Little Wing 15.5

This is truly an instinctive boat. I mean, simply, that it translates desire into motion with almost no interference. The boat never gets in the way of your intentions, whether that means lifting it onto a kayak rack, tracking through confused waves, moving out at speed, or turning almost intuitively without a rudder. Perhaps these things make less difference for advanced paddlers. I'm an intermediate at best--I've had my Little Wing 15.5 since 2009, paddling on the Hudson River, Long Island Sound and the coast of Nova Scotia--and for me these things make a very big difference.

What I love about the Little Wing is how easily it translates muscular effort into motion. I love too the inherent safety of the boat--though safety is of course a matter of personal responsibility and skill. It just feels more buoyant than other kayaks I've paddled, even though it has a lean profile on the water. Nimble is the word that comes to mind. Many kayaks are beautiful--and there are some astonishingly ugly ones too. Should it make a difference to the paddler? I know it does to me. But it isn't just a matter of owning a lovely object. It's a matter of owning a lovely design, a highly streamlined, aquatic form. This explains, too, why I usually use a Greenland paddle while I'm out in my Little Wing. Beauty is efficiency too. I like the way the traditional and the contemporary merge when I'm paddling.

What speaks to me most is this: I leave my kayak on the beach in Nova Scotia, and my wife thinks nothing of putting on her PFD, grabbing a paddle, and lifting the boat into the water. She never really thinks about the weight or about the effort of paddling. She just goes. We thought this summer about buying a second kayak by a different manufacturer--something a little less expensive, something that might take a little more abuse. But in the end, we ordered her a Little Wing too. We thought about getting the 12 or the 14, but because the weight differences are so insignificant, we decided on another 15.5. Having paddled a Little Wing, we just couldn't justify getting any other kind.

Before I bought my Little Wing, I drove to the Warren Light Craft shop and went out for a paddle with Zac Warren and his dad. They talked me through the building of the boat and its design, and then they met me at a local beach with two different models to try out. It was a great way to begin life with this kayak.