Reviews – Page 2 – Richard Rathe's Reflections

Inflatable Kayak Review

Advanced Elements Expedition Elite Kayak

I’ve used a “traditional” inflatable kayak for several years, mostly in special situations such as houseboat camping or floating down rivers. They can be very practical and lots of fun in these settings. They are bouncy and sit high in the water, more like life-rafts than kayaks. The one thing they are not good for is a windy day on open water!

So I was intrigued when I read about newer designs that approximate the capabilities of hard-sided kayaks. Advanced Elements produces several models including the Expedition Elite reviewed here.

The boat is nominally 13 feet long and weighs in at around 42 pounds (not as heavy as it sounds when you consider the design). It is rated to carry up to 400 pounds. The materials, fit, and finish are all very good to excellent. I’ve had a chance to use this kayak in 20 mph winds on a large lake, and on a small river with minor rapids. It performed well in both situations.

There are several notable design features:
1) Short aluminum frames define the prow and stern.
2) The drop-stitched floor is very rigid (similar to a standup paddle-board).
3) Two concentric floatation chambers (rings) provide redundancy in case of damage/air loss.
4) Seven auxiliary inflatable compartments define the semi-rigid deck.
5) An outer envelope gives the boat shape and protects everything else.

There are a total of eleven separate inflatable elements when you include the seat and optional rear “thwart”. Only three of these provide primary floatation (the outer ring, inner ring, and floor). Inflation pressure is low (1-2psi) except the floor (4-5psi). All components noticeably lose some pressure after a day or two. It takes a bit of effort to keep everything topped off.

The entire kayak (potentially including the pump and paddle) folds up into a suitcase-sized duffle. I’ve had some difficulty folding and unfolding it smoothly. When folded there are six or more layers that must slide over each other without binding. Inflation leads to asymmetries that make me think I’ve done something out of order. There is an example in the photo below where you can see the right inner ring bulging towards the midline. I’m not sure if this is some subtle configuration problem or the boat is just built that way. These are minor aesthetic issues to that don’t appear to affect performance.

Other Details

I’m over six foot tall and this kayak is just barely big enough for me to get my legs in. The photo below shows the bow zipper opened to reveal the adjustable footrest and limited storage space beyond. (Also note the dimples of the drop-stitched floor.) The more substantial rear storage area has a clever hatch that rolls up like a dry bag.

The biggest deficiency/flaw so far has been the position of tie-downs for the paddle and gear. There are two velcro attachment points on each side for holding a paddle, however the forward points are too far away to be useful. I remedied this by tying a short length of shockcord between the existing d-rings. The other end of the paddle fits nicely into the rear velcro strap.

Another irritation was the seat falling out when I picked the kayak up to move it. There was no attachment behind the seat so I added one using an elastic toggle.

I have a similar problem storing small gear. My other kayaks have easily accessed cubbies for gear and slots for water bottles. Again the attachment points on this boat are all too far forward. I’m thinking of adding d-rings to the black side panels to attach a deck bag.

Bottom Line

Pros

Lightweight compared with plastic or fiberglass equivalents.
Subjectively 80% of the feel and performance of a hard-sided kayak.
Less vulnerable to waves than you’d think. (An optional skirt is available.)
Enough floatation to carry a significant amount of gear.
Very portable. Packs into a single duffle!

Cons

Leg area somewhat cramped for taller paddlers.
Gear attachment issues outlined above.
Need to top off inflation frequently.
Complicated, many parts that can move in or out of place.

Overall this is a very functional kayak, even compared with hard-sided models. The combination of partial frame and drop-stitched floor give it a solid feel on the water. Plus you can carry it in the trunk of your car and store it in the back of a closet!

Kammok Mantis Camping Hammock Review

This is my third hammock tent. I hit a lucky home run with my first no-brand hammock tent. It’s somewhat non-standard (arched tentpole, no ridge line). I have improved it with several mods and it has served me well on many trips.

My second Hennessy model was a disappointment on several fronts, most notably the ridiculous knot-based attachment to the tree straps. Give me carabiners any day! I’m also not impressed by the asymmetric cut, especially the fly.

The Kammok Mantis is most notable for the superior materials used. My favorite is the “night sky” bug net material, which nearly disappears on dark starry nights. The hammock fabric feels very light and sturdy, while having a slight texture that makes it less slippery. The fly is made from an extremely light waterproof fabric. It all goes into a very small package.

Weight 2 lb 11.5 oz (per Kammok website)

The Basics

The stuff sack is integrated making setup and takedown very efficient. I’m less thrilled by the fly however, which is supposed to be folded many times and put into a little sidewall pocket in the stuff sack. The best I can do is 2-3 folds, then roll and stuff. The lines tangle unless you roll them up individually. I think a single snakeskin might improve this (see below).

The hammock is useable without staking out the sides, but I’ll probably stake/tie out the wings in most settings. (I’m a bit spoiled because my first hammock has an aluminum tentpole spreader to keep the netting away from your face and upper body.) The fly is tapered with less coverage at the foot and SIX (!) tie down cords (in addition to the two that hold the peak). I can’t help thinking a simple diamond fly would have been better.

Critique and Improvements

The fly is too complex IMO. Staking out all six tie-downs guarantees you’ll trip over them at some point! It’s like a spider’s web. As an alternative I came up with this “tucked fly” approach. (I’ve already used it in a moderate rainstorm and it worked well!)

Connect the fly ridge line to the highest rung on each strap (no need to go around both trees twice!).
Stake out the hammock and the fly head to a single stake on each side.
Loosely tie the foot ends of the fly together, and possibly to a rock, branch, waterbottle, etc. on the ground.

This improves things quite a bit. There are now only two trip zones and it is easy to access the hammock from either side. The foot end fly becomes more of a tunnel with plenty of sidewall. I think it may be more wind resistant. There is still plenty of room for air circulation…

The final piece of the puzzle is to compensate for the slight dip in the fly when the hammock is occupied. (This is something I worked out with my first hammock, completely replacing the tie-out ropes with elastic shock cords.) For this hammock I simply added elastic loops to the ends of the four corner ropes. This keeps everything nice and tight and helps the fly spill wind.

Aside: Underquilt

While not specific to this hammock, I recently purchased a generic underquilt for those cold nights. It really works well! You can see the extension cord with tensioner knot I added in the photo above. This is what it looks like with the fly off…

Conclusions

Overall this is a great hammock! It is certainly the lightest three season tent I’ve ever owned. Features I’ve not yet mentioned are: pockets for small gear in the wings (see glasses lower left above), tensioner toggle for each line, entrance from either side, completely removable bug net, and an option to replace the net with a “tent top” for winter camping.

That said it came to me from REI with slight damage and a manufacturing defect. =(

The first thing I noticed when inside the hammock were these two rather large holes in the end. Not exactly bug proof! On investigation I determined that the little flap on the outside had been attached to the wrong line (you can clearly see this in the screen capture I took from a how-to video and examples on the Kammok website). Easy to fix.

What Flap Should Look Like (source:youtube)

I experimented packing the fly with the snakeskins from my other hammock. This worked well, but ideally it should be a single skin sewn to match the shorter, less bulky fly. Future project perhaps?

Finally, I made a passible “loft” from an abandoned tent piece I found on the ground. It is not quite square, so does not quite form a diamond, but it seems to work!

Flashlight Thoughts

Some thoughts on camping flashlights…

There when you need it! (source:pinterest)

I’m not too fond of headlamps for a few reasons… they are generally too bright when you are working close, shine in peoples faces when you look up, and kill your night vision.
I’ve had at least a dozen flashlights over the years that have failed, about of half of those failed out in the woods when I needed them. Last trip I had two fail when we were caught out after dark with kayak problems, and a third failed the next day. So that’s three in 24 hours! Some were inexpensive, unknown brands, etc. Caveat Emptor applies obviously.
For the past several years I’ve relied on small cylindrical flashlights from recognized/trusted brands (Fenix, others…). They are simple machined aluminum tubes with threaded o-ring sealed caps, which makes them very resilient. They also have smart power management electronics so they don’t just go dark but fade out slowly as the battery dies (they “degrade gracefully” as we say in computer science).
Try to avoid on/off buttons (they get pushed in your pack and then you’ve got a dead light). Twist on/off is much less likely to fail!
I put my light on a lanyard that I wear around my neck so it is always ready even if I’m not using it. When turned on I let it hang down, which gives enough light to see where my feet are going and I can hold things near/in the beam to work on, read maps, etc. If I really need to point it at something while I work I put it between my lips.
When I’m camping I generally try to minimize flashlight use… I’ve learned to pitch my hammock in the dark for example. I might need 30 sec of light to see where to put a strap on a tree, that sort of thing.

Here are a few pictures to help illustrate the above…

Short lanyard so it hangs at my sternum. Note the knot, this is tied so it will breakaway if you pull on it hard. Better to lose the flashlight than be strangled by it!

Keep the barrel about 1/2 turn back from “on” when not in use to prevent accidental discharge in a purse/pack/etc. You can turn it to just before “on” and then use thumb pressure to turn it on/off as needed (like walking on a trail). Your thumb can also attenuate the amount of light coming out. Cover the light completely for a night vision-saving red filter.

I recently obtained little diffuser caps for this size flashlight. They turn the beam into an area light (for tent, picnic table, etc.)… Basically an electric candle. (Note that this flashlight stands upright on a level surface without support.)

And as a bonus… the caps glow in the dark!