Canoe or kayak?

[Betty]

For those who have both canoed and kayaked, which do you prefer? Kayaking seems to really be catching on in popularity in recent years.

[Lorax]

Depends on what you're planning on doing.

Type of water?
Camping out of it?
Portaging or no portaging?
Lake or river?

I have both for different types of day trips and multi day camping trips.

[ChadTower]

Originally Posted by Lorax

Depends on what you're planning on doing.

Type of water?
Camping out of it?
Portaging or no portaging?
Lake or river?

I have both for different types of day trips and multi day camping trips.

+1

Boats are for a purpose. Define your purpose before you decide what boat to use.

[juli]

I prefer kayaking even for extended trips. I can handle a trips much easier with my kayak and since I am a light backpacker this is my mode for all trips so all my gear fits in my boat.

[Hikebike]

I like to go out on the canoe - I have been kayaking a couple of times but I'm more comfortable in a canoe. I have been canoeing for years (since I was a kid) and I've only been on a kayak a couple of times.

[wvbreamfisherman]

I am more comfortable in a canoe myself- you ride in a canoe...you wear a kayak. I like the ease of loading and unloading a canoe, too. I also like the fact that I can paddle my canoe either solo or with a partner. Tandem kayaks are a little more specialized. On the other hand, kayaks are great fun to paddle and the double ended paddle tends to even out the stresses of paddling.

I guess it comes down to what you intend to be doing and personal preference.

[Hikenhunter]

I have my eye on the Nucanoe Frontier. You can check it out on you tube. This baby just came out in February. It is kind of a cross between a canoe and a sit on top kayak. You can paddle it solo or tandem, it tracks well for the lake, it manuvers fast for on the river. It can be rigged for sailing, or you can put a small outboard or trolling motor on it. It can handle a load of up to 650 lbs. it has many more features and is stable enough to stand up on it

[ChadTower]

Interesting. Let us know how that one goes if you get one. It looks like you sit a little high for my taste but I wouldn't mind taking one for a spin.

[ppine]

This is a broad question. I prefer canoes for carrying capacity, stability, ease of entry and exit in a capsize, and beauty. Large kayaks with cockpits can accomplish most of the same things, and are well suited for cold, rainy weather and high seas. I have no use for the short, stubby polyethylene kayaks that are sit on tops. They are slow, cheap, come apart in UV light, don't hold anything and don't track worth beans.

Short plastic kayaks are popular because they are light, cheap and fit on the factory SUV racks. It is partly a fad that will probably burn out or evolve into more interest in real boats like big canoes and kayaks with cockpits over 15 feet. Paddle boards seem like the dumbest fad yet. Anyone been wind surfing lately? Maybe we can get a Starbucks on the way home.

[Newanderthal]

I have a girlfriend and a dog... so I have a canoe.

If you're going solo, get a kayak.