Anyone have this? Pros/Cons?
Other suggestions?
Which model?
It would help if you specified which one you have.
Like NRS but…
I have 3 long tow systems and a short tow. I realize not everyone is the same and the same thing may not work for everyone. I wish the Northwater SeaTec tow line had been out when I bought my first one. It is very close to everything I want in a tow system.
http://www.northwater.com/html/seatec_line.html
I have and like a lot of NRS gear but I am suspicious of the plastic carabiner.
This one
I thought this was their only tow rig http://nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=1829&deptid=961
I don’t have it yet. I’m shopping and looking for opinions.
Yup
+1 on the northwater tow bags.
Northwater - yes
The most common in my experience are the Northwater. I have one with which I am very pleased.
Stohlquist is also not uncommon.
Plastic biners suck.
I can’t imagine parting with good money for a system that didn’t have t the courtesy to offer a SS biner. The items also suggested were aluminium. I have yet to see an aluminium biner used regularly in the sea that didn’t freeze up. My wife uses a Northwater, nice rig. I got sick of altering a commercially made system, thus raising the price tag and just made mine from parts scavenged from my parts kit.
Dogmaticus
Wilsoj2, I’m not able to find a tow rig
made by Stohlquist. Did they have one? What was it like?
Dogmaticus
Thought I saw…
I thought I saw others with Stohlquist. I’l have to check, I might be remembering wrong.
I replaced my tow rope 'biner
With a very nice stainless steel one. Interesting that the hardware inside the bag holding the rope is brass, but the carabiner at the business end corroded. and bacame unreliable as far as quick openning and closing.
Agree and disagree
– Last Updated: Apr-17-06 5:12 PM EST –
I'm not wild about that plastic 'biner either, though the rest of the rig looks OK.
I have no problem with using aluminum 'biners on the water. I've got a total of five in use on tow rigs and my spray skirt and as long as I rinse them after saltwater use and lube them 3-4 times a year, they're fine. Stainless is great for low maintenance, but you either have to put up with a lot of extra weight or go with a small biner that can't be operated easily with gloves on. Keylock climbing 'biners are light and easy to handle with cold, wet, gloved hands. You just have to maintain them.
Do you mean Kokatat?
They do offer tow rigs.
IMO, it’s the best design on the market.
I have an older rig of theirs that I modified heavily before the Sea-Tec came out. If I needed a new rig, I’d buy the Sea-Tec.
nrs rig
bill parks stands buy his product,i ran in to him at seakayak georgia during bcu week and he had a lot of guides looking at that plastic biner its a lot tougher than you think i have not heard of one breaking,i have used a ndk tow rig for about 3 years and have been happy with it,i do like the seatec rig ,been thinking about getting one.
When I last handled the suspect rig…
I liked the bag in general, but the flexible part of the biner, the “gate” looked like it was fully capable of being worn off and broken. No thanks. It’s not a big deal to replace the biner for 5 or 10 bucks with a good SS one, or one of Bryan’s maintenance intesive (I’m kidding, ok!) aluminum ones, but then you are 5-10 bucks closer to a Seatec.
The bag had a wide mouth part when the cordlock bit was open. Let’s hope they used a stainless spring in the cordlock. I forgot to ask.
Dogmaticus
Speaking of Kokotat…
I see they have a tow system with bungee and one without bungee (mentioning “no hazardous bungee”.)
What’s hazardous about a bungee?
"What’s hazardous about a bungie?"
The idiot that couldn’t figure out what it is for.
Dogmaticus
I pesonally like the old style
Northwater has two different styles of long tow systems. The one you linked to is smaller cord and I like that. I don’t like the bungle on the rescuer end and I don’t like the brass clip missing. You can’t daisy chain the tow that way.
My wife uses the older style North Water and likes it. I have the Salamander and hate it. It’s to difficult to re-stow after use. I end up tucking it under my PFD.
I’m holding out for Flatpick’s tow system. Course it’s been 2 years waiting (grin).
Wade
Let’s get this straight…
Is it bungee, bungie or bungy???
And is it Dogmaticus or Dogmatycus???
I figured out that the problem with the bungeee is the “snag factor” of the knots used to secure it to the rope (got that off the sea tec site.)
They don’t show bungii on the NRS rig. I wonder why. Must be second class.
Wade, when I made my own towbag…
I purposefully put the bungie and the brass snaphook (secured to the bungie) on the rescuer side as I can control the release from my side. No big thing. 45 feet daisy chained to 18 feet. The bag is made of a kind of plasticized screen like material, don’t know the name, sorry. Edged it with reflective material and heavy duty machine sewed the belt and camlock thingy-ma-jig to the bag. Not bad for 3 hours and 20 bucks, in addition to the 17 dollar Wichard snap hook. Call it the Dogmaticus rig, pro model. (Big wink ; ) Very easy to stow, with a good dollup of velcro to scrunch it tight.
Dogmaticus