What paddling magazines do you folks read? I am a canoer & kayaker, and am not very interested in sliding down waterfalls. I am more into tripping and canoe camping. I got a mag subscription for Christmas last year, and am thinking about trying something different. Any suggestions?
Thanks Jim
Kanawa and Adventure Kayak…
Two excellent Canadian mags. (Don’t forget, we invented the sport…)
Canoeroots
And don’t forget Adventure Kayak magazines sister publication, Canoeroots…they are going Quarterly for next year.
Cheers…Joe O’
Kanawa
that and Sea Kayaker seem to be among the few that actually have good articles and info. “Paddler”, “Canoe and Kayak” and the like are a mess. nothing but advertising and very little about the sport written by people who actually engage in it.
Not true.
I agree with you on most of your point but you missed the facts about who writes the articles.
In fact they are hard core paddlers both in the canoeing, kayaking, extreme, expedition, adventure and racing catagory.
Alan Kesselheim: Argueably the best outdoor writer of the 21st century. Author of major paddling bestsellers. Has completed two 400+days paddling trips as well as hundreds of others.
Cliff Jacobson: The grandfather guru of paddling and author of 20+ books on the subject. Has done dozens of major paddling expeditions.
Larry Rice: Uhhhh I think he is always paddling somewhere in the world.Not sure how he finds the time to even write for these mags.
Tom Bol- Ditto
Eugene Buchanan(sp?) Editor of Paddler Mag…well I think his job is an excuse to say that he actually has a job. Hes always paddling even in the snow!
Well I could go on… If you look at one of the requirements for writting for Paddler and Canoe and Kayak is that you are familiar with your topic i.e into the sport etc.
I agree with TOOOOOO many adds in these mags verses Kawana which by the way…does not pay writers for articles or at least they never use to…it was all volunteer submissions thus is why the writing is more of “me and joe” stories etc. Thus fewer adds since they dont have to pay the writers etc.
By the way if you dont like whats being written in these magazine why dont you write an article for them. They love to breakin new freelance writer in the paddling world and take small stories to start with like the “hotline” or “expeditions” features which pay about $100 for an 800 word story and MORE for photos. YOu dont have to be Ernie Hemingway to write for these mags. Give it a shot.
NM
I found out something interesting.
I didn’t like what Canoe and Kayak had turned into, so I didn’t renew my subscription.
After several times of them trying to get me to renew, they sent me a letter stating they they had a special deal for me to renew at $10.00 a year, (6 issues).
The exact same thing happened to me with Reader Digest and when a subscription to one of the womens magazines that my wife gets ran out I decided to see if it also would happen to that, and sure enough it did.
I am not sure weather I wasted thirty dollars, or saved about three times that much.
I have come to the conclusion that with the adverising money they make they can probably give their subscriptions away free, and they also want to keep a large amount in circulation just to keep their advertisers happy.
Cheers,
JackL
Kanawa
Down to earth with less advertising than certain other mags. It seems to still have a paddling focus, and I am turned off by the other mags which seem to be all about the gear, the very expensive gear. The larger magazines also have little of relevance to my region, Kanawa on the other hand often has stories about regions I can relate to, have paddled, or can realistically expect to paddle some day. I have let my subscription to Kanawa lapse lately but hopefully it will be renewed again this year, perhaps around christmas ;).
Cheers,
Bryan
excellent writers all —
i agree with you, those are all excellent writers and i always enjoy their articles. but they’re all too few in my opinion. neither Paddler nor C&K has had much of interest for me in a long time and i’ve let my subscription to both lapse.
write an article myself?.. well you’re right, i’m no Ernie H. but neither do i have the inclination to sit in front of my computer and “write” … i’d rather be out on the water living it.
let subscribtion lapse
on C&K, it seemed to repeat itself a lot and the ads were getting better than the content. Not to say it was all mundane, occasionally an article would pop up that deserved reading again. Unfortunatly I usually read the entire issue in 45 mins and toss it. They seemed to try to be targeting a younger demographic lately. I haven’t seen “Kwana” mentioned in this thread , but am ready to try reading anything with a different slant.
Kayaking magazine
If you do any paddling on the east coast, I suggest the Atlantic Coastal Kayaker.
Magazines
I have recently renewed some subscriptions via ebay. A renewal I got from a publisher for $19.95 / year I picked up at $12.95 for 3 years!
So far, no hitches, the renewals have kicked in flawlessly.
C & K is the paddling mag set to expire. I’ve been thinking the same things each issue which have already been stated. Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll have to see if I can find any of them on ebay!
cYa Jim
Be vary careful with eBay…
– Last Updated: Oct-30-05 2:05 PM EST –
magazine subscriptions. I've been ripped off there before. Take a look at their feedback. You'll find large numbers of people unhappy. They tell you to wait 6 to 8 weeks for your first issue. By the time you realize you've been ripped off, it's too late to leave negative feedback, so the feedback you're seeing is not really indicative of the number of unhappy customers.
I second that…
I’ve done hundreds of deals on eBay. The ONLY time I got ripped off was buying a magazine subscription.
I third that…
ebay mag deals are a scam. Just spend a few more bucks and get them the normal way.
the "MASIK"
First let me say that I am very biased, seeing that I am current president of Qajaq USA. That said, my favorite is the MASIK electronic magazine (PDF). I look forward to each issue more than any other source, since there is still very little out there to cater to the Greenland-style and traditional crowd. It’s available (free) at http://www.qajaqusa.org/QUSA/newsletter.html .
I also enjoy Sea Kayaker, although I’m usually only interested in an article or two and I skip most of the trip destination articles.
Greg Stamer
Check out Adventure
National Geographic Advenutre is an awesome monthly that reguarly features articles on kayaking, canoeing. climbing, backpacking, etc. The current issue features a 400+ mike kayak trip along the Croation coast.
This magazine is well written, the photos are all “National Geographic” quality, and the subscription rate is a bargain. You can get lower rates by subscribing online.
Check it out…
Be sure not to overlook Wavelength
Magazine, another Canadian publication from Gabriola Island, B.C. I’ve always found some good reading and their web site has great archives. Very environmentally oriented. I can pick it up free where I live, but if you subscribe (which I am about to do) 15% of the price goes to marine conservation! I’m a fan.
Mark