7 Game‑Changing Pieces of Gear for Expedition kayakers

In the outdoors there is a massive difference between good pieces of gear and bad pieces. One piece could save your life, and another could greatly increase the chance of losing it. Throughout my time of guiding and doing sea kayak expeditions I have found out what pieces make or break it.

1. – Good sleeping mat

Sleep is major on big expeditions, the main piece that I have found to make a difference is your sleeping mat. A good one will keep you warm and insulated from the ground which is where you lose most of your heat during the night, they won’t rustle every time you roll over and will be strong enough to avoid punctures. If you get a cheap one from a bad brand you will most likely end up with a popped or deflated mat at some point in the expedition, this will greatly reduce the quality of sleep you can get. Good sleep means you have the energy you need for the next big day and the recovery from the previous day, so you don’t wake up stiff and sore. For context I have really been enjoying the Sea to Summit ether lite

 

2.- Good carbon paddle

Many different variables with what type of paddle to choose for an expedition. The top tier is carbon fiber – Extremely light weight and durable, while giving your paddle stroke plenty of power. You could also use a good fiberglass paddle – still light weight and give your stroke some good power but lacks in durability. If you have only been using plastic for your paddling, I would highly recommend at least trying a carbon or even fiberglass paddle. In my opinion is the biggest bang for your buck within the essential kayaking gear upgrades. Upgrading your paddle can seem like a big investment but it is in my eyes the easiest and best. For what kind of paddle to look at, if you are upgrading from plastic then I would start with a basic carbon euro blade or fiberglass. If you are more advanced or even just curious then i would highly recommend looking into a Greenland blade. They take a good bit paddling to get used to the technique, but they are insanely good once you are comfortable with them. Big days are easier on the shoulders and back and they are very lightweight and strong.

The paddles that I have been using are the Segla gear Ikigai Greenland and Taikiu. I highly recommend both of them as the build quality is exceptional. I do have a discount code for them – if you would like 10% off use BDSEGLA10 at checkout. Other brands to look out for are Werner – I have used a lot of their whitewater paddles and some of their touring paddles and they are all brilliant. Also Gear lab make some good Greenland paddles also.

 

3.- A high quality insulated jacket

This one legitimately saved me on my Patagonia expedition – Soaking wet sleeping bag in freezing conditions. I used the Arc’teryx Nuclei Sv  – Arc’teryx Men’s Weather resistant Nuclei SV Parka Blue – Fluidity – Arc’teryx New-Zealand synthetic insulated jacket during the nights my sleeping bag was wet. The Synthetic fill meant that it would still be warm when wet and the fill wouldn’t get damaged. If you are going to a dry but cold area, a good quality down jacket would also make a huge difference. There are plenty of options to choose from these days, so you really need to think about what you want or need from it. Do you need lightweight? Do you need it to be water resistant? Down or synthetic? Weight is a great thing we don’t need think about too much in expedition kayaking, as it’s pretty easy to carry heavy weights in a kayak. This is why I opted for the Nuclei Sv, it is a little bit heavier but super insulated, water resistant, and can still pack down reasonably small. I recommend creating a list of the specs of the jackets you are looking at and noting down what you need out of the jacket to compare them all.

 

4.- Good stove

Very important on long expeditions, if your stove breaks you are stuffed. No boiling water and no cooking unless you can make a good fire. Some categories to look at with stoves is what type you would like – there are once again many options, you could have a Trangia which is bombproof but has no way of controlling the heat, and it takes up a fair bit of space. You could have your traditional little gas stove with the gas can, this is perfect for most situations apart some severe cold and long durations. For my bigger expeditions I normally use the Msr XGK Ex Multi Fuel stove as it works with different fuels and can handle being in extreme cold. Another good option if you are not going to extreme cold is the Jetboil – Jetboil trail cook 1.2l Some brands offer the same design at a cheaper price if you need but Jetboil is a trusted company.

5.- Dry Bags

Dry bags will save your gear from getting wet. This becomes essential when you think about camera gear, satellite and rescue gear. If these get wet and damaged it would cost a lot of money to replace. Also for sleeping gear as this would be the worst items to get wet in terms of non-electronics. For electronics and camera equipment i would highly recommend a Watershed Ocoee Ocoee™ – Watershed Drybags. These are what i have trusted my electronics with for 6 years now, I now have 2 of them and my original one is still 100% waterproof. For other items I recommend seal line 20litre dry bags Sealline 20l. They are about as waterproof as a normal drybag can be while still being rugged and durable enough to throw around and not worry too much about them. Other good brands include Ortileb and the Sea to Summit Big River dry bags. My recommendation is don’t cheap out and get the super lightweight and thin dry bags, they are never waterproof and form leaks extremely easily.

 

6.- Repair kit

These are essential for expeditions. You need to find the balance of too much and not enough though, that is the hard part as you never know what is going to break or start leaking on an expedition until it happens. For example, on our Patagonia expedition Mat had over 20 holes in his sleeping mat, we had to sew our tarp together with fishing line, our tent had a hole in the outer shell, we had to plastic weld one of the kayaks and other general little fix ups. A decent repair kit saved up. I recommend having spare plastic to weld and cracks, seam seal or alternative waterproofing seal, either fishing line or dental floss for sewing, tape, plenty of patches, spare wire, mini d-shackles, and any other specialist gear for your equipment. If you can’t fix your gear, then you may have to abandon the expedition.

 

7.- Headtorch 

Also a must have, the main talking points with headtorches is battery vs re-chargeable and the lumens it produces. If you are going on a long expedition you need to choose if you want re-chargeable or battery powered. If you want battery powered, you will need to bring spare batteries and make sure to bring enough. If re-chargeable you will need a power bank to charge it up. These will both add to the weight of the kayak. Batteries in cold climates do struggle to keep ahold of their charge. I have always leant towards re-chargeable as I normally will have other items that will need charged. My secret tip is to bring a full spare headtorch as everyone packs spare batteries for them, but very little people bring a full spare headtorch for the odd chance that your main headtorch decides it doesn’t want to work anymore. I recommend getting an adjustable brightness headtorch too, one that you use 90% on the lowest setting to save battery but can get super bright if needed.