The Sitka XT has a ton of foot room. You should check it out. In 25 years of carrying demoes, I have never had a damage I’ve needed to fix. The type of paddling wear you are wearing a helmet is where I think Poly is a better choice but bonks and scrapes are not an issue. Also, super easy to touch up and/or repair. Poly as they get bigger don’t keep shape as well and poly is terrible for abrasion (material is soft) and abrasion is way more common than loaded impact. The majority of damage I see are people dropping boats off of cars or improper storage and not through paddling.

@@HappyPaddlin Thanks for the thoughtful reply. Yeah I am pretty aware of Eddyline from Headwater' videos. I need to get past the cost... But I just got my annual bonus too :o). Yup oil canning is an issue with Poly boats. I will look into an Eddyline.

That’s one of my favs! My green one is going to get use this year!

Folks definitely do. My dad (almost 80) does so on the Mississippi River in MN.

@@HappyPaddlin Oh very nice! I love the concept of this boat for lake system portaging, camping and fishing but I was concerned I would tip over if I tried to land a big fish.

@@CampfireKodiak Skills factor in to! Time in Boat is the key...the more you know your boat the more those fish landing moments won't throw you off.

Yes I do.

Yes! Under 40 lbs.

Amazing!, what’s the retail on one of those? Def more than I can afford pal

Pricing here: happypaddlin.com/northstar-canoes/ ~$400 more for BlackLite depending on model. Second “elephant in the room “ phrase used in comments in 24 hrs...must explore why/when a question elevates to elephant level for my own curiosity 🤪🛶

There is no “elephant” here…it was calm in the am so that’s the video I put out. Wind did pick up later and it was fine. If there are big winds and I’m blowing sideways, I just correct my ferry angle for the inevitable sideslip over distance (no different than any watercraft). But yes, have to be trimmed. I believe you are talking about directional control. Agreed. It’s all about trim. So in solo canoes with a headwinds I might use my Gear bag to drop my bow down a bit so stern slides out. Or alternatively, in quartering or Stern waves/wind I’ll put the duffel behind me. This is basic canoe wind management. Assuming the audience here knows this. I’ll adjust trim in this scenario with the sliding seat on the ADK in the vid. Thus, I’m not paddling 25 lbs of water around. Slide forward for headwinds, back for stern winds. But, a rough condition vid would be fun. I should do this for the viewers! Challenge Accepted.

Huge sun where I live and 100 degree days mid summer. Never been bad for me. I wear sunshirts all the time so I’m protected. Can alway splash water on it too. Feel like a carbon paddle has the potential to get hotter.

Northstar clamp on yoke with CVCA shoulder pads

I should take both to a wavy lake and do a vid. But, I do think the trillium would handle bigger waters with a bit more tracking, speed and drier.

A lot of this type of question is a “paddler question”. I would take an ADK in most all inland applications…grew up along the Mississippi and would go there too. If more depth/tracking/glide (for big open water) is desired, you can do the Trillium in a pack set up or even the NW Solo. NW Solos have gone the length of the Mississippi River by many. A canoe deck cover is also an awesome option and Red Leaf and Cooke Custom Sewing both have designs for all Northstar solos. These basically create the “kayak deck” so steep waves shed. You’ll see them on FB groups for Solo Canoes and folks love them. (On my shopping list). I have also seen home versions and even made an improvised deck cover out of poly wrap from a shipped kayak to race once! A typical lake with some motor boat wake and afternoon wind would not turn me away in a pack canoe bc they have low windage and plenty of stability.

For a man that knows his gear, I’m glad I could add to your knowledge!

@@HappyPaddlin YOU always bring something to the table....and I am never to old to learn...so thanks!

I hang out with a lot of shop employees, owners and managers. The longer they’ve been at it, the more likely they will tell you that a canoe (a nice one) is their favorite craft. And I’m in total “kayak country”!

New owners, they are back and shipping. I had left Aqualung in 2022 but have joined with the new parent company, Sport Dimension. Good team thus far!

Yes, thank you for bringing up this point and there is an explanation that is probably not ideal for REI members that want to buy Eddylines…. When the independent dealer special orders an ideal color for you, they’re putting that boat on a “combined Shared Full truckload“ that comes directly from Eddyline and drops at multiples dealers on a route (how most all vendors do it these days). When you order from REI, it is coming from their distribution centers on one of three trucks per week per store. Over the last five years, the price of shipping one Kayak has become much higher. Pre-pandemic, customers could go to the special orders desk at an REI and order a single Kayak from REI to ship from Eddyline to the store of any color. REI policy is that the member pays the shipping cost of any kayak ordered like this and we provided REI a freight map to quote that cost to the member of a kayak going from Eddyline to an individual REI store. During those times pre-pandemic, single cost was $150 -$400 per boat and Eddyline processed orders this way. Post pandemic, Kayak freight class shifted to a price that is doubled or more. So, if we were to institute this, the customer would be on the line for full freight cost of probably $500-$800. Additionally, damage potential increases greatly as the freight industry remains somewhat under more duress for a variety of reasons. Damage and costs are greatly reduced when the independent dealer orders because that kayak is on a dedicated full Eddyline truck making deliveries to several dealers without transfers. Door shuts on their end and only opens when at the stores. When you ship one, Kayak, it gets transferred from various stations and trucks. All additional touches and sometimes by forklift drivers that wear blindfolds. That’s as short as an explanation as I can give you and I totally understand how it’s inconvenient from an REI members perspective but it’s just the reality of the current shipping business and also both REI and Eddyline’s executable operations. I should make a video explaining more intricacies of kayak freight and kayak manufacturer’s production schedules. I once heard, “the Kayak business is the shipping business”…. There is not a quote more true in my close to three decades of experience in the industry.

Thanks for this. But what if the customer is willing to wait, so their specially selected kayak is streamlined in with the shipment of the other Eddyline kayaks that REI orders for that year? Thats what we have to do with the other dealers anyways. I have 4 Eddylines, and would have ordered every one of them from REI, instead of driving several states away to get them (and, same with a few of my friends). I do understand REI’s policy on this, but especially with shipping changing like it has, it seems like they could adapt and do what others are doing. We already can get kayaks shipped free from their warehouse to the store nearest to the customer, it makes sense to me that having a special ordered kayak streamlined along side all the others in their warehouse, that they could do the same, especially if customer is willing to wait until it’s convenient - bottom line is, this would not cost REI any more $ than if we selected one of the Eddylines they already had in stock. Those who paid extra shipping for an Eddyline probably wanted it quickly, many of us might not care about that if it means getting the boat we really want. Something to think about. I have commented about this for the benefit of others too, not just for me, and thanks again for listening.

@barry4fish19 your comments are excellent, and I have wanted to address this for a long time. I feel much like you do but I also know their systems and constraints very well having been their rep for 25 years and having attended leadership conferences as an award winning vendor multiple times. At one of those award conferences, author Chip Heath expounded to us vendors, REI managers and executives that big changes can come from anywhere. This was in 2010 and I haven’t forgotten it and am often noisy for this reason! :) Perhaps this thread is a start! I believe that REI can do some of the practices that independent specialty dealers do like newsletters, community meetings ups, etc. I used to attend many demo days for REI in the early 2000s. They can always invest in their staff to become absolute experts in the category they work in and find even more ways to go above and beyond for their members. These were foundational elements when they started back in 1938 but always a challenge for operations that grow and the difficulty of retaining long term sales floor associates. Another consideration is that they have over 100 stores and few distribution centers. If they allow this option for all of their Kayak, SUPs, bicycles and other large hard goods it could get very complicated very fast both from a space , employee and logistics bandwidth. I think today’s independent retailer and specialty chain retailer has to go the extra mile and I truly believe there are passionate people at REI that are willing to really shake things up. For ASAP inseason, this type of implementation wouldn’t be possible for most performance Kayak vendors who are fulfilling a lineup of pre-booked and special orders. Some vendors just might not have the organization to even handle single unit orders as it stands. Other vendors have decided just to sell direct and handle it that way (this btw is what keeps me up at night). There have been a host of recent news articles after REI released their 2023 financial report lately. There are challenges for sure that they face and I can tell you that I feel they are very receptive to suggestions from all ends and to me that is a start of where solutions can come from for this type of issue and maybe others that they face. You and the folks that you mentioned are all members so hopefully you have an avenue to make your voice and ideas heard at your local REI. I’m honored you took the time to share them here. 😃🛶

Great content, I hope this helps stimulate some thought where it’s needed. Many of us REI members have hopes that they can improve their success. As always, your important voice in paddlesports is much appreciated.

Mike is sending me one! Let’s go!

I’d love to see what you think of the Pearl or the new Opal.

Love my Northwind Solo! 6'4" 240 lbs.

Yep! I used Northstar’s Resin Touch up kit which uses exactly the same Polyester Resin they use. I had to supply the hardener as they can’t ship that w the kit. I would never want to use Epoxy anyhow. Always blown away by manufacturers that subject their valued build staff to wide scale epoxy exposure by laminating boats with Epoxy. Not ideal for later touch up repair but really not cool for the folks laminating at the factories. Northstar does it right.

@@HappyPaddlin I get the impression that people use epoxy because it is easier to get mixed right and not as stinky. That styrene monomer is nasty stuff, epoxy much less so. However, people do develop sensitivity to epoxy to the point they can’t be near the stuff.

Definitely a representative view of many around here and elsewhere and I suppose could be said about a lot of art/sculpture. Many favor trees/vegetation only for roundabouts but our well funded local Parks/Rec department, City of Bend and a couple millennia of sculptors fall into a different school of thought. Perhaps the point of Art in itself is to stir up the heart’s passions. Definitely a common thread here with a lot of the adorned roundabouts.

It's a layer of polyester cloth and pigmented resin. On tandems, it adds 4-5lbs, 2-3lbs on solo. Looks great in pics and that's where/why these mostly sell. Strength/abrasion resistance is minimally influenced by this. For my vids, I love the way they look so I like to have one around but the added weight is noticeable. I think the wood ixp emerald green is just a cool look so I ordered one this way.

Quest is Dick’s Sporting Goods in-house brand name but made by other manufacturers which includes Lifetime I believe. I’ll do some reviews. The reason is business based.

They are here in the states now and you’ll see them in dealers soon. www.spinerausa.com/ Or give it a few weeks and you’ll see more dealers list I think. Distributed out of California for ‘24.

Also, you can contact US distribution here for direction to the nearest US dealer: [email protected]

Folks learning the joy of solo paddling! Can be a life’s work to get down right? I find that like music, the really good players don’t expound or preach on it but meet their jam mates where they may be in the given moment. 😃🛶

Stabiiity will reduce if up higher. I’d carry a paddle that I didn’t mind sticking in the dirt/ ground to help keep get up if you can. Rubber boots so I can get up when the boat is 2 feet in the water. Swing feet out into water over the edge and use paddle as a cane. Boat will heel over some. I kneel in ADKs and it’s not for everyone! Please let me know if you find this advice helpful or find other ways to get out easier that work for you. This is an interesting subject!!

Yes, renamed.