Hi Celeste,

have you ever tired this type of boat ?

thierry 

Hi Theirry,

I haven't used this type of canoe before. Has anyone else here seen one like it before?

I'm judging it's lake-worthiness from the videos showing it in action, and encouraged by the startup award they received from the outdoor show which means other people have evaluated it in person. Apparently they were also able to fit two people, a dog, and a bike into it.

Just so it's clear: the canoe doesn't include paddles; you can use your own, or purchase a pair that fit in the case for 100 euro. Additionally, shipping will be around 40 euro per canoe unless it's cheaper for me to go to Belgium and bring them back on a plane or the train.

Hi Celeste,

It looks pretty cool and it may be innovative. But you may want to consider other qualities that I don't see addressed in the links: safety, maintenance and durability. How stable are they if you get hit by a small wave made by a passing boat in the lake or a change in a creek's current? How long do they last?

Don't get too emotionally invested before you make a purchase.

There are alternatives. If cost and portability is an issue, there are plenty of inflatable kayaks on the market which are as portable, easy and quick to inflate and assemble, with seats, paddles, foot pump, carry bag, for half the price (and even much cheaper than that, though probably less durable). They come in various sizes and having been around for a while, they have a track record on safety and durability. The best ones can even be used in white water. You can check sites that review them:

http://www.kayakerguide.com/best-inflatable-kayak/

I would recommend reading the paragraph on "How to choose a kayak" in the above link before buying anything that you will use on the water, even if you go with the origami canoe. Just below that paragraph there is a listing of the characteristics you should be looking for: Have you thought about how to maintain the canoe? What do you do to deal with the humidity problems during storage, and wear during use? And repairs? Something inevitably gets damaged with time and use. Where will you go for repair? With the origami canoe, you will be part of the experimental group that will find out all the things that can go wrong. In contrast, the inflatable kayaks have been around for a long time, and the issues have been worked out.

Here is another site:

http://www.outdoorsportsgearreviews.com/review-of-the-advanced-elements-kayak/

You can find inflatable kayaks in sports shops in Geneva or Val Thoiry and Saint Genis or order them from Amazon. No need to go to Brussels. Just do a google search for inflatable kayaks, if you want to get an idea.

One other point. There is a lot of "minor" issues one oversees before getting on the water. Paddles seem pretty straight forward and you just get any. But then, once you get paddling, you learn quickly that their length and design makes a huge difference. You end up wasting a lot of energy to move a little, tired and with callouses in your hands if you get cheap useless ones. So, do some research before you purchase any of the equipment. If you get a good quality package, it will all have been worked out for you.  By the way, since inflatable kayaks have a huge established global market, the prices per unit are going to be much lower and will be a better deal than the origami canoe, whose creators have to recover their investment and build up the capital to establish themselves. You will be financing all that.

Hi JR, Thanks a lot for the thoughtful comments. I appreciate the advice from more experienced than me.

 I contacted the inventors and asked if there was any time during their testing if the canoe had any durability problems and if so what they did to improve it, and hope to hear back soon. The Q&A on the kickstarter page says that in all their tests on water, including icewater, they didn't get any holes, and even if they filled the canoe with water it still floated. There an additional page of videos showing its stability while rocking and its durability in various conditions here.

I hadn't investigated inflatable kayaks a lot since it seems anything inflatable I buy gets a hole in it after a year or so (bike inner tubes, air mattresses, balls) and that's one of the things that attracted me to the non-inflating lightweight canoe material. I'm happy to see there are durable options there. 

Although the price for the Onak is higher than the quality inflatable kayaks, I like that the  hull material and final assembly will be made/done in europe, while I expect most of the inflatable kayaks are produced entirely in China (I didn't find any information about that though). I also don't mind paying somewhat more for a newly designed product on kickstarter since I like to support people who find a way to invent something new that they want and produce it, and I hope to do the same one day. The main drawback is the lack of user reviews, but in this case I'm satisfied that the videos do a sufficient job of showing its quality.

There is another folding kayak, the Oru, also made by polypropylene that has received good user reviews and shows in an endurance video  that their kayak hardly showed any wear and tear after getting dumped off the top of a building or hit with a hammer. 

So far I've had one other person say they would like to join in a purchase; is anyone else interested? 

Kickstarter is great, but it also can be a gamble.

I had a few good experiences and one which is turning to be bad (MIITO – the sustainable alternative to the electric kettle).

I invested because I thought that this well engineered German product was ready to be mass produced.

Alas, it has been like one year pass the delivery projection, and they recently informed the backers that they are looking for partners in China to DEVELOPP the product...

It's true that kickstarter itself is a popular brand name, but the quality/schedule is entirely up to the people promoting their product. I hope you get your Miito within the next few months and enjoy it.

"I like to support people who find a way to invent something new that they want and produce it" - Celeste

Unassailable argument and an admirable way of thinking.

I got a response from someone on the team about the durability. He said that during their tests one time they had a hole scratched in the first layer of material in one of canoes, and they could have patched it with some Tear-aid (haven't heard of it before, but he said it works on PET coated material) but decided to ignore it and after a month of a lot more use it became a hole all the way through, although they could still patch it. 

Hi Celeste,

How many people are ready to get it ?

Cheers,

Thierry

Hi Thierry,

There was only one other person interested, so I didn't order it.

Cheers,

Celeste