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@@THE-RIVER-RAT 😂😂😂

I imagine there must be amazing scenery to explore. In such conditions, and remotely, high safety precautions are as you say extremely important, but if you've actually paddled both coasts of Greenland (impressive!) you'll be well aware of that! Feel free to share your stories or photos in the Winter kayaking group on Facebook if you haven't already!

Oh yeah! It can be a lot of fun 🙂

@@THE-RIVER-RAT Yes, the three of them walked over the trail in front of me and then we stared at each other for a while when I came across them again in parallel as they were moving further uphill. The RUclips seems to have decreased the video quality of the clip, but it was a fun addition to my first winter hike of the season. I was actually walking through a forest to a kayak leader planning meeting we had in a nature reserve 😎

@AirOnTheWater it's good quality, but I know what you mean. I think it's about time RUclips updates their software.

@THE-RIVER-RAT Yes, it can be a bit random sometimes.

@@PhilipLongee-vw8jf Nice! 😎 Wish you many happy paddles in your new Expedition - let us know your thoughts on it once you've taken it out. 😎 I have a playlist with the Expedition Elite actually: ruclips.net/p/PL0N7YXCEhFmfGj1QZb2LnEvb3QZLXA0LN&si=htnP0_x725i5FVm7

Thank you Robin! I've had a lot of fun with this one, as it is light enough to carry around to a lot of places 🙂Happy paddles!

Hehe! That was a fun one! Whenever I watch it I kind of feel like it looks rigged, because I was pushing the kayak at first, but the thing is that initially I had to put some energy into it to push it forward even with the lower friction of the snow/ice, and I didn't consider that at the end there was a bit of a downward slope - so it suddenly took speed of its own the moment I released it! A very mischievous kayak! If I had been on my own, I would have had to go for a drysuit swim to catch it 🤓

@AirOnTheWater Don't know if you have seen the video by the ledgend Ken Whiting as while he was on a solo kayak camping trip during last winter, and stopped to get some footage with his drone. Then from the drones camera you can see his kayak floating away, so he had to swim like mad to catch it. Also this was in the USA and he was in the middle of nowhere days away from anyone. But luckily it all turned out ok.

@THE-RIVER-RAT Ah, yes, I remember this. He clearly did not appreciate the swim! 😂 Goes to show that kayaks are not as well-behaved as you might think!

@@AirOnTheWater Your not wrong there buddy 👍

Hi there! This kayak can be a little bit cramped, but at just a few cm less than you and at similar size/weight while trying out this kayak I have made it work. The thing is that there is an inflatable footrest that is placed in the front of the kayak, and if there's an issue with length, that could be removed. The shoe size might be more of an issue if your size is over 45 - there's not a lot of space upwards for legs/feet. Another option could be the Advanced Elements AdvancedFrame Sport, which adds a few kg of weight but has more performance and might work better. If you have the option, it's always good to try out the kayak first, or sitting in a demo kayak! You can see more of the Ultralite in this playlist: PL0N7YXCEhFmd7l_HUemYEFgBwUMw_MaFk

Hi there! If you're a beginner I wouldn't advise to paddle in winter, but in summer there's a company called Mad Goats that has kayak rental and tours down the river where this tunnel is. Worth checking out! Otherwise I'm not aware of any particular license or requirements, other than that it's important to know that there's a lot of ferry and boat traffic in the harbor and one needs to keep a respectful distance and be safe. There's also another tunnel without lights next to this one where it's not allowed to enter.

@@jahoo2k Hi there! Thanks, and very good points. I expect to go into a more detailed overview of setup etc just as you describe in a future review. I would recommend videos from Paddling & Pedaling Florida (Dale Simmons) on this. I agree in that the floor doesn't bother me that much - it can be a bit of a curiousity to feel the waves more directly, but then again, I have multiple kayaks for different purposes. If I recall correctly the Ultralite has a carry bag only, but as I have many different kayaks, including several AE models, I tend to use a full carry backpack with straps from either Advanced Elements or Itiwit, and switch out kayaks in between where necessary. For drying in the cold season, I inflate the kayak indoors to dry overnight at least, as this takes a while. While in the field I wipe off as best as I can with a sponge or towel.

@@davidzoltan5263 Well, you need to make sure it isn't dangerous and that you're safe passing through! In this case it was shallow enough to walk, I had a headlamp with me and I went on foot first to check 😎 You can see it all in the new long form video on the channel called "My most absurd paddling trip" 🙂 Stay safe and all the best!

Thank you for the feedback! I recognize that a speaker voice or recorded "talking head" speaking directly will be more effective and easier to follow. In this case though, I received questions from a paddler about this kayak, recording a speech presentation wasn't a viable option unless delaying the video, and thus the info on screen to help out in all cases. There will be a full kayak review at a later point where this will be different. Plus, you can hear and see me talking to the viewer(s) in many other videos. Happy paddling!

😂😂😂 Haha, thanks George. I am looking forward to watching your trolley review, made a screenshot of it on my phone when I saw it come out to remind me to watch it as the theme is of particular interest to me. I actually have a couple of trolleys that I use at times, and a kayak cart, but for something like the X500 I would need a better solution indeed. I didn't have time to get to it yet but will check it out probably tomorrow! Great that you're providing info on these things!

@AirOnTheWater I didn't realize you used trolleys so you may find it interesting, hopefully lol

@@THE-RIVER-RAT I'm sure I will! I use them relatively rarely, but it happens, and for the X500 I'd like to find a better system, so I look forward to watching!

@THE-RIVER-RAT It was a good watch - great to see the overview! I've been lazy in recent years and for the most part used my lightweight kayaks for paddles where I know I'll have to portage, so less trolley use. But they've been instrumental during paddles with the heavier kayaks!

Absolutely! Oslo was awesome 😎You might be interested in the video I'm about to upload about the AdvancedFrame Ultralite - thinking of your EZlite (which has better performance). "Our" video on inflatables vs hardshells etc should come out in coming days!

@@AirOnTheWater just watched it and thoroughly enjoyed it 👍

@@THE-RIVER-RAT 😎

Ah, sorry to hear that. We have a lot of bird sanctuaries / protected zones in summer and early fall, which means you can't paddle on certain parts of lakes or in some sections of the archipelago, but we still have plenty of water left to get out on. Where are you located?

Haha! I love it! Let's bring #waddling to the world as a new sport! Good point about the need for a new channel... to keep things consistent, I might go with Air On No Water.

😂 Merci!

@@TheKayakCrew Woups. Yes, I've had some absurd creek paddles that might arguably top this one, but this one is probably the most absurd in terms of the small amounts of actual paddling that got done (even if there was more of that in the preceding section shown in the previous video part). I enjoy paddling through reeds as a challenge, both on creeks and in the archipelago, but you guys have tidal effects that we don't so I guess water levels could become really tricky much more often for you 😎 Yes, this one was fun since I was expecting a rather dull uncomplicated creek paddle without much to add to previous experiences, but instead got this which I hadn't quite experienced before. I count it as an unexpected big win 😎 And yes, having plenty of time for a long lunch and leisurely walking through the city and back with no stress was nice. On the previous paddle one hour north of there I had to rush as much as I could and made my train back to Stockholm with less than 60 seconds to spare (after paddling against hours of headwind)!

@ I like going on challenging and unusual routes too - within reason. Most of the tidal creeks around here totally dry out towards low tide around here so can’t be paddled other than 2-3 hours either side of high tide. Great thing about inflatables is you can take them on buses, trains and taxis. I was thinking about buying a hard shell sea kayak but not sure I could cope with the lack of portability.

@@TheKayakCrew I like that viewpoint - it's exactly my own. I've received the question a few times as to what kayak I would choose if I only could use one for the rest of my life. The absolute majority of paddlers I know would choose a quality sea kayak, or maybe a surfski, whereas I'm with you on this one - not sure I could cope with the lack of portability; I'll be happy to maybe add a good sea kayak to my fleet at a later point, but if I could only choose one, it would have to be portable, whether folding or inflatable (and as folding kayaks are usually more time-consuming to set up, probably an inflatable). For me, the possibilities arising from the portability of an inflatable outweigh the loss in speed and performance in most cases.

@@AirOnTheWater I agree, I love the portability of inflatables. I was thinking of maybe trying a folding kayak too, not sure if you've tried any? Portable kayaks do have their limitations but for many of the routes that I do, especially rivers, they are more suitable than hard shell sea kayaks. I was thinking of getting an electric kayak motor in the Spring to enable us to do longer routes using our inflatables.

@@TheKayakCrew Yes, I've tried some folding kayaks, and paddled alongside them, and they're often more powerful than most inflatables but take a bit longer to set up. The Pakboat Quest 155 (which a friend has) I find interesting due to its low weight but fairly high performance.

@@robertbloch1063 Hehe. Quite a bit of my portable kayaking history with portage would not be in your style. 😎 De gustibus non disputandum est - good point. We all develop our styles over time 🙂 This video shows the most absurd continuation part, but even the preceding section (previous video) didn't have all that much distance of actual paddling 😎 What I enjoy as I often say is that massive variation that kayaking offers - open water at sea with only the open horizon ahead is one extreme; I guess this is the other 😎

@@AirOnTheWater Yes, I can fully understand. I seek variation during my hikes. On kayak though, after few km I just enter sort of trance state I guess, I stop noticing time, just mind the waves and water flowing around paddle. I find the act of paddling very relaxing.

@@robertbloch1063 Yes, paddling can be really relaxing and take away the troubles of the day! There's of course science to support the healthy and relaxing impact of moving water / waves (as long as they're not requiring heavy paddling 🙂).

@@ChristelVinot Agreed! 🙂 Some of my most fun paddles have included these "hikes" and sometimes ridiculous obstacles, but it can be a fun obstacle and variety to things, and especially interesting if you're out in nature 🙂 Plus you never know what you might see - I had a moose standing right in front of me in the water when I came around the bend of a particularly tricky creek one summer 😎

@@AirOnTheWater well there's something I'll never see down here in Georgia lol. Sometimes there's cows or wild boarz hangin in the water lol. Or a deer crossing. The occasional alligator if I go south far enough lol. They aren't really obstacles though... I imagine I'd be freaked out seeing a moose! those things are powerful and scary lol

@ChristelVinot Woups. Have come across quite a few cows and deer, only a dead boar, but we have precious few alligators here in Sweden. That would freak me out a lot more than a moose or two.. though they can be dangerous if it's a mother with calves around. I was stalked by 20 sheep once on a small archipelago island while kayak camping 😂

@@californiamicke9527 😎

Hehe, thanks George, I enjoyed the walk! Turns out a paddle works nicely as a walking stick as long as you don't break it... not much of a paddle indeed, but the whole trip actually lasted for a couple of hours despite the short distance with all the climbing and wading. I 100% preferred this more unique experience to the more "standard" non-challenging creek paddle that I was expecting. This was something completely new and I wasn't expecting it at all, and I'm delighted these days when something new comes up 🙂

@AirOnTheWater I agree 💯% with you. When you mentioned it looked different on Google maps it made me remember a small river I spotted on there a few years ago But when I went for a look it was just a dried up bed.

@@THE-RIVER-RAT Yes, the water levels can change the landscape massively. I had the other extreme this summer where unusually high water levels had caused lake water to flood entire areas, severely limiting the number of possible places to camp overnight. Even so, with this trip, if I hadn't had so much extra time as backup during the trip or wanted to make sure, I could have just asked around in paddler forums or other forums, hopefully getting feedback from someone who knew the city. I could also have played it safe and just walked to the areas 1,5 km further ahead on foot where I could clearly see on Google Maps that there was open enough water. But that would have been cheating in this case, and I wouldn't have had this adventure 🙂 ruclips.net/video/RO30v5Q2-OU/видео.html

@AirOnTheWater Yes sometimes it's better to have a surprise, all ads to the adventure 👍

@THE-RIVER-RAT True story 😎

Haha, canyoning is a good one. I actually happened to think about your adventures when I made this video - while absurd perhaps due to how unexpected this was, this is very, very lightweight compared to some of the river paddles of yours that you have described 😂

@@joseaugusto3003 I would love to return to Brazil! I have seen the amazing Iguaçu falls and been in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, but I wasn't a paddler yet at that time!

@@siobanny Yeah, I guess it's slowly starting to sink in. 😎

Yes, this is serious business, especially when paddling alone and in winter. There's a mild bit of current this far down, but not strong enough to be of concern. However, one needs to be prepared for the lights going out, or an unexpected capsize or issue in the tunnel. It's not certain that phone signal would work under all that concrete or whatever materials might jam the signals in an emergency. I was in a drysuit and with PFD on had a paddle float and bilge pump and knew I would be able to re-enter my kayak if I were to capsize for some reason - and could swim back with my drysuit protecting me if there was some major issue with the kayak. If those criteria were not met, this would be dangerous being isolated down there like this!

@@daveys So if you get a puncture there you're going for a swim 😡

@@THE-RIVER-RAT Indeed! Though this particular kayak is very hard to damage to the point that there's a major immediate effect on buoyancy, so it's really unlikely.

@AirOnTheWater 🤞😁

@@THE-RIVER-RAT 😎🛶

😂

@@californiamicke9527 😎

Thank you very much for your support, Donald - much appreciated, and it helps keep moving the channel forward! 🙂As I always say, stay safe out there and happy paddles! For me, paddling has become a bit of a lifestyle, but it's also great to be able to contribute to the online global paddling community a bit through a channel like this. Do you have any particularly positive paddling or outdoors experiences, or learning points you would like to share? All the best from Stockholm! /Patrik

@@marcdaigle1163 😎 It was a chilly day indeed! Sometimes though when dressing for really cold water (multiple layers) and it's also cool enough that you don't overheat, I can actually be much warmer in winter than many other parts of the year (in a drysuit, that is). -3 to -5°C or so is the perfect paddling temperature for that 😎 And yes, it was a fun challenge. There will be another video part coming out this weekend with the continuation. Happy paddles!

@AirOnTheWater Thanks,... I'm planning to go out sometime next week...🛶

@marcdaigle1163 Nice! Happy paddling 😎🛶

@@THE-RIVER-RAT 😂

@@TonyL-No1 Hi there! This is a good question, and the best answer is probably that it's best to check with your kayak vendor or manufacturer as it might depend on model. I have used all my drop stitch (full or part) kayaks from Advanced Elements, Itiwit and Kokopelli extensively for years without specific issues related to the folding, but there is definitely more strain on them in those conditions and they're tougher to fold in freezing (or even cold) conditions. One needs to be more careful, but my experience has been good in that regard. If you're paddling on few occasions, I wouldn't expect any issues if it's a reputable brand. If you paddle very frequently you might want to double-check. What kayak do you use?

@@AirOnTheWater I have replied twice with a link to the website but they have 'disappeared'. Maybe they're not allowed. My kayak is a Shipwreck ArrowStream. Its a pretty generic Chinese made drop stitch much the same as many others. Seems capable and was a low cost way to enter the hobby. I have made a lot of changes to the seat, footrest etc to make it more comfortable and bought a Werner carbon paddle. I keep making refinements and will make some videos of them. Safe paddling.

@@TonyL-No1 I see! I haven't seen the posts with the links. The issue is that RUclips has a functionality of holding links to verify, which used to be possible to check without issue as a channel owner, but with the new system it seems that these are not visible, which is a bug from their end (nothing I can do about it for the moment from what I see). In all cases, I haven't seen the ArrowStream in real life (Shipwreck is a daring brand name!). How much pressure does it inflate to (PSI)? In all cases, if you want more information, you could ask around in the Drop Stitch kayaks Facebook group - if you're lucky, others may have the same brand and can tell you more from experience. It's good that you're checking to make sure! If you have a two-way pump that allows for deflating, removing as much air as possible from the kayak before folding may help further. Look forward to the videos. Good luck!

@@AirOnTheWater It uses 10psi. Pretty standard. I did post in various groups and got opinions but they're just opinions. Waiting to see if George at Shipwreck has anything definitive. I think the vulnerable area might be the thick strips of pvc that run lengthwise between the deck and the sides to join them. I do have 2 way pumps, electric and manual but just folding the kayak gets out all the air very well.

@TonyL-No1 Yes, best would be if you get an assessment from the vendor. 10 PSI means it's high pressure enough to reasonably be quality dropstitch. Don't know how it folds.. good luck in all cases and happy paddles eventually! Over here, winter has now definitely arrived, spent some of the day walking in the snow - and being stared at by three reindeer.

@@PaddleAdventurer True story, Marybeth - you know this well 😎 How's the winter looking on your side of the pond?

@ Still stick season over here. But fingers crossed for a cold and snowy one 🤞🏽❄️💙

@@PaddleAdventurer 😎 I'm sure some people think we're crazy for enjoying being on the water this time of year, but those who know, know 🙂🧊❄️

@@AirOnTheWater You got that right!

@PaddleAdventurer 😎

@@THE-RIVER-RAT Haha, I was going to call the clip something like "red light" and then realized that might bring in people searching for the entirely wrong thing!

@@AirOnTheWater Good chose 👍

@@THE-RIVER-RAT 🚨

It was an unusual adventure, and fun, I can tell you - great adventure it was not in terms of distance 😎 I hope to release the second part late today and then during the weekend the inflatable/hardshell etc video including yourself, David and another paddler - there's also a canoe major event video in the works!

@AirOnTheWater Canoe event, that sounds interesting 👍

@THE-RIVER-RAT It was! A major training camp earlier this summer. So much footage to work through and many cool moments!

@@AirOnTheWater looking forward to watching 👍

@THE-RIVER-RAT 😎

Whoa, then better to stay on land indeed. I think it's unfair to say that about the kayak, after all leashes are aplenty in connection with kayaking, just like with dogs! We had a lot of mobilization here as well in connection with snow storms around the country, terrain track vehicles deployed etc, but things seem calm now.

@@THE-RIVER-RAT Haha! They probably suspect I'm behind the cold weather 😎

@@daveys Thank you! Happy paddles and stay safe out there 😎

For sure! But of course, if you track your paddles using a smartwatch or your phone, that's an easy way to keep track of at least the basic data semi-automatically. For me, the Excel sheet works nicely, plus I map out where I've paddled using Google Maps.

@ I have never really used an app or a watch to track my distances. I should do really because it would be more accurate. I know how far each trip was though and how long it took me based upon the times of the photos/videos at the start and end of the trip and are you always map my trips so know how far they were.

@@TheKayakCrew That's good enough! I was fairly religious about tracking my distances as exactly as I could when I was aiming for my first 1,000 km as a goal, which I reached during my 100th paddle just before the end of the year back in 2022. These days, I am more relaxed since I've already learned lessons on average speed which each kayak type, etc, and am more interested in the broader picture. If I have to estimate using Google Maps, for example, if I wasn't able to track with a smartwatch, that works just as well.

I didn't quite understand that. Can you clarify?

@@THE-RIVER-RAT I always enjoy a good game of bridge 😎

@@AirOnTheWater Haha 😂 😂