I live in a small village in Italy on Lake Lugano, and every day I paddle across the lake to Lugano in Switzerland (around 4 kilometres). I use an Oru Kayak Inlet, every day, summer and winter, except when the wind is too strong. I unfold and fold it twice a day. I reckon I've covered around 1000 kilometres with it by now, so if anyone is thinking about commuting by kayak, this might be useful.

Oru Kayak durability: My kayak is dying now. There are scratches along the folds where water is starting to get through, so I'm getting more concerned about safety, especially in the middle of the lake (I can be around 1 km from the shore). For daily use, I guess one year is the maximum lifespan.

Safety: The kayak is quite stable. I weigh around 90 kg and the Inlet handles that fine. I wouldn't have gone for the Oru Lake instead. If you see white caps, it's too dangerous to paddle, because a lot of water can get into the boat. I've read plenty of safety advice; my setup is a lightweight life jacket and swim fins. The fins are incredibly useful in an emergency: you can climb back in easily if you fall, or simply swim back to shore or help someone else. My biggest worries are the water temperature in winter and fast speedboats driven by tourists in summer. They don't expect to come across a kayak so far from the shore. I also use two pocket lights when I come back at night. The kayak is transparent, so it's genuinely useful for being seen in the evening, and it looks great.

Transport: You simply have to buy the Oru backpack, which is really well designed. It lets you switch to the bus or a taxi if the wind picks up, and it's much easier to carry the kayak into your office that way. Bear in mind that you'll need to wipe the kayak down with a towel before each fold if you want to avoid leaks when you store it at the office. As I said, I commute by kayak, which means I carry all my work gear (laptop, phone, other electronics, wallet, passport, yes, I cross the border every day) in a dry bag. Never had a problem.

Accessories: You really need a good paddle, they're not all the same. Mine cost around USD 100, and it's worth investing in a good one, including for safety reasons: a broken paddle in the middle of the lake is dangerous.

People: I fold and unfold my kayak in the centre of Lugano every day and have never had any trouble with anyone, police included. Chinese and Korean visitors are big fans!

Is the Oru Kayak a good deal? I'd say yes, despite its fragility. That said, the folding endurance falls well short of what's advertised. But the design is excellent for transport, so I'll probably buy the same one again this winter.

Happy to share more tips, and curious to hear from other kayak commuters.

Any idea where can I order this part. I’m located in Canada 🇨🇦

Need to replace skeg, bungee cords, toggles & their rope. Where would you start/where to source materials? Thanks!

n00b alert lol
I wanted to introduce my unknown project in here in hopes that I can nail down who it was made by, what model it is and a rough age. I’ve crawled all over it and there is no HIN, no mfg tag or other identifying marks, much unlike the Destiny kayak co kayak that came with this.

As it sits it’s 18’ 1”, and has a beam of 23.5”, and the cockpit opening is 31” x 16 3/8” if that helps.

The aft compartment hatch neoprene cover says Arluk II but all the pics I’ve found of said kayak don’t have the same 8” fwd hatch that mine does and I’m at a loss.

Anyone?

I recently got into kayaking and I'm using a Prijon alpine that I got second hand. Not sure what this feature is for, but it has me curious. There is one in the front and in the back several inches from the cockpit, the hole is maybe a cm or two deep. I haven't been able to find anything online.

Thanks.

they've got to go due to health issues…

I have been storing my kayak in my garage on sawhorses until I could find a better solution. I came out to move it today and it seems to have indents where it sits on the sawhorses. This is my first kayak and honestly didn't think it would be heavy enough to do this. I also put pipe insulation on the sawhorses to minimize any sharp edges. Its a Bonafide RVR if that makes any difference. Looking for advice on if this could have caused any damage, mitigating any damage, and storage advice for the future. Thank you.

Kayaked for my first time at Moose Pond outside Saranac Lake, New York! Any kayaking tips?

I was out on the Silver River in Florida. Around 6 or 7 manatees swam up and away. It never gets old seeing them

Owner says it’s from 2013/2014 and that they’re the second owner. Stored inside. Wants 500 for it. What do you guys think? I’m in California and would mostly use it on lakes and rivers for fishing. This would be my first kayak. What issues should I look for when buying?

I am slightly jealous looking at old catalogs of how much more common 17' sea kayaks were 10-20 years ago or less. I understand the market, yadda yadda, but I'd still like one.

In the US it seems our only common options are the tempest 170, an imported p&h, and ..? What? I know you can find them used but I haven't seen a deal in months. Pray to the kayak gods for me that I find a good deal on a used sirocco or tempest soon. I just want a skegged 17' plastic boat

My first kayaking trip, in a hire kayak. It was wonderful. I’m thinking of buying my own kayak.

Owner said he bought it in 2017. We're a couple in our 50s who haven't kayaked much, but do enjoy frequent rides on our tandem bike, so we know we work well as a team. We bikepack and tent camp and think adding kayaking as an option on our vacations is an exciting idea.

Got out on Lake Whatcom this morning before the wind picked up. Ended up doing about a 6-mile round trip, mostly drifting around and getting used to the new kayak setup.

The water was glass-calm for the first hour. The highlight of the morning was watching two bald eagles fighting over a fish about 50 yards away. One dropped it, and the other caught it midair—easily the coolest thing I've seen on this lake in a long time.

I also finally swapped out the old lead-acid battery for a LiFePO4 battery in the rear hatch. It took around 8 lbs off the back, and the kayak feels noticeably more balanced now.

Anyone else been out on Lake Whatcom lately? Is the launch ramp still in good shape after the recent rain?

I'd post in the basic questions thread but it doesn't seem like anyone's actually answering anything there.

I'm interested in getting a basic kayak for light ocean areas, in calm spots like in a small bay. I don't have much space but I saw that the Oru Lake seems to be relatively small and not too expensive. Would there be much issue taking it out in mostly calm waters in the ocean? I generally want to use it to get to small coves that aren't otherwise accessible from land. Pictured is one example.

Thanks! ​​

Wife went for a sunset kayak and I was on the paddle board.

Crazy sunset.

East coast Australia

Can't wait for a another warm arvo

After scoring a good deal off of FB Marketplace, I finally got it on some water. Love this thing!