Kayaking Kit
From ICCC
You'll need a kayak, to go kayaking. But this sport also involves all kinds of other bits and bobs, watersports clothing, safety and rescue equipment, etc. The club owns a lot of equipment, which is available for all members to use.
The good news is, we can provide all the essential equipment to allow beginners to have a go at kayaking, without spending lots of money. Read the My first trip page for a run down of what you'll need to bring with you on a club trip. We also get fair amount of funding, and recently invested heavily in the heavy things (Boats)
The bad news is, the club Soft Kit (kayaking clothing) tends to be of the economic unstylish variety. For some reason we're not allowed to buy new wetsuits, so they've gone right down the pan.
Many people own at least some of their own kit. We have plenty of space in our stores, for members to keep their stuff (including boats) and we can give advice on what to buy and where to buy it.
| Equipment | Importance | Provided? | Quality | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boat | essential | lots | varied | |
| Paddles | essential | lots | cheap | |
| Spray-deck | essential | lots | varied | |
| Buoyancy aid | essential | lots | reasonable | |
| Helmet | essential | lots | unstylish | |
| Wetsuit | highly recommended | some | smelly and old | |
| Cag | highly recommended | lots | Nearly New | |
| Towel | highly recommended | no | ||
| Sleeping bag | highly recommended | no | ||
| Dry clothes | highly recommended | no | ||
| Chocolate | recommended | 2 each | mars bars | |
| Wetsuit boots | useful | few | very smelly and old | |
| Thermal top | useful | no | ||
| Pogies/Gloves | fairly useful | no | ||
| Throwline | important (shared) | some | reasonable | |
| Sling and krab | low | some | reasonable | |
| Knife | low | no | ||
| First aid kit | important (shared) | no | ||
| Dry bag | low | no | ||
| Kit bag | low | 1 | beer stained | |
| Nose Clip | mostly useless | no | ||
| Paddle Leash and Float | useless | no | ||
| Helmet Peak | useless | no | ||
| Barbeque | essential | 1 | kick ass |
Shared Equipment
Obviously some of the items listed above, are things which we have shared use of. Things like 'first aid kits' and 'throw lines' are important, but one can be shared amongst a bunch of people on the river. We don't need one each. See descriptions below for more detail.
Boats
Yes, kinda obvious this one. You can get all sorts of kayak (sit down, use a two bladed paddle) and what can look like quite minor differences in boat design can have a marked effect on the water. The longer the boat is the more likely it is to go in a straight like (good for beginners) and the wider it is the more stable. However you will see a large number of modern playboats that are short, fairly narrow and with concave front and rear decks. These are the hallmarks of silly boats. Silly boats are good.
The club has boats in many shapes and sizes (including silly boats). We recently bought quite a few brand spanking new ones. See the Boats page for the details. If you want to use particular boat on a trip, be sure to bagsie it early on!
Similar to most other University clubs we have a fairly high turnover of boats, and frequently make big holes in them. This gives us the opportunity to attempt some boat repair and modifications (read big hammer and blowtorch). The repair of the Perception Corsica S is a fine example from the past. Since then, Jon has emerged as a master with a blowtorch, and also with a cunning workshop machine technique. Sam Moore, on the other hand, caused a fire alert by fumigating the entire RSM building, using only a small petrol stove and pot full of plastic.
Paddles
You'll definately need some of these or you'll be up the cr.. no I won't say it. The club has lots of them (see Paddles) but be careful not to pick up a pair of left handed ones (we have 2 or 3 of these), unless of course you are left handed.
If you're thinking of buying some... good, cheap (almost disposable?) paddles are made by Ainsworth (although think about buying their 'seconds' rather than the proper ones) whilst good quality ones come from Prijon, Schlegel, Kober etc and will set you back around £100. I tend to prefer my paddles at 202.5cm long rather than 205cm.
It's a good idea for someone in the group carry a set of spare, "split" paddles in case someone loses theirs.
Spray Deck
Stops you sinking. 'Nuff said. The club has enough spraydecks for everyone, but they are in varying states of repair. Some of them hold back water like a seive, so choose wisely. We also have a set of thin nylon ones. These are for Pool Session use, not for the river.
Beginners will find the art of putting on a spray deck is a tricky one to master, especially with cold hands. Luckily the art of pulling off a spray deck while upside-down to avoid drowning, is mastered within seconds.
When buying a deck, get a good neoprene one, and make sure you buy the correct size, since they come in several sizes: bigdeck, elephant, keyhole and slalom to name a few. A rubber coating around the edge of the deck will go some way towards lengthening the lifetime of this important piece of kit.
Buoyancy Aid
A buoyancy aid is suitable (and essential) for most water sports. They have more room to manouvre than life jackets (like a huggies pull-up compared with a full-on nappy) but they only aid your buoyancy. They make it far easier to swim to safety, but you should try to remain conscious.
You can basically buy two types of buoyancy aid (BAs) - frills or no frills. In my opinion the ideal BA has a fair amount of buoyancy, a front pocket for storing Mars bars and your car keys in and enough space around the arms for unrestricted movement. In the end, practically any quality BA on the market today will be adequate for grade III and possibly IV water. Somewhere to hang a load of karabinas might be useful if you come across a BCU instructor who wants to try some bizarre rescue system involving half a million krabs and a mile of rope.
Helmet
Very important in that it stops you leaving behind most of your head on the last rock. Smacking your head on the bottom is a worryingly common occurrence, so a good helmet is essential on anything but a lake (and who paddles on lakes?).
The club provides lots of big chunky helmets. Take a look at the scratches on them, if you're in any doubt about whether they're worth bothering with.
Wetsuit
Not the most elegant of garments, especially the club one's which have holes in the crotch area, but you'll soon feel confident wearing full body neoprene clothing in public. Wetsuits trap a layer of cold river water near your skin, which keeps you warm. Logical.
You can get by without a wetsuit, but for a winter trip to Wales you will turn blue without one.
Buying one? Generally it need only be a 3mm or 4mm thick neoprene long john, as a lot is worn over this. Used mainly as a base layer. Most wetsuits now have a zip at the front for, erm, relieving yourself on the river without having to strip off completely. If you are a real poser you'll be wanting a full dry suit so you can sneer at all the wet people at the takeout.
Cag
The Cag goes on over the wetsuit, and over a thermal, but under the B.A. This is one piece of kit that will make a big difference to how cold and wet you get. It is supposed to prevent water getting down your neck, and up your sleaves (as well as keeping the wind off) The club has lots of low quality cags, without the proper rubber seals. So a cag is perhaps the first kit you should considering buying for yourself.
You can't have too good a cag. Don't consider buying anything less than a dry cag (i.e. with rubber seals) If you get a good dry cag then you can be as dry as the flash bastard with the full dry suit (and sneer at him 'cos you spent less cash). Careful with the rubber seals though. One little hole, and they rip right open, although they can be replaced.
Towel
The club doesn't provide towels. It's advisable to bring your own, although you can borrow them off other people if you forget yours. That's what Rob does every trip.
Sleeping bag
The club doesn't provide sleeping bags. If you forget this on a trip, you'd better start flirting fast. It get's mighty cold in the hut.
Dry clothes
Once you've got off the river and carried your boat through a muddy field, it can be difficult to summon the energy to get changed, but it feels a whole lot better (warmer) when you do. So don't forget to bring a complete change of warm dry clothes with you... and no... the club doesn't provide you with clothes.
Chocolate
High energy sugary food is always good when your getting cold. We normally dish out mini mars-bars, because they fit nicely in a BA pocket, and because Rachel has a chocolate fetish. Rob also has beer and fags on the river, but we couldn't possibly recommend such behaviour.
Wetsuit Boots
You can paddle barefoot, but it's a good idea to wear some footwear. It makes swimming less painful (ask Sam about chateau Q) It makes running around on the bank less painful, and quicker too. It also gives some protection from the battering that your feet can take inside the boat, while paddling.
The best kind of footwear are wetsuit boots (booties), because they're made from the same neoprene material, so they keep your feet warm, and they're not as bulky as trainers, so they fit down at the bottom of a kayak better. You might find an odd pair of booties in a smelly old bag in stores if you're lucky.
If you want to buy them, just a set of 4mm boots with rubber soles will do. A side zip will make life a lot easier as well. Within one month of having bought a pair - DO NOT smell the inside. You'll only regret it.
Thermal Top
For cold english paddling, you'll need something more than a wetsuit and cag, to go either under or over the wetsuit. Wool is a good material but is bulky and heavy. Cotton is a bad material as it provides no insulation when wet. Fleece clothing is good, but only consider thin or medium weight tops - the thick ones hold more water and can be cold. Good fleece tops are made by companies like Helly Hansen, Sub Zero, Duofold and the like. All are pretty good and will cost you £20 -£30 to buy each.
Pogies/Gloves
Don't wear them. Buy some pogies, either neoprene or nylon. Just don't wear gloves. Some people wear them to protect their hands from the rocks, but I tend to find that you can't grip your paddles as well. Far more useful would be a pair of neoprene pogies: keep your hands warm, give a little impact protection and are rigid enough to make taking them on and off relatively easy.
Throwline
Throw ropes are an a useful peice of safety equipment. The club owns several of these, and a few people carry them on the river. They come in 15m, 20m and even 25m lengths. Some club members have received training on the various rescue manoeuvres involving ropes, but on small British rivers they normally only get used for getting people and boats from one side of the river to the other, and for tying the boats onto the roofrack!
A good trick is to attach a small crab between the rope and the bag (inside) making it easy to separate the rope completely. This can then be tied onto another rope to make a double length rope, for wide rivers.
Playing around with ropes can make a situation more dangerous, so make sure you know what you're doing (have a read of our training notes) and if you carry a rope, think about carrying a knife too.
Sling and krab
A sling & krab (karabiner) can be a useful rescue tool used in conjunction with a throw rope. They are used for making zip lines, and for looping around trees to make a pulley. They can also be used for towing boats. This is safer than most towing techniques, since it's quick and easy to unloop yourself if you're having difficulty. However towing another boat is still not recommended, and should be avoided (stash it on the bank and come back for it instead)
Knife
A knife is for cutting ropes/slings in the unlikely event of an underwater entanglement. You need only carry a knife on the river if you are carrying a rope or sling. Knives should really be blunt on one side, and have a blunt tip, so that you can cut ropes near your tender body. According to our training, you should grind your tip flat if you have a spikey one, but it's much more fun to have a ferocious stabbing implement which you could use to fend off sharks. The actual use of knives is to cut the gaffer tape, and cheese.
First aid kit
We should always have a few first aid kits with us on the river (Preferably one for each group really) There's also one in each union minibus, but don't use that one, or you'll be filling in forms for days.
Dry bag
A dry bag has a clever rubber seal which will keep the contents dry. Quite remarkable! They come in different sizes, but they're only really useful if you're going on a trek. for club trips you can leave your dry clothes etc in the minibus at the get-out.
Kit bag
After buying lots of nice new kit, you'll be wanting to avoid getting it mixed up amongst the melee of old canoe club kit. So keep it in a kit bag. After the river, wet club kit ends up on the minubus floor, along with theo's pants. Wet clothes and kit which belongs to you will end up there too, unless you have something to put it in, and you don't want to put it in your bag with dry clothes. That would be silly. Of course you could just use lots of plastic bags.
NB. It is a good idea to take the wet stuff out of the bag when you get back as the smell of festered wettie boots is not a candidate for Chanel's next perfume.
Nose Clip
A nose clip is a sure sign of something, if you see someone with a noseclip on you can be sure that they are; from club ringpeice and will hog all of the good spots; they smell or they have some sinus problem so need to wear them.
Paddle Leash and Float
These are items of sea kayaking kit and, while of plausible use at sea, on rivers or even when surfing you are probably better off without. Picture, if you will, yourself upside-down travelling at a rapid pace over a series of head banging rocks, do you have the coolness to reach over to your paddle float, slip it over the blade of your paddle and then roll up, I highly suspect the answer was no.
Helmet Peak
People who wear peaks are slightly down the evolutionary scale from nose plug wearers - at least there is a legitimate reason for wearing nose plugs. The only reason for a peak that I can think of is that you feel a need to look like some kind of open mouth Beavis and Butthead fancier, or someone who desperately wants to look like Shaun Baker.
Barbeque
We have a kickass barbeque, with an impressive sausage and steak capacity. Essential equipment for when we're camping (though normally we can enjoy a hut chilli).
