Northwater quick-release "Sea Link"

Anyone have a chance to use one of these?



http://www.rei.com/product/723069



How did you like it? I’ve got a chance to get the older model (with a snap rather than the plastic buckle) for a pretty good price.



Any advice/your experience appreciated.

I have a similar design
it is small and would seem to be convenient but…



repacking the line isn’t super quick (can’t just stuff it in a bag like their other tow belts)



you have a 7’ tow line that you have to do something with. Really with the bungee it is about 3 feet but when you clip the carabiner to something you have the bag with 13’ of line hanging right underneath it. I found that this gets in the way



If you are towing someone and have to extend the line you need to pull in some of the bungee to reach the release buckle.



Having said that, sometime I carry one for easy flatwater trips when I don’t want to carry a real tow belt.

thanks
I had wondered about how tough it might be to stuff it back in its bag with gloves on. Thanks for the advice.



If you see this again, you have the buckle? Any thoughts on that vs. the snap?

I have the older design and seldom
use it. It’s a real pain to stuff that 17’ of webbing back into that tiny bag.



What I use currently and really like is an Expedition Essentials tow set-up that I have modified by attaching a bungee to it. The wide bag is very easy to stuff and I have put a black mark on the line at the middle. Then I put a slip knot there and bungee it to make a shorter line when necessary.



Works much better than the Sea Link.

thanks
can I ask–how much did you pay for yours?

Expedition Essentials
The MSRP is $100, which is what we sell them for (http://virginiaseakayakcenter.com/catalog.php?item=29). If your local shop doesn’t carry them we can send one your way.



I like the mesh part of the EE bag and the wide opening – it really makes on-water use a lot easier than the narrow opening bags.


  • Tom

    Virginia Sea Kayak Center

good price? does that come with a belt?
the good priced one i mean…

that is a tow system designed to be slid onto a towbelt that is laced onto a pfd…your pfd needs to have loops for the belt to go through…

if you just put this on a belt and not attach it to your pfd and then have to release it quickly then the belt will slide out and you will have a tow system and no way to anchor it to you…



synopsis:

if you have a rescue/towbelt ready pfd WITH belt it might be a good deal…

if not then you have to get a towbelt (another 30$ or so)…



A EE tow belt is a great price…you can find them online for about 85$ or so…

or the northwater Sea Tec tow belt is great for a little more $…

rob