My wife and I are getting tired of aching bottoms after 2-3 hour paddles. I was looking at seat pads in the gear section of P-Net and found a few different models such as NRS, Yakpads, and one more that slips my mind right at the moment.
Can any of you out there recommend a particular model that you like?
Thanks,
Greg
Gel pads work well but the best
cure is to get out and stretch every hour or so if possible. Or get a WS boat with a Phase 3 seat.
ischial tuberosities
Search for a Wiki on ‘Tuberosity of the ischium’
In bicycling, we sit on those bones. I’m good for 75-100 miles on a good saddle then my bum gets stiff and numb. In cycling, if you train at 50 mile distances then what you get is performance at 50-75 miles.
If the cyclist has a large fat butt for the usual reasons for this ‘condition’ then we may see the rider sitting on a large soft saddle.
If that fat butted rider then tries a higher performance level, he moves his butt around that saddle.
The large contact area then fractures butt skin into a thousand small fissures, activates a vast nervous system compared to the ischial saddle position and becomes a PITA !!!
Beyond this state offered for your personal analysis, there is EXRX.COM where after digging thru the material on gluteus, thighs, sitting positions, you may find a suitable exercise and maybe a machine or two down at the gym designed for your problem.
Or you could get the best seat.
– Last Updated: Jul-09-14 9:41 AM EST –
Everybody is not going to agree on what constitutes a really great seat, but for me it is the seat that comes with a Novus Composites Kayak. I can paddle My NC all day and never even think about my bottom, or back. This seat was designed by someone that knew a lot about butts and backs. The wonder of it is that the seat requires no pad at all and is solid fiberglass.
Yes but
My pad is comfortable (I forget the brand). It’s about 3/8" thick. Believe it or not, I find that raising my center of gravity that much affects stability quite a bit. Hence I remove the pad in rough water. Just something to keep in mind.
I’ve found…
after 45 years of sitting in canoes that the most comfortable combination for me is a rigid, adjustable seat back, and a Thermorest type self-inflating foam pad an inch or so thick. The nice thing about the Thermorest is that you can adjust the softness of it by how much air. As for the rigid adjustable backrest, I couldn’t find one I really liked and had to design my own, which, if I do say so myself, is better than anything I’ve found on the market.
Sweet Cheeks
Check out the Sweet Cheeks from the Jackson Kayak store. A friend of mine swears by them to the point where I’ve ordered some for myself. Basically, it’s a pillow filled with plastic beads which you blow up, sit on to mold to your dimensions, then suck the air out. Presto, custom molded kayak seat.
Sweet Cheeks
I have a stupid question about the Sweet Cheeks–can the seat be placed on top of the seat already there, or would the existing seat need to be removed? I’m afraid if I got something like the Sweet Cheeks and put it on top of the existing seat the center of gravity would be too high.
I have a Pyranha Fusion and need to lengthen the seat (I need long-ish seats in cars too) and angle the whole thing up a bit more. I’m currently messing around with foam and it’s a pain. (I’m a beginner and it’s taking forever) I’m afraid that something like the Happy Seat or the Seal Line thigh cushion would make it too hard to get in/out of the boat.
Apologies for hijacking the original thread a bit…
Cushion
My friend left the seat in but removed the cushion. His center of gravity is fine. You can actually play around with how thick you want the seat to be. You might want to search this site as I think there were other threads that addressed this.
Thanks!
Thanks for the helpful info–I’ll do some searching. After posting I found the other thread going on soreness, which also had some good info.
Sore Bottoms
Thank you for the very helpful options. I’m not sure what we are going to do, but you all helped us get started.
Greg
Another Approach
Check out this link - it’s the favoured seat arrangement for us VOLKSKAYAKers…
http://www.paddlinglight.com/articles/the-simplest-of-seats/
Padded bike shorts?
May sound crazy, but I’ve read some blogs by WaterTribe members who swear by padded bike shorts for comfort.