liked the video, keeping it real
The Oru along with many others are just rec-kayaks without floatation and have enough flotation in the skin to keep it from sinking to the bottom. The expectation they are more than that is foolish.
The air bags he attempted to use helped a little but it was still his youth, strength and experience along with good cold water immersion gear that even allowed him to make it work. I would say most people that would buy such a boat may well not have all of the above and even with that flotation would be in a pickle alone.
With a cheap plastic rec-kayak you can stuff a 10 dollar yoga ball in behind the seat and blow it up and another under the front deck and they will form fit and the kayak will float like a cork and will not sink enough that it wont support you getting back in with a helper and some minor skills. If you are in warm enough water it is all very doable. With a cheap pump bailer you can even get back to dry enough.
Around here 95% of the people don’t know and don’t spend the 50 bucks on a couple yoga balls and a bailer though. The same people do have a PFD but its stashed away behind the seat or to the deck when they go in. The real time of year that worries me is spring after a long frozen winter they are eager to get out the first sunny day it hits 70 even though the water is still in the 40s.
I think if I put a couple yoga balls in a Oru and blew them up the would explode the hull. If they really wanted to make their concept of a break down folder safe they would include two bladders that when inflated perfectly fit both ends of the boat and a tie in point I the decks and the bladders.
The one I saw and talked to the guy in it last summer didn’t seem to be that bad to paddle. He kept up and seemed comfortable in it. I told him if it were mine I would add flotation and he didn’t really know what I was talking about at first. I asked him if he ever swamped it to see what would happen and he said no.
2 Likes