Kayakes for beginners?

I couldn't suggest a place to buy a kayak, as I don't live in sunny California (although I'd love to be there right now as there's an impending blizzard forecasted here). However, I would suggest before buying a kayak that you rent one and take it out for a paddle to see how you like it. The reason I suggest it is that a new kayak is a pretty big expense, I imagine that a used one would still cost a pretty penny.

All in all though, I imagine you'll love it. It was love at first paddle for me. But my first try was also with rental kayak.

Hi,

The best plan is to find some local smaller shops and talk to them about what your goals are. The kayak you finally end up with should relate to your goals, size, fitness and other factors. Shops should have instructors who are either ACA or BCU (never mind what that stands for at the moment) certified. Not that certification is everything, but it gives you a better gauge at trusting what they tell you.

Taking a class or guided trip is sometimes the best way to get a feel for the sport and figuring out if it's something you want to invest in.

Larisa,

REI hosts introduction to kayaking classes that feature different kinds of kayaks and they're good at assessing what your needs might be and what uses you'll put the kayak to --the other really great class we took was with Outdoor Adventures and they had us try so many different kayaks and assessed what fit us best. I found my perfect kayak from that class.

Nora