Travel Tips: How To Properly Pack For A Kayaking Trip
Pack In A Way That You Are Fully Prepared Even If Your Kayak Capsizes On A Remote Island
With sleek and easy packing gear made available, kayakers can easily get stuff sacks into which they can add essential gear and other needed items to be stored. While the new materials have allowed the bags to be more durable and easy to carry, the old ways of packing everything safely still remain the same. When you pack everything in a safe and stable way, then your performance on the kayak is also enhanced as the weight is evenly distributed. Below are some tips on how to pack the right things for your kayaking trip.
Survival Gear
To make sure that right from the time you leave for the kayaking season all the way till you are back, invest in the right safety gear. Investing in kayaking gear and accessories will ensure that your trip is joyful with fewer things to worry about. The survival gear should be in a strong waterproof bag so that everything inside is safe and dry. You can add a small bottle of water, energy bars, matches, light, a first aid kit, extra underwear, woolen socks, and a blanket to it. Though this seems like a lot of stuff, this is the most essential gear you should carry with you regardless. This way no matter what kind of emergency you face, you will be prepared to face it.
Food
When you plan to have an extended trip, you should be careful about the food you plan to pack.
Soft foods will change their shape as per their storage and hard canned food will not pack very easily and can be bulky. One way to solve this while packing is to first decide how you want to prepare your meals. This could be in a way wherein you make meal preps and store them in a way that you need to pull one out for every meal or separate all meals like a sack for breakfast, another for lunch, and one for dinner. You can use different colored sacks and designate what each of them will contain. For example, all little red bags can be breakfast items and so on.
Here are some ideas on what kind of food you can take along. There are non-cooking food ideas like greek salad, tuna, and white bean salad, and smoked salmon bagels. If you want to do basic cooking then you can try to make a beef stew. You will need to carry a wide bottom pot for it. Other options that you can cook are camp pizza or bbq meats. At the same time, it is advisable to carry snacks that can give you a quick boost of energy like trail mix, granola bars, beef jerky, and some candy.
Larger Items
If you plan to extend your trip for more than a day then you will need a sleeping bag and a tent to sleep through the night. However, some of these items can be so bulky that they will not even fit through the bag’s opening. To pack such items, clear out a dry, clean space to lay down your gear. Remove the tent or sleeping bag and use one hand to hold the sack open and stuff the gear with your other hand into the sack. Keep doing it until all the gear is inside and then seal it properly. Use the reverse method when removing the gear from the sack. Carry a mini shelter with you so that in case it rains, you will be able to remove the tent and sleeping bag while being in a dry place.
Transport Bags
This is the final thing you will need to consider when packing for a kayaking trip. It is a classic canoe-type bag and can be rolled and folded under the deck line. This is mostly the last thing you will be packing into the compartment. It is a big open backpack with shoulder straps. This is useful for people who do not want to carry all the stuff in the kayak and instead stuff them all in this type of backpack and take it to the site in a few trips.
When you want to enhance your experience from a rookie to a proficient kayaker, you will need to learn the basics of trimming the kayak, and learn how to stow away the gear for safety. This will not only help you to enhance your performance but also help to kick up the enjoyment level a notch higher.
