Comments for Paddling Magazine

Comment on Certification killed paddling adventures by Mary

Mary — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 17:52:49 +0000

Do you have any recommendations on where to get certified for sea kayaking? I live in Hawaii and would like to upgrade my skills!

Comment on 16 Of The Best Places To Paddle In America by Alan Degaravilla

Alan Degaravilla — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 17:39:11 +0000

Allagash Wilderness Waterway for those of us living in the Northeast

Comment on 7 Common Paddling Injuries And How To Prevent Them by Paddling Magazine Staff

Paddling Magazine Staff — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 13:06:02 +0000

In reply to George Simpson. Hi George, You can learn more about paddle feathering in How To Choose The Right Kayak Paddle.

Comment on 7 Common Paddling Injuries And How To Prevent Them by George Simpson

George Simpson — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 10:59:48 +0000

What do they mean by choose a paddle with less feather?

Comment on The Bomb-Proof Roll Controversy (Video) by Moulton Avery

Moulton Avery — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 03:45:00 +0000

I have long objected to the term “bomb-proof” roll, and I frequently get a lot of nasty pushback when I do so. I think the objections largely come from people who haven’t thought much about the issue. All the experts I know are in agreement that “eventually we all swim”. At some point, in other words, the roll fails. If you’re a superb paddler and athlete like Dane Jackson, that very rarely happens. If you’re a lesser mortal, it can happen at any time for a wide variety of reasons. If you believe your roll is “bomber”, why bother to learn, let alone practice, solo or assisted rescues.

In my experience, nothing will get your ass handed to you faster in the great outdoors than complacency and a cocky attitude. On the other hand, humility in the face of pitting your skill against Mother Nature dramatically improves your chance of avoiding trouble and improving survival potential.

Comment on Certification killed paddling adventures by David Ciechanowski

David Ciechanowski — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 15:17:50 +0000

When I decided to start kayaking, I took a day clinic with an outfitter. I read three books, one I think was Derik Hutchinson. I subscribed to Sea Kayaker Magazine. When I bought my first used boat, the vender taught me self and assisted rescue. I never ventured into new experiences without a veteran to learn from. Kayak camping became my thing and my excursions became longer and longer. That said, I also paddled a few hours once a week with a group paddling Walmart plastic boats with no spray skirts and a beer holder on the gunnel. Where I lived in NNY, there was room for both, but I never failed to point out that paddling in deep water wearing barn boots, or carrying a cooler on the rear deck is not a good idea. Not everybody is passionate enough about kayaking to spend a month on a trip or paddle in storm conditions, but for those who there should be resources available for them to learn to do it safely.

Comment on Certification killed paddling adventures by John Callahan

John Callahan — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 21:41:49 +0000

We use certification in all kinds of professions of expertise to make trusting strangers less risky. If my friends plan a trip whether a day or week long then we unknowingly ask each other if we trust these other people in the wilderness. Are they good enough to ski all day, paddle into the wind, heft a full pack? It isn’t anyone else’s business what we decide and even if we beg off and make an excuse. But how do we do that with strangers? How do we trust our wards to be able to perform as the group requires. Money is exchanged, promises made, implied guarantees of safety. Lawyers hover around it all. It is just a different kind of experience to go on your (collective) own or sign onto a group trip for a fee. Same uncaring vicious sublime wilderness experience but a different contract between the participants as to how to participate.

Comment on The Bomb-Proof Roll Controversy (Video) by JayDee Kayaker

JayDee Kayaker — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 20:34:24 +0000

Like Dimitri, I paddle with people who practice self- and assisted rescues regularly and sometimes have to do them for real. And I also have no problem posting videos showing my own mistakes and/or swims or, always with permission, those of others. If something can be learned, that is. But that is usually the case. And like Dimitri, I have received disrespectful, condescending and ignorant comments, among the majority of positive, knowledgeable and encouraging ones we usually get.

There is no such thing as a bomb-proof roll. If you don’t swim now and then, you are not trying hard enough! My pool roll is >99% reliable. My combat roll only about 80 – 90%. That is better than most of my paddle companions. But it does mean I swim on roughly every tenth paddle. Not a big thing! The rescue is just for real then, rather than for practice.

Comment on The Bomb-Proof Roll Controversy (Video) by Bob G

Bob G — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 20:01:58 +0000

I agree with Julián–these 2 paddlers handled the rough water recoveries very well, and the management of the separated paddler/kayak in rough water was textbook–quick, efficient. No roll, however reliable, is 100% “bombproof” in rough, dynamic conditions, and having the other tools in the toolbox ready to go is essential.

Comment on Adventure Is Being Planned Out Of Existence by Suzanne

Suzanne — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 19:06:59 +0000

I believe the underlying issue is that there are now way more people living in Ontario who want to camp in the backcountry and there has been no increase in backcountry infrastructure or provincial parks. For the not reserve in advance system to work – you need a lower ratio of people to sites..

But – the opposite has happened – Since the 1990s many parks scattered across the province have been closed or become ‘non-operational’ parks – deemed not feasible for maintenance. This includes not maintaining portages or backcountry sites. With the increased uptick in camping and outdoor pursuits and the increase in population it strikes me as crazy that so many parks and canoe routes that were maintained in the 80s (when the population was much smaller) no longer have maintained portages. In my mind this is a political problem – people voting for candidates who prioritize tax cuts over open spaces.