Unplugged perfect kayak for beginners

If you are new to kayaking we are almost certain Unplugged will be love at first sight. The Unplugged kayak is an all-round kayak allowing you to explore the many possibilities of sea kayaking.

What makes the perfect kayak for beginners? It is a question we have been asked many times by new paddlers. Therefore, we set out to develop a sea kayak made especially for beginners. The result came on the water in 2019 materialized in the sea kayak Unplugged.
But what makes Unplugged a great beginners kayak? And just as important for how long will you enjoy a beginners kayak? These two questions we will adress in this article.

Design principals of Unplugged
To create a perfect beginners kayak we have defined 3 basic principles for Unplugged:

  1. It must have all the characteristics of a sea kayak to provide a 100% authentic sea kayak experience.
  2. It must support and respond perfectly on the paddler  to help the paddler improve balance and technique to provide a safe and succesful start.
  3. It must be a kayak that grows with the paddler. Allowing the paddler to enjoy Unplugged for many years.
Lets take a closer look at what these design principals mean.
1. A real sea kayak
A sea kayak is defined by 5 characteristics, as shown in the pictures below and they all apply to Unplugged. The 5 characteristics are illustrated in the picture below – and they are important for both function and safety:

A) Water tight compartments: For storage and flotation.
B) Thigh braces: Your thighs are below deck pushing against the thigh braces.
C) Deck lines: To pull the kayak up in a rescue situation.
D) Toggle: Handle to carry the kayak must be accessible from the water.
E) Rocker: The upward curve at each end of the kayak.

Want to know more about the parts and design of a kayak check out our ‘Kayak Guide’
2. Responds perfectly on the paddler
Stability is important when you are new to kayaking. It is only when you trust your balance you will start challenging yourself and be relaxed while paddling which already makes you a much better paddler.
It is a no brainer to design a stable kayak, but if stability is the only concern in the design it will highly compromise speed. – And while stability might be your only concern for the first 5 minutes of paddling, soon you will find your balance and you will want to see your paddle strokes converted into movement.
Kayak design is a compromise you cannot get it all. It is all about finding the right balance and for Unplugged a key focus point has been to right away give new paddlers a good feeling of balance, but with out loosing too much speed. To achieve this the most important design element is the hull shape. For Unplugged we have chosen a so-called Shallow-V shape.
Kayak hull shapes

These are three common hull shapes for sea kayaks. A round shape (E) is the fastest but also least stable. The shallow V (F) is used for Unplugged which gives a medium stability and medium speed. The flat shape (G) is extremely stable but it will make you work hard to gain and maintain speed. Want to know more? Take a look at our Kayak Guide

The shallow-V hull has another advantage for beginners. One of the first sea kayaking techniques you will want to learn is ‘edging’. Edging simply means maneuvering the kayak with your body. For learning this technique the shallow-V is a short cut to fast and easily improve your paddling skills.
So what you will experience with Unplugged is a kayak that helps you grow your skills. It will allow you to experiment and give you that instant success.

3. A kayak you can enjoy for many years
In the design of Unplugged it has been important to make a kayak that does not limit you as your kayaking skills improves. While Unplugged is great for a short trip up and down the coast it has so much more potential.

You can easily take Unplugged on multi-day trips with plenty of space for luggage. If you like to play in the waves or practice technique Unplugged can certainly be a great companion for you as well. So do not worry it will take a while before you grow out of Unplugged.
Basically Unplugged is an all-round kayak. It is not specialized for a specific type of paddling – this means you can explore the many different opportunities of paddling with Unplugged allowing you to identify your paddling preferences.
If you get all into kayaking there will probably come a time when you will look for another kayak, but for most it takes years and 100 of kilometers paddling before they know what is exactly right for them. The fact is there is no one perfect kayak it is all about you – your skills, your preferences and how you want to paddle.
So while Unplugged will never win the race or hit the biggest waves it has so much potential to give you the best way into the world of sea kayaking.
Price
While design is important price certainly is too! We have a strong believe that a beginner and all-round kayak must be kept at a reasonable price so in every detail we focus on keeping the best possible price value to provide the best possible experience.
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