Emotion Glide Kayak

I've been paddling inflatables for a quarter century. Every one of them has gotten a puncture, often leading to me taking an unexpected swim. It was time to move on to a hard shell.

My friends have thousand-dollar 16-foot kayaks that never leave the garage. I wanted a boat that I could easily throw into the water. At 38 pounds, I can carry this kayak short distances with one hand. With a length of 9'10", I can fit it inside my minivan so I don't have to mess with a roof rack. And since it's under ten feet, I don't need to buy an Oregon launch permit.

I have a fragile back and require good back support and adjustable foot pegs. This kayak has them.

The boat handles better than I expected. I can paddle in a straight line as fast as in the longer boats. It's a little more work to make a turn in still water, but I got used to that pretty quickly.

Bottom line: I'm buying a second Emotion Glide kayak so my daughter and I can paddle together.