How to Make Kayak Seat More Comfortable?
After a daylong of Kayaking, I just returned home. I had a lot of fun out there but there was something wrong with me .my back bone was hurting badly and was feeling a sharp pain in my legs too.
It was a strange and painful thing that had never happened to me before. After a medical checkup and medication was feeling better but the reason I found behind this problem was my sitting posture and kayak’s seat. I tried many tricks and researched a lot on it to prevent this problem in the future. I am going to share a complete well-researched guide to make your kayak seat more comfortable.
Without tangling into other discussions, let’s begin! But first I will tell you about how to sit in a kayak properly.
How to Sit in a Kayak?
Sit in a Kayak in an upright solid position so that the braces of your thighs are lying on the sides of the boat. You need to be connected properly to the connection points of your boat.
The connection means that the first part of yours lies on each side of your sitting cushion. Adjust your foot braces backward and forward to fix the leg length to the paddler by paddling the Kayak in the back-ward direction. You need to sit in a position to pull the back band in the Kayak. It will allow the Kayaker to sit straight.
Another adjustment that you can do is to have your back hip pads so you will get enough room to put your fingers between your hips and hips pads. Make sure they are not applying extra pressure. Never get in or wobble back and forth on the bows of Kayak, it can be dangerous for you.
What is the Right Posture to Sit in a Kayak?
There are two kinds of proper kayak postures, one is white water sea kayaking while the other is flat water racing. In a flat water race, you just need to sit upright with no connections to your boat. Now let the Kayak move under your body. It may have minimum stability but does not need edging.
On the other side, if I talk about a white water boat, it offers high stability levels and gets thought about easily so you must be sited tightly. For smooth paddling in a forward direction, the kayaker should be able to rotate the torso and push using the other legs.
Important Tips:
Comfort is a crucial element while kayaking for many hours. It will surely help you to calm your muscles. You can prevent leg cramps while kayaking by using some of the tips given below:
- Try to use some cell foam with a higher lip behind the seat or you may use a back band fitted lower.
- Sit nicely and relax, adjust your footrest to a position where your knees are not touching the braces. Don’t slide your feet forward.
- Don’t lean back just stay upright or a slight titled that your pelvis is directed forward.
- Do some paddling in leisure time and if you are a newbie do kayaking for 20 to 30 minutes only.
How to Make Kayak Seats More Comfortable?
I have seen many cases of back pain after kayaking. All inclusively, I reached the result that most of these problems are because of the hard and flat seat of the kayak. The only solution to this problem is to buy an inflating pad and use it on your seat’s top. It will help a lot.
Material: You require just three things for this technique. This includes a wooden dowel rod, a stadium seat pic, and some zip ties. Let’s make a DIY sit in kayak seat upgrade.
To make the kayak seat comfortable, just fix the dowel rod by setting it on the sides of the kayak and drilling a hole passing from the stadium seat of a kayak. Put on zip tie on the sides and back where required. Also, check where the previous backrest is placed and then zip ties those eyelets too.
You will find very prominent results; this dowel rod will help you sit a bit higher. It is highly comfortable for me. You have got storage under the seat and you can also fold and lift it when required.
If you don’t want to drill a hole in your kayak, and want it to be comfortable, Get a Pelican Trailblazer. Its backrest bothers me a lot so I decided to try a lumber pillar by fixing it on the back you can make your seat more comfy.
Upgrade your Kayak Seat:
You can use a kayak seat cushion filled with a robust and spongy silicone gel. It is washable and adjustable too. They simply make your paddling time more comfortable. keep on taking some breaks after paddling for some time.
Try to lash it with the seat of your kayak so it will not get even if the boat is tipped somehow.
What Kayak Has the Most Comfortable Seat?
Surf to Summit is one of the known companies in the USA. It manufactures seats, lawn chairs a kayak seats in good quality. These seats came with a lifetime guarantee. Sitting in a kayak with a compass seat or Sit in Hobie Pro angler is the best choice.
The Sit-in tops are much more comfortable than others because you can easily move your legs. You can even get up in a boat when got tired.
Also Read: How to Carry a Kayak by Yourself? – A Practical Guide
Why do Legs Hurt After Kayaking?
Technically, the best way to paddle with your legs, alternate the motion with your paddling stroke. But if you are a beginner the muscle sore is normal and it will be fine in a few days.
I experienced leg cramps while kayaking that become a problem for me to continue paddling. I feel this pain when I am sitting very low in my kayak. But when I upgraded my seat I realized that I can do kayaking for days without experiencing this pain.
I recommend you keep your knees joined and out of the way of the paddling stroke. Moreover, you need to push pegs gently to increase your speed. Dont get panic in roughs and keep your foot comfortable all the time.
You can be more comfortable by setting your foot braces in a direction where the knees are folded bit and flopping them aside. The pain starts when you keep holding it using extra muscle energy. Just lose hips and let the boat go with flow under you. In this way, things will be better.
Conclusion:
At last, it is concluded that you can upgrade your kayak’s old seat to a new comfortable one. You can either replace it with a new seat or you can renew it by using different DIY tricks and gadgets. Sitting properly in the right posture can also save you from back and leg aches. Making some effective changes to your kayak seat can add up hours to your fun kayaking.