Finding the "Perfect" First Kayak (Part 2)
15 November 2023
Having “intellectually” shopped for kayaks it was time to get my hands dirty and test some kayaks in person. The immediate challenge I found was that Fall / Winter isn’t the very best time to find or demo kayaks. Most stores were between last year’s and next year’s inventory. That said, there were a few option available and the first one was Western Canoeing and Kayaking in Abbotsford, BC. They are the Pacific Northwest source for Norse Kayaks and Sam & Rylan were great to deal with. They had the Ask in stock and Rylan brought his personal Embla back to the store for me to see and check for fit, albeit on dry land.
The Challenge of Choice
From my previous “research” I know that the Ask and Embla were very similar in size and I had very little experience to base a collusion on fit. That said, the kayak I used during the overnight portion of my Kayak Academy class fit me like a glove. The Ask felt a bit like I was “swimming” in it. Were as the Embla, padded out for Rylan, fit tight with good connection at the knees and hips. Sam & Rylan both reinforced the idea that I could pad out the Ask to my needs. And the only kayak they had available was the Ask so I left with lots of information and some choices to make.
Current Designs Karla, Sisu, Embla and a Roadtrip
I was still intrigued by the Danish designs from Current Designs and had been having conversations with Asger at Best Coast Outfitters in Victoria BC. I felt pretty confident that either the Karla, Sisu, Embla or Ask would be a fine choice for me. BCO had both the Karla and Sisu available for a demo. And when Sam at WCK let me know that there was a Carbon Embla in Courtney BC I started to think roadtrip.
And what a roadtrip it was. My first stop was at BCO in Victoria and Asger was fabulous. We arrange to meet the next morning and demo kayaks in the harbor. I’ve forgotten which varieties of Karla & Sisu I demoed but I remember that the best was the Sisu LV. It was a sweet boat. Because of their location BCO often carries the “Heavy Water” layup. This bumps up the weight and is a feature I didn’t think I would need. That said, I had a good feeling that if the water demo of the Embla wasn’t a good fit, I’d be back at BCO to pick up a boat.
It’s a bit of a haul to get to Courtney BC from Victoria, but so much beauty. And I love, love Vancouver Island. I have been corresponding with Vicki at Comox Valley Kayak & Canoe and she had agreed to bring her own personal Embla to the shop for me to demo. As an aside, I did notice how many owners. / employees seem to snap up the Embla. Hmm.
The Embla couldn’t have been more different than the Sisu. Where the Sisu felt easy and seemed to take great care of me, the Embla seemed like it wanted me to be a better kayaker. With my skill, it wanted a bit of skeg to hold a straight line. I spent about a hour on the water with the Embla and was left with one of those great problems: how to choose between two great choices. In addition, everyone I dealt with was fabulous: Sam, Rylan, Asger and Vicki. Unfortunately I was only going to get to purchase one kayak.
My Choice & Why
I ended up choosing the Norse Embla and I think my reasoning is a bit unusual and wouldn’t apply to very many people.
A Minimalist Aesthetic
There is an idea that photography is a medium of exclusion, that is, exclude everything that doesn’t add to the story. And that is my approach to kayaking and purchasing a kayak. I’m fully aware that there are a tasks that the Embla might not do well, or even at all. But I’m also not dragging along capability that I don’t need or use regularly. This is definitely not a “Jack of All Trades” kayak.
Playful, but Still Tour-Able
In the touring vs playful kayaks that I demoed I’d rank them Sisu, Ask, Embla then Karla. The Embla seemed to be a nice balance between a “hold a line” touring kayak and the “turn on a dime” playfulness that the Karla might be.
Lightweight
What really put the Embla over the top was the lightweight carbon option. It was the lightest of all the kayaks that I demoed. I knew that I would often be kayaking alone so being about to easily load and unload my kayak and carry it to the water was a huge plus. In addition, the Fiat is pretty small so any option to light the roof load was also a plus.
Update (3 December 2024)
Having owned my Norse Embla for a bit over a year, I published a 1 year review of sorts.