Purchased a new Necky Elaho HV with all the new outfitting and new seat. Now my problem is that my legs are going numb/asleep in about 20 minutes into a long paddle. Anybody have any similar problems or answers with this. Maybe a gel seat?
Rolled up beach towel under your legs
may be the simplest fix.
1,2,3,4
1. Condition your body before and during paddling. Stretch. Practice sitting on the floor with your legs in the same position while watching tv,on a pillow or folded towell,with and without back support.
2. the grey seat is a good one but the HV has high thigh braces,lack of side/side bracing and is tippy so your legs/thighs might be in too much tension. Make sure you’re not pressing forward with both legs all the time. Pump your legs while paddling.
3. experiment with wedges of minicell or pool noodles to see where you need support. You might benefit with support on the outer sides of your thighs and not straight underneath. Get a thermarest sportseat and sit on it mostly deflated,that’s good first aid comfort.
4. check out www.kayakfit.com www.oneoceankayaks.com or other kayak builders websites regarding making your own seat. My gut feeling is that will make ALL the difference. I made a carved seat for a rental Elaho HV because that boat needs some good butt/thigh support.
trade for a canoe.
Then you can change positions.
of course…
…then your entire body will be sore
tight hamstrings …
stretch, stretch and stretch s’more. you’re sciatic pain will go away.
I have some too
Only I find that with regular conditioning it takes about an hour and a half for the sciatic nerve to start screaming. The biggest single thing that I find helps is to pull my feet out of position from under the braces and paddle with my legs out absolutely straight against the bulkhead blocks for about 15 minutes every hour and a half or two. It depends on how much moving around I’ve been doing before. Straight paddling over distances will show it up, but I’ll never have an issue doing off balance work.
Also, sit up straight or a little forward, rotate as you paddle. I haven’t tried any cushioning, tend to prefer hard seats, so can’t say if that would help. Worth a try though.
Gel seat
I had that problem with my old kayak, and the gel pad worked wonders.
I had that problem too…
in all of my kayaks. Tried blown up paddle floats under my legs,air seat pad,back bands,nothing worked. After an hour it was just torture. Sold all but 1 kayak,and went to canoes. End of the problem. Like above poster said, freedom to move around,and a more natural sitting position is what helped me.Hopefully something mentioned will help you.
Happy Paddling billinpa
Same as Billinpa for me.
Ditto
Have tried just about everything (save the alternate seat Franklin recommended) yet…stretched, gel pad, foot brace…leg numbness makes it difficult to control the rudder. Bailed in a race last season due to this-big water+following sea=broaching me. I place the blame on the frog-legged position most sea kayaks force you into. My QCC thigh braces are too low and the keyhole cockpit too narrow to pop your legs out for any length of time. No problems in my surfski, nor in the Valley Rapier which brings your knees up and together. Voila. No numbness.
hard seat
I made a fiberglass seat from a mold of my back side,never had a problem with pinched nerve from that seat that has occured with production seats. The carved minicell seats are easier to make. With medium density minicell and a coating of tool grip it’s firm.
Two things:
I experienced this with my first year of kayaking, with my recreational kayak. After about an hour my hamstrings really hurt. I needed to adjust my foot pedals closer to me to brace myself better. I also change my sitting posture to break up the position (change to cross legged for a short time. I usually stay out two hours now w/o the same level pain I first experienced.
Necky kayaks
– Last Updated: May-31-06 3:58 PM EST –
Nearly every sea kayak I've ever paddled by Necky has been a painful experience concerning the seating arrangements.
I don't know of any quick fixes, but if it were my boat, I'd probably rip out the thigh braces and seat and make something myself by carving blocks of foam and using contact cement (duct tape first for trial runs, to make sure it's comfortable)
Of course, it could just be that you aren't used to sitting in that position for so long
keep legs moving
Used to have same problem when I started kayaking. I have gone to a gel seat pad, a thick pool noodle under thighs or the thigh support by sealine. Number one remedy is: keeping legs centered and pump alternating with torso rotation. If seas get rough go back to splayed position still pump legs with paddle stroke. Just engaging my lower body has really helped my paddling speed and painful leg numbness.
No foot pegs
Up until the time I quit renting and bought my own boat I had a similar problem. I left the foot pegs out of the boat and installed a foam foot rest. Everything is fine now.
Yep - - Just this last Monday
aquired an old Aquaterra Sealion (plastic) with the proverbial hard seat. I know the previous owner had some foam in it based on the left on scraps.
I only have about 3 hours in this boat, but Monday morning (North Central Ohio yucky hot humid all in all crappy weather) my legs and feet went numb too. I had to stop along the lake and actually get out for a few minutes. A couple times, I just brought my knees back and above the cockpit for a few minutes
Know I’m not a shorts an tenny runners kinda dude. I live in jeans and heavy work boots basically 24/7. I’m wondering if the position and my “lower attire” may be part of the problem. I may be considered a ‘hard ass’ from time to time, but I’m gonna pad the seat first, adjust the foot pegs differently (Rudder boat, but I haven’t needed to experiment with it) and try some other stuff. Of course, whatever I try is gonna be cheap.