https://youtu.be/LCIPsqUrdtEk |
Paddling a ORU Kayak An ORU kayak comes to the AMC. A folding (Oru is Japanese for folding) kayak for a short paddle In Greenwich Bay. This was an opportunity see first hand what the ORU kayak is like. AMC member SH gave a demonstration to Narragansett Chapter AMC members, myself and BT. Beautiful day for a demo, calm and a hot day, with hardly any wind. The audio is muted for privacy in this video. The home page of the ORU Kayak is here. Sold at many sporting stores, here is the REI offering. SH is using a Greenland paddle for the first time and catches on quickly to the technique. A combination of using an ancient paddle design with modern kayak design. |
https://youtu.be/ktgLD7WLQqM |
Full demo of ORU KayakThis video shows the complete process of unpacking and assembling the ORU kayak. After a little paddle (same as the above clip) we return to the shore and the kayak is refolded back into it's transportaion package. Since it was a hot day, the kayak was unpacked in the shade, behind a parked car. The park is Goddard Park in Rhode Island. There are other demo's of unfolding the ORU but this is the full process for someone who has only done it a few times. Here is the official demo page from ORU Kayaks. Or course once an idea is hatched, others have the same idea. Here is a really cheap version, that is a do it ourself from one sheet of coroplas corrugated plastic. Other designs appear to be not so successful. Others designs satisfy the need for speed. And if you are in the wilderness with only a sheet of coroplas, magic marker, ruler, and box knife, you can save yourself by paddling downstream to civilization. |