Special Olympics 2014 Fundraiser

Showing posts with label kayaking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kayaking. Show all posts

Monday, March 7, 2011

Equinox 10.4 Kayak

As promised, a more detailed review of my new kayak, Equinox 10.4, is here. I checked my new watercraft back and forth, inside and outside, and now I have a good idea about its attributes. One thing I can say is that for its size, it really has a lot of room for equipment. Equinox is much shorter than sit-on-top giant Future Beach Freedom 160 DLX. Whenever we go for overnight kayaking trips I know where my equipment is going to go...LOLz.
































There are two main storage compartments in the Equinox kayak. One in the front and one in the back. Each of the compartments is tightly sealed with rubber hatch covers - hopefully waterproof (this will come in a later review).









The cockpit seat feels very comfortable. I will write more about it once I paddle for 12 hrs in that seat. Right now I cannot really say much about it. The cup holder is a bit small, but will do the job of holding a small bottle of water.





























Front storage compartment is a joke, but may be practical to hold either a cell phone, GPS, some snacks, wallet, or any other small items. Nonetheless, I like this a lot, because it gives more room for my legs inside of the kayak (enough to fit another dry bag inside)














Since the front storage compartment is so small, I am going to buy one of those cone-shaped dry bag and fit it in the front of the kayak. This will give me enough room to store either small tent, clothes, sleeping bag.










Equinox 10.4 is super light. I can easily pick it up myself and drop it off on the top of my car or carry the kayak for a few hundred meters with no problem. For easy handling it has two handles one in the front and one in the back. There are two drain plugs, which make it much easier to get rid of that extra water after rainy surprise or underestimated wind speed = high waves :-)













The rear storage compartment is a blessing. It's so huge I can fit all of my equipment in there (flashlight, clothes, shoes, small tent, perhaps a sleeping bag, etc... I will review actual packing later).




















I am very happy with the design of this kayak. There is an extra storage compartment on each side of the seat. It's not too big, but good enough for 2x2L bottles, extra paddles, trekking poles, or propane tanks.















I think I have covered most of parts, compartments, and some extra ideas about Equinox. I still have not used it on water, but that will happen very soon. First, I need to register it.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Equinox 10.4 Kayak

Last night I got my first kayak, Equinox 10.4. I would probably choose something more fancy and would prefer sit-on-top kayak, but the price really attracted me ($360 w/tax total including car carrier and paddle). I was going through the internet looking for any reviews about the kayak, but unfortunately, I found only a hand full. Once I try it out, I will write a detailed review with pictures. I can already say that the kayak is small, light, wide, and has a lot of storage compartments. I can easily pack for a multiple day trip in it. I am super excited and can't wait to try it out and I will probably do once the ice is gone (LOLz). My favorite place to kayak will be Lake Michigan. One of the trips that Jerry (aka Kuza, my bother in law) are planning as part of our fundraiser activity for Special Olympics 2011 is to paddle from Chicago to Wisconsin (exhaustive, but doable - Jerry already did it). The ultimate goal is to paddle around Lake Michigan. More to come...
CHECK OUT PICTURES HERE