Adirondack Pack 13.6

I wanted a small craft that was easy for this 60 yr old man to lift and put on top of my Jeep by myself. But I didn't want to sacrifice comfort and performance. I found it. The seat is very comfortable and the foot pegs are easy to use. It tracks very nicely. You have to pay for lightweight top quality materials and this is no exception. The only thing I would change is that I wish Swift would put in more tumblehome on the 13.6. You can get it in their 12 and 14.8 footer but not the 13.6. But I'd still buy this one because it's the goldilocks model that is extremely versatile. It's not too short and it's not too long. Big enough to hold gear but not so big that you don't want to take it on short day trips. Fits in my garage perfectly.

I tried one of these out a few weeks ago on a small pond. It was about the easiest thing I have ever paddled. I had never used a double blade before or paddled a kayak-like boat but it took off like a rocket with a few strokes and tracked fairly well. Turning was a breeze, I don't know the terms for a double blade but either sweep to one side or drag and rudder and it would change direction easily.

The seat was extremely comfortable and the position was great. Easy to get in and out of as well. The placement of the thwarts was nice as well and gave the boat a nice, stiff feel at the gunnel. Overall a nice boat for a beginner or someone who wants the speed of a kayak but with the convenience of a canoe.

I test paddled this boat with the idea of using it as an open deck alternative to my kayak to use primarily as a lake paddler. My primary concern was weathervaning, and whether I could compensate for the effects with a double bladed paddle. So...I got in the boat the same way I get in my kayak (using the paddle as a brace), got seated and adjusted the foot pegs. The adjustment is pretty neat. It is engaged from the front side of the pegs by a mechanism that is very easy to reach from the seat. I paddled this boat with a 230cm kayak paddle, and with the first few strokes kept banging my hands on the gunwales, but after a few minutes, I had my stroke modified such that this was no longer a problem.

Two things that a canoe needs to do are: Go straight, and then turn on a dime. This boat seems to do both. While paddling along at a normal cadence, the boat goes pretty straight. You can watch the bow turn away from that paddle side with each stroke, but once the opposite paddle enters the water, the correction is pretty immediate. So, Yes the boat paddles in a straight line. So what about turning? A forward sweep on one side followed by a reverse sweep on the other, was enough to turn 180 degrees. Which, in my opinion means that it does what a boat needs to do!

It is a really fun little boat to paddle, and I do get the impression that it can cruise at a speed that is comparable to that of all my friends in their plastic kayaks. So overall, I have to say that this is definitely a nice little boat. Easy entry, easy exit, lots of room for your stuff, and paddles beautifully.