Today I want to talk about kayak floatation and the NRS Split Stern Floatation Bags. I have used these for years but recently picked up another pair for a kayak I have recently purchased. When I first started kayaking I would have never thought I would make a purchase for bags that fill up my stern or bow of my kayak. Now that I have them I don’t know what I would ever do without them. They are so worth it!
First of all let’s go over the float bag. I recently purchased the NRS Rodeo Split Stern Floatation Bags for my Liquid Logic Freeride 57 but have been using NRS Split Stern Floatation Bags in my Liquid Logic Stomper for years. Floatation bags cover the open space in your kayak with an air bladder. Why would you want to fill up open space? Well when you swim or take on water, those empty areas fill up with water fast. I am sure you all have had that moment when your kayak has filled up with water and you are in fast moving water or in the middle of the lake. Your kayak gets heavy with all that water. A bow/stern floatation bag fills up that area so less water fills up your kayak. This makes it easier to get to shore or flip your boat over and get back in your kayak. Floatation bags can bring down the weight of a flooded kayak by 1/3. Now that doesn’t seem much but when you have can decrease the amount of water in your kayak by 150-200 pounds that could be very helpful. Some people also say it helps with floatation of the kayak so you sit higher on the water when you have some water your kayaker. I do not have an opinion on this part but I’m guessing it would help because of less weight in the boat and less chances of getting pinned.
These bags are easy to use. They are designed for kayaks so they look triangular. You just slide the deflated bag into the spot you want them. Once you are in position you can take the long air hose attached to each bag and open the valve. Fill until the bag is tight all around the inside of the kayak. You then turn the air hose valve off and you are ready to go. These are very easy to figure out. These NRS bags also come with little D clamps on each corner of the bag that you can use to secure the bags to your kayak if you feel like the water pressure will push them out of position.
Floatation isn’t just for whitewater boats either. NRS has single bow and stern floatation for your recreational boats too and I highly suggest using them on both your stern and bow. Recreation boats are pretty basic but adding these floats to both ends of the kayak will improve reentering your kayak when flooded with water for any reason. Imagine you and a buddy our out in the middle of a huge lake and the wind picks up. You start to get water through your cockpit. You try to make it to shore as fast as possible but the water keeps you weighing you down and it’s hard to move a 500 pounds of water. You eventually flip and you now start to perform a T rescue. With floatation the t rescue will be easier to let water out and get in your boat to get to safety. Floatation in this situation would make your boat less heavy and wobbly so you might make it to shore without completely flooding your kayak. Either way you need to get that water out of your kayak. Even by shore it’s hard to get a flooded kayak on shore to dump out the water. With floatation bags it will be easier to get to shore and dump out your water. You may have a bulkhead in your recreational kayak, which is amazon and works in the same manner as a floatation bag. So if you have a bulkhead in the stern you would just need floatation in your bow.
Floatation bags can be a little higher priced but they are durable thick material that have lasted me over three years. You can also get different sizes that will work with your boat. You may not be a whitewater kayaker or just a weekend warrior on those local rivers and lakes. Either way a floatation bag would help you out in those weird situations when you get water in the boat. And I have never met a veteran paddler that hasn’t been in a situation where floatation bags would come in handy.
Today I want to talk about kayak floatation and the NRS Split Stern Floatation Bags. I have used these for years but recently picked up another pair for a kayak I have recently purchased. When I first started kayaking I would have never thought I would make a purchase for bags that fill up my stern or bow of my kayak. Now that I have them I don’t know what I would ever do without them. They are so worth it!
First of all let’s go over the float bag. I recently purchased the NRS Rodeo Split Stern Floatation Bags for my Liquid Logic Freeride 57 but have been using NRS Split Stern Floatation Bags in my Liquid Logic Stomper for years. Floatation bags cover the open space in your kayak with an air bladder. Why would you want to fill up open space? Well when you swim or take on water, those empty areas fill up with water fast. I am sure you all have had that moment when your kayak has filled up with water and you are in fast moving water or in the middle of the lake. Your kayak gets heavy with all that water. A bow/stern floatation bag fills up that area so less water fills up your kayak. This makes it easier to get to shore or flip your boat over and get back in your kayak. Floatation bags can bring down the weight of a flooded kayak by 1/3. Now that doesn’t seem much but when you have can decrease the amount of water in your kayak by 150-200 pounds that could be very helpful. Some people also say it helps with floatation of the kayak so you sit higher on the water when you have some water your kayaker. I do not have an opinion on this part but I’m guessing it would help because of less weight in the boat and less chances of getting pinned.
These bags are easy to use. They are designed for kayaks so they look triangular. You just slide the deflated bag into the spot you want them. Once you are in position you can take the long air hose attached to each bag and open the valve. Fill until the bag is tight all around the inside of the kayak. You then turn the air hose valve off and you are ready to go. These are very easy to figure out. These NRS bags also come with little D clamps on each corner of the bag that you can use to secure the bags to your kayak if you feel like the water pressure will push them out of position.
Floatation bags can be a little higher priced but they are durable thick material that have lasted me over three years. You can also get different sizes that will work with your boat. You may not be a whitewater kayaker or just a weekend warrior on those local rivers and lakes. Either way a floatation bag would help you out in those weird situations when you get water in the boat. And I have never met a veteran paddler that hasn’t been in a situation where floatation bags would come in handy.
No comments:
Post a Comment