Canoeing and kayaking gear and equipment explained

Advice and information on Canoeing and Kayaking equipment

[hn]Canoeing Gear and Equipment Explained[ehn]

Types of canoeing and kayaking equipment and their uses

[hn]Gear and Equipment[ehn]

  • Bouyancy aids

    • The most common piece of safety equipment to be worn amongst kayakers is the buoyancy aid (PFD, personal flotation device), designed to keep you afloat in the water but will not turn you over if you are face down in the water. It is important to recognise the difference between a bouyancy aid and a life jacket.

    Note: Buoyancy aids or life jackets should always be worn, no matter what type of paddling you are doing. Firstly water is always colder than the natural body temperature, causing shock even when the water feels warm. Secondly dealing with yourself, a boat full of water a paddle and possibly other people

  • Life jackets

    • Life jackets are life saving devices, designed to keep you afloat and face up, most life jackets come with an emergancy whistle and a tube for manually inserting air into the device for extra bouyancy. Life jackets are more commonly used with sailing, dinghy sailing, rowing or general water safety, for children and adults on or near water.

    Note: Buoyancy aids or life jackets should always be worn, no matter what type of paddling you are doing. Firstly water is always colder than the natural body temperature, causing shock even when the water feels warm. Secondly dealing with yourself, a boat full of water a paddle and possibly other people

  • Wetsuits

    • Snug fitting neoprene suits, designed to keep you warm during water sports activities. Wetsuits should be a good fit to the body so that a very thin layer of water sits between the suit and the bodys skin which heats up and helps keep you warm. Westuits do not keep you dry, your body is wet due to the thin layer of water between the neoprene and your skin.

    Depending on the weather you could choose the following type of wetsuit:

  • Full length wetsuits

    • Full legs and arms

  • Shorty wetsuits

    • Short legs and arms

  • Wetsuit shorts

    • Neoperene shorts only

  • Long johhn wetsuit

    • Full legs, no arms

  • Paddles

  • Footwear

  • Cagoules/waterproofs

  • Thermals

    • If you are looking for caneoing or kayaking gear and equipment, try

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