Whether you’re in the plus-size of things, shopping on the XL corner of a department store, or a linebacker in the NFL, no matter how skilled you are in other things, it’ll prove to be difficult when you go kayaking.
The heavier you get, be it because of fat or muscles, you will slowly realize that doing athletic stuff back from your youth may prove to be difficult, not unless you’ve built your body specifically for a specific sport.
A few examples of these activities would be the following, running a marathon, rock climbing, pogo sticks, and many many more. Moving your body can be hard, even while walking, even sitting on cramped airplane seats becomes uncomfortable.
The bigger you are, the more things get limited, but kayaking wouldn’t be one of those things. If you want to enjoy kayaking still while having a big body, read on and this article might be of help to you.
Can Heavy People Kayak?
First thing’s first, can big guys kayak? The answer to that question is an astounding YES! But some people are just introduced to the activity with the inappropriate equipment to them. Having a small boat while being a big guy is no fun, and that would usually discourage them.
If a friend tries to kayak while offering you a small boat, they are setting you up to fail, and that would result you in being disappointed with the result and would conclude that kayaking isn’t the sport for you.
Choosing A Kayak for Big Guys
Now that we’ve established the fact that kayaking is indeed possible, we’ll now explore the different traits you should look for when choosing a kayak for big guys.
One thing that you also need to know is that kayaks aren’t made to be gender-specific, so a better term would suffice, such as kayaks for big people. Although a girl and a guy may be of the same height and weight, their body structure is very different and will all depend on the outfitting of the seats to fit people of different sizes.
In choosing a kayak, here are the different factors that you need to consider:
1. Purpose
There are many ways to go kayaking, and some ways require specific kayaks. This is the first factor that you need to consider to narrow the results.
Do you want to kayak on flat water, use your kayak to fish, or go whitewater rafting? Depending on a kayak’s function, its design would vary, so once you know what you want, things become a bit easier.
2. Paddler Weight
After you’ve chosen the function of your kayak, we’ll now go look at the optimal paddler weight range of a kayak. If you’re browsing around the market or online, the thing that you need to look for is the “Optimum Paddler Weight” which shows the weight range of what the kayak can handle.
3. Comfort
You are riding your kayak for an extended amount of time, and comfort is the one you don’t want to skip over, even if it means you sitting on the kayaks available on a store. But you can’t do much when you’re shopping online, but you can check the reviews to see what other people say about that specific product.
Things to look out for when gauging the comfort level of a kayak: Do you have enough back support? Are you perfectly snug while not being too constrictive of your movement? Can you easily adjust it for your comfort?
You can also check out these sweet upgrades to your kayak for more comfort
4. Kayak Weight
If you don’t have a transporter, it can be quite hard to carry your kayak from your storage or trailer to the water, and by the time you reach the water, you’ll already be winded.
5. Style
Often, when you choose a kayak, there will be lots of variety of it available. Choose the one that makes you feel good about your kayak and yourself to elevate the experience.
6. Price
Now, all of the other factors above wouldn’t even matter if the kayak is out of your price range. However, there are still lots of options available for you, depending on how much you can afford and how badly you want it. Check out our top 10 fishing kayaks under $1000 here.
7. Durability
The durability of a kayak goes hand in hand with price. If you get a cheap yet flimsy one, it might break on you during your kayaking trip, and none one wants that.
A durable kayak can survive for many years, and you get can countless enjoyment out of it, basically paying for itself.
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