishing fillet knife should do the trick… Then proceed very carefully.
Thanks, kayakhank, I’ll try the knife.
If you can still find them in stores this late in the season, the fatter dense foam “pool noodles” can be sliced in half lengthwise with a serrated bread knife to make a lumbar cushion that will not absorb water or squish flat. You can get similar tube shaped hard foam at places like TJ Maxx in the women’s sports clothing department – the shapes are used for exercise routines and yoga but are costlier than pool noodles.
I also got a couple of inflatable narrow pillows at Aldi a few years ago, vinyl with a good valve and a nylon cover, which seem to work as lumbar cushions.
I personally don’t need a cushion because I use back bands in my kayaks, which give good low lumbar support (and I don’t lean back in my boats so I rarely am resting my back on the band anyway, it is more to brace me when I am paddling hard or to relax against during lunch breaks.) But I often paddle with friends loaning them my extra kayaks and I have several paddling buddies who can’t tolerate sitting in a kayak without something supportive against their lower back so I bring along both the inflatables and the split pool noodle to accommodate their needs.
Oddly enough, most of the friends that seem to have this trouble are fit avid bicyclists, which makes me wonder if something about long distance cycling messes up the body’s flexibility. I don’t cycle much myself any more but have no trouble sitting erect in a kayak cockpit for hours without pain or fatigue.
Since I haven’t paddled a kayak in 15 years and will be using a stadium seat in place of the not so comfortable original seats. I’ll need to paddle some first to see if I need a lumbar support. I learned recently that the full lumbar roll is uncomfortable and I bought what I think is called a half roll which is thinner and more comfortable when I remember to use it. If I do decide on a lumbar in the kayak, I’ll cut down the old ski belt.