Last Updated on April 4, 2020
A kayaking trip is always a great enjoyment to the water lovers. It is one of the best water recreational activities in the oceans, rivers, lakes, or inland waterways. It is not only exciting but also helpful to get into the areas where you cannot reach on foot.
Before getting an enjoyable kayaking trip, you have to make a checklist that includes the essential items to keep yourself risk-free. You must put emergency rescue and treatment kits in your kayaking checklist so that you can make your trip more adventurous, safer, and more enjoyable.
Kayaking Trip Checklist
Most people usually go kayaking in their leisure time. If you want to do so, you always have to remember that oceans and rivers are powerful and deadly. Make sure you are staying safe with the checklist materials and getting prepared for any hazardous situation. Here you are going to have essential tips to make a much better checklist for your kayaking trip.
Life Jacket
When you are in a kayak, it’s essential to keep a life jacket with you. It will not only save your life in a terrible situation but also shade you from the sunshine. It allows you to stay floating on the water without swimming. Keep one with yourself to feel comfortable while having a kayak trip.
Spray Skirt
Spray Skirt is an essential item for a kayaking trip checklist. It is the piece of gear that keeps you safe from water, waves, rain, and anything else. When the sea or river water is very choppy and cold, you need a spray skirt because waves can swamp your boat. A spray skirt also helps to keep the water out of the kayak and create a warm environment inside it.
Bottle of Water
Sometimes, you need to go kayaking in the sea or ocean. As you know the water of the sea is salty, so there you cannot find water to drink. You have to keep enough drinkable water with you during a kayaking trip. Some bottles of water may help you to decline your thirst.
Water Filter
When you have a kayak trip in water, there may be no storage of drinkable water around you. But you will still need a way to get pure drinking water. Boiling the waterworks better to purify, but it’s not practical in that situation. To make the water drinkable, you have to keep a water filter in your checklist when you are in the sea or ocean.
Sunscreen
Sunscreen is one of the necessary items in a kayaking checklist. Because you will have to spend a lot of time on the water exposed to sunshine, so it is essential to keep a sunscreen to protect your skin and avoid sunburn.
Sunglasses
You may want to move on the water by exposing your eyes to see the beauty around you. The reflections of sunshine created on the water can be very intense to your eyes and cause eye problems such as cataracts, dry eyes, macular degeneration, pterygium, etc. A good pair of sunglasses will save your eyes from these serious problems.
First Aid Kit
You won’t be able to remove all risks from an outdoor adventure. You may get severe injuries while having a kayaking trip like bee stings, poison from plants, blisters, scrapes, cuts, twisted ankles, sprains, etc. For this, a first aid kit is necessary. You can either prepare your own first aid kit or buy a ready-made one.
Make sure that the following items must be in your first aid kit box. The items are sterile gauze pads, assorted bandages, medical tape, adhesive bandages, moleskin, antiseptic wipes, tweezers, small scissors, safety pins, sterile gloves, trauma pads, etc.
Dry Bag
A dry bag is a watertight bag that you can store all of your gears while kayaking. You can put your cellphone, keys, and something more into it. Besides, small dry bags work great for clothing and food. So, a dry bag can be a best friend when you are moving on the water.
Spare Paddle
You should never go kayaking without a spare paddle. If you accidentally overturn in the kayak, you may lose your main paddle. So, a second paddle will help you then. So, It must be in your kayaking trip checklist.
Whistle
There is no excuse to go kayaking without a whistle. They are tiny and take up a little space. They also weigh almost nothing. With the whistle, you can give signals when you are kayaking through a narrow waterway.
Dive Knife
You have to keep a knife with you while having a kayaking trip. If you capsize in something harmful, this is what will save your life. It’s a good idea to get a dive knife. You need to buy a knife that is designed for diving into salty water. Besides, you can signal with your shiny knife when you get into trouble. Seeing a boat off in the horizon, you can make your fingers into a V and direct the sunlight in between your fingers. This signal will send a light beam to the other boat.
Lightweight Tent
Keeping a lightweight tent in your checklist is essential to check in a safe place at night, especially when the weather is not in your favor. You should carry one that you will minimize the space and easily take up in your kayak.
Kayak Carrier Shoulder Strap
Carrying the kayak can be a hard task for you. A large kayak often requires more than one person to carry. A shoulder strap allows you to hold the weight of the kayak in a comfortable position. So, you must keep a carrier shoulder strap in your kayaking trip checklist.
Final Words
As the space of your kayak is very limited, you have to make sure that you don’t carry so many things for your kayaking trip. Taking a lot of items can make you uncomfortable and eliminate your kayaking enjoyment. Keep in mind that you have to make a plan of wearing the same clothes multiple times. Because clean clothes for each day also increase the amount of weight.
Beyond that, pack the items included in your checklist into gallon-size zip lock bags. They will add extra protection to your things from getting damp when it rains. Now you can plan a future kayaking trip to make a checklist along with your friends.
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