I purchased an Eckla Compact Kayak Cart for $130 US. The carts are from Germany and are distributed thorough PRIJON / Wild Wasser. It has an all aluminum frame, two pneumatic all terrain wheels (without bearings) nylon webbing straps with quick release buckles, and a kickstand. The frame folds down small enough to fit into my 10 inch forward hatch and I stored the wheels in my rear oval hatch. Total weight 5.9 lbs.
My first time out I secured my boat to the cart, towed my kayak about 3 blocks on pavement, it performed nicely. I got to the sand and it was considerably harder to pull and felt quite tippy. I believe this is due to the narrowness of the cart (22.25” wide). I crossed the beach to the waters edge and had a nice paddle.
On the return trip I secured my boat to the cart again started across the beach only to have the cart slide to the rear of my boat and my boat hit the sand. I re-tightened the straps and the quick release buckle snapped in half. I tied a knot in the webbing and had an interesting time crossing the beach. I shouldered my boat the rest of the way across the pavement. I did not want to risk having my boat fall off the cart and hit the asphalt.
I returned the cart a few days later.
Since the price did not match the quality of this product I’d give it a zero. But because it did get me to the water I’ll give it a 5 out of 10.
