Kokatat Paddlesports has just posted a new video hosted by professional sea kayak instructor, Paul Kuthe.

Packing a Sea Kayak walks you through the fine points with tips and tricks to get more stuff jammed in there.

The Tiderace Xcite sea kayak is one good looking boat. Speaking of Tiderace friend of the site and fellow nerd, Keith Wikle over at gokayaknow.com just announced that he has joining team Tiderace. Good work son! Good work.

Kokatat Watersports is proud to support expedition paddler, Mark Kalch, on his journey to make human powered descents of the longest river on every continent. With the goal of paddling each river from source to sea, the “7 Rivers, 7 Continents” project will be a global first in paddlesports history.

The “7 Rivers, 7 Continents” idea grew from Kalch’s successful 6937 km source-to-sea descent of the Amazon River, in 2008. The adventure continues this May, when Kalch launches on the Mississippi-Missouri River (6275 km), the longest river system in North America. The expedition is planned to take six months. The five remaining rivers are: the Nile (Africa, 6650 km), the Yangtze (Asia, 6300 km), the Volga (Europe, 3645 km), the Murray-Darling (Australia, 3370 km), and the Onyx (Antarctica, 40 km).

“Paddling these immense waterways from source to sea is a physical and mental challenge like no other,” said Kalch. “The great rivers of the world have shaped the very existence of humans and the ecosystems in which they live. Beyond testing the limits of human performance, the project will provide a unique insight into this life they have built and sustain.”

Kokatat, the 40 year-old independent paddle wear and accessories company, is proud to support Scotland’s Bruce Jolliffe on his solo expedition to sea kayak the west coast of Scotland to the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The trip was designed by Jolliffe’s inspiration to paddle, in memory of his friend who passed away from a rare bone cancer, from his hometown in Largs, to his late friend’s home in Stornoway. The expedition is expected to take 3 weeks and is set to depart March 7.

Kokatat, the 40 year-old independent paddle wear and accessories company, is proud to support the expedition efforts of Kokatat Ambassadors Simon Osborne and Jeff Allen, owners of Sea Kayaking Cornwall, an adventure kayak guiding company. Osborne will lead the “Kayaking Korea” expedition, departing Feb. 15, while Allen will lead the “Round Ireland” circumnavigation, departing April 22.

Osborne and expedition partner Marin Medak will attempt to become the first people to successfully paddle the coast of South Korea. The expedition is expected to take 4-6 weeks and cover over 1200 kilometers. Regional political instability could present challenges to the duo, not to mention average winter temperatures below zero.

“With the cold wintery climate and completely new culture this is set to be one of the greatest challenges to date,” said Osborne.

On April 22, Team Expedition Paddler, comprised of Allen, Chris Millington and Harry Whelan will commence their record attempt to circumnavigate Ireland by sea kayak. In 1990, Mick O’Meara and team set the current record time of 33 days; Allen and team are aiming to complete their expedition in 28 days.

In today’s marketplace, it is rare to see a domestic manufacturing company celebrating 40 years as an independent, environmentally minded business. Kokatat is proud to be operating in the same town, where it all began. Under the stewardship of founder Steve O’Meara, Kokatat Watersports has been manufacturing industry-leading watersports apparel and gear in Arcata, Calif. since its inception in 1971.

O’Meara guides the company with an extraordinary vision and mission to create innovative paddlewear and accessories for paddling enthusiasts, from recreational paddlers to extreme kayakers. Over the decades, he has preserved Kokatat as a fun, independent company with a forward-thinking, eco-conscious perspective that inevitably has retained a contented workforce of longstanding employees.

In 2009, Kokatat earned an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2008 certificate, validating their commitment to providing top-quality products and customer satisfaction under the guidance of a superior management system.

Manufacturing water sports apparel and gear in Arcata, Calif. for 40 years, Kokatat has always set a benchmark for green business practices in the northern California region. Kokatat continues to raise the standards with their investment in a 26-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system. The project is expected to provide approximately 35,000kW hours of electricity per year, equal to 16 percent of the company’s total electric demand.

The rack system was designed, manufactured and installed by local companies and contractors. The solar installation is one of the largest in Humboldt County.

“To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest solar photovoltaic system installed by a private business in the county,” said Kit Mann, project manager for Kokatat. “There are two schools and a health clinic with larger systems.”

Mann explained that the amount of electricity generated by the system will be enough to run the more than 40 sewing machines on Kokatat’s production floor. “We can honestly say that our sewing machines run on the sun,” said Mann.

We all know that paddling/camping and shopping for gear go hand in hand and anybody who has visited their local camping store can testify that it can be intimidating at times. Never before have there been so many options and items to purchase. For example, my local camping store has 24 different types of headlamps for sale and that doesn’t include the 22 hand-held flashlights also available!

To help you out, I have made a list of my top 8 pieces of paddling camping gear for 2010. This list represents to me the best gear of it’s type for design, usefulness and durably in the field. It’s all gear that if I had to replace tomorrow I would most likely replace with the exact same thing.

Kayaking around the tip of the world, Tierra del Fuego, has never been successfully completed. Kokatat team member and skilled paddler, Justine Curgeven and her partner Barry Shaw, hope to be the first successful pair to accomplish this rugged 1,000-mile kayak expedition. Kokatat is thrilled to support Curgenven on this expedition, which has previously been attempted by a Kokatat supported team, but was aborted due to uncooperative weather.

The expedition couple will bring in the new 2011 calendar year by departing for the expedition on Jan. 1. They have allocated 70 days to complete the trip. La Isla Grande, the big island of Tierra del Fuego lies less than 100 miles north of Cape Horn; the eastern part of the island belongs to Argentina, while the western part is claimed by Chile. It is a notorious region for high winds and bad weather.

An international community of paddlers are gathering in Seattle, Wash. this week to celebrate the first annual Greenland Week, hosted by the Kayak Academy. Kokatat, the 39 year-old independent paddlewear company, is honored to support this event that is inspired by the cultural heritage of kayaking.
 
In 1985, the country of Greenland launched the Greenland National Qajaq Championships. The event was designed to spur a growing interest and knowledge of the kayaking culture to the younger generations of the native Inuit. Over the decades, the event has matured into the world’s premier traditional kayaking competition. To carry-on the event’s enthusiasm, Kayak Academy is proud to offer a U.S. located competition.

ARCATA, Calif. – Kokatat, the 39 year-old independent paddle wear and accessories company announces their support of the Channel Islands Sea Kayaking Expedition. The expedition is the first attempt by paddlers to visit all eight of the Channel Islands by kayak. The three- member team will depart on Monday, Sept. 6.

Kokatat will be providing the California based team members with Kokatat’s top sea kayaking gear, including the GORE-TEX® TecTour Anorak, GORE-TEX® Storm Cag, Guide PFD, and OutFIT Tour PFD. Experienced sea kayakers, Bryant Burkhard, Pedro Frigola, and Sean Morely, comprise the expedition team.