Bay Oru Kayak Review
When I saw the Kickstarter for the Oru Kayak I felt it absolutely was the right solution The Oru Kayak was everything I had hoped and feared. I may place it in the back of car with the rear seat
folded . the primary assembly failed to go well, however subsequent assemblies were much simple. I actually have had to re-thread one or two of the buckle connections because they had been placed on the wrong way up, tighten some bolts, and re-attach a couple of straps once they popped off from pull too much upward rather than sideways when attempting to tighten.
My hopes that were met:
- Portability
- Fun
- Ease of use
- Simple storage
- Durability
Oru Kayak Review
The hull is incredibly hard, almost like a rotomolded kayak. I have no fear of jabbing and if I ever do, there is Gorilla Glue and duct tape. The torso folds are rated at 20,000 cycles longer than I plan on living so that’s all cool.
Sustainability issues in the game usually come with the clips the cockpit halves together. As already mentioned, these are fine for this purpose, but do not like extra charges. Put your weight on the floorboard clips in the cockpit sides when getting in and out of the kayak and you’ll be fine.
The other attachments, no problem. The deck seam is usually done by manual compression, do not pull on the oars or increasing the buckles. Nowhere in the assembly / disassembly / use you put any real taxes on them.
I notice the cockpit opening ample. I will go out on the water whenever i need, and i look forward to some “real” journeys, rather than some short paddles round the lake and bay. i’ll definitely be adding some sort of padded sit-upon, however, for those longer journeys, as i believe otherwise i might be pretty uncomfortable after an hour more or less.
I did purchase lots of additional equipment I felt was necessary for safety (based on kayak website recommendations and water regulations), also as an intro kayak category, so that added to my initial prices – life vests, float bags, paddles, whistles, bailing pumps, paddle floats for self rescue. All of those things fit inside the folded Oru Kayak. Barely. I actually have not tried any safety maneuvers like rolling or wet exit/entry – i might be shocked if I were some how able to get back into the kayak on my own if I got drop in deep water, however as a strong swimmer sporting a life vest this can be not a huge worry for me, though i’ll, of course, decide to learn and master this under controlled conditions.
I can’t wait to get some real kayaking under my belt, and i am very looking forward to doing it in my Oru!
