Playak News Watch: Paddling Instructor Blog: Whitewater Kayaking is Dying. Could Sea Kayaking be Next?

The latest issue of Outside Magazine has an eye opening analysis of the rise and subsequent collapse of whitewater kayaking . Below is a quick snippet: Whitewater kayaking is in serious decline, with American paddlers spending some 50 percent fewer days on the water than at the beginning of t...

Is WW kayaking really dying? Will Sea kayaking die next? Questions, questions....

Wondering what Playak readers think!

These are expensive (yet exciting) hobbies. I know of some people who had stopped paddling when they started their families then picked it up again when they became empty nesters. With the state of the economy, people are likely pinching pennies everywhere. It is hard to justify buying thousands of dollars worth of gear for something you may not like after a year. And lessons are not cheap either for those who don't have friends to show them.

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I don't think it's dying. Seems to be getting more popular here in South Africa, although I believe there used to be more people years back doing it but now after a slump it's picking up.

Kayaking is not that expensive, in my opinion. Buy yourself a paraglider, hanglider, motorcross bike or jet ski and then let's talk expensive.... Even a full rack of traditional climbing gear can seriously dent the pocket. At least the operating costs of kayaking aren't too great. No expensive fuel or two stroke oil and services

What a great sport! I just love it!!!

I see tons of kayaks on cars thease days.
I think lots of new padelers are in recreational mode, still learning.
Thay will be stepping up to white water in a few years.

People, you are all part of a community that is strong-living and active--that sets you apart from the rest of the world in a pretty unique and special way. I see, work with, and am involved with a lot of people in the course of my day job. MOST people don't do ANYTHING at all other than work and eat and vent about the day and go to bed and get up and then do it all over again. (I try to talk to them about it but few listen--not my clients who are disabled and can't do anything about it but their families and my colleagues). As the economy continues to be bad and the world remains troubled, an awful lot of people are just not doing anything to cope with the stress I think but watching the news. I don't want to live that way and none of you do either. So probably it's true--kayak sales of all kind are declining (we know that)--but that has nothing to do with your lifestyle, that of a kayaker (of whatever stripe).

I am training for a 22 mile race, and so yesterday I was thinking about just this very thing--what a cool thing kayaking is. I love water sports. In addition to kayaking I surf and SUP/stand up paddle and swim. But I am a paddler who surfs and a paddler who SUP's and a paddler who swims. I just feel so good with a paddle in my hand. I owe kayaking big for how much it's done for me--how alive it makes me feel. (That's why I aim to skunk every other type of paddle craft that hits the water with me that fateful this October!)

I suppose the only downside to being part of a declining sport (if that is so) is that it in the end leads to fewer choices in kayak designs (and more difficulty getting them). But today I will grab my slalom kayak and paddle and hit the lagoon (sprint training in a slalom boat is good stuff as a work out in prep for any paddling race) and I shall ponder all of this (I'll post back if I have a vision or smoking Buddha or something with advise on how we can all navigate these troublesome waters, OK?!).

I sometimes do a fair few miles in my van for work, and i agree with nitrodude ive seen so many cars just this last week with boats on the roof, granted there not all playboats or creekers. but most would be suitable for WW.

Like adrian said its not that expensive once your into it. Yes there is the economy crisis and it hits some people harder than others, but unless your new to the sport, replacing a bit of broken or well used gear shouldnt cost that much. I just bought a set of atx paddles from ebay for £100 and i was looking at other stuff aswell like cags, lids etc. And there is so much to choose from and not all of it used and battered. Also there is so many companies in the UK doing starter deals or throwing in half price gear when you buy a new boat etc etc

My old man just bought a boat and gear for my brother from a magazine add it, cost £350 for boat, deck , paddle and vest plus some tit bits. One persons loss is anothers gain.
Also look at the cost of other types of kayaking, buying a playboat is cheaer than a sea kayak and a slalom boat at around £1000 a go.

I think people might be a little less inclined to spend there hard earned cash on something they use a few weeks of the year but for the boys and girls who are really into WW, and are out there every weekend and a couple of times a week, spending a few extra quid on something that will make your day more enjoyable and maybe safer will still be the done thing. I certainly will anyway.

matt

i gotta say kayaking is amazing! i havnt paddled properly in a while just because i work 10 hour days 6 days a week and its sorta getting me down. granted i am an outdoor instructor but nothing really compares to proper kayaking with your buddies. even kayaking with clients (unless you got giant surf and only like 4 people with you) but then im hopfullly getting new people interested in it. one thing i have noticed tho is people arnt sticking at it. they have 1 go and think oh that was good and go back to their normal life. i think kayaking is for everyone so i cant really see why it would be a dying sport. IT FREEKIN AMAZING!

The Outside magazine article does have some interesting and valid points, especially about buying used boats, which every kayak veteran I've spoken with advocates -- one guy simply told me, "don't buy anything new." (My whitewater boat is used.)

I used to do shooting sports. BIG investment in gear -- thousands of dollars -- but the main thing was that it cost me like $80-$100 every time I wanted to go out and get serious about practicing. Same thing with golf, from what I've heard (I'm not a golfer).

I will still pay for kayak instruction, but the fact is that a lot of people buy some kind of boat and then just get it into the water -- they pay for gas and not much else. I see cyclists spending more on their day hobby, just tweaking their bikes and buying expensive stuff. Once you get a kayak you can bash into rocks, you're pretty much set. You look and see how faded and torn up the other guy's PFD is. . . . .

The whitewater market has got to be small. A lot of people I see are just fat, lazy, not particularly interested in a recreational sport that requires discipline, strength, time investment and conquering fear, etc. And then you add the fact that people who ARE interested can buy what they need and count on it lasting for years -- with few additional, ongoing expenses -- and you've got a market problem.

Simple answer is yes it is in decline but has experianced massive growth in the last 5 years. No longer when i say I kayak do people say whats that??? There is much more awareness and more people doing it that ever, maybe its just reached critical mass for the time being and we just need to wait for the next wave.

As for sea kayaking, well this is a world of its own, kayaking IN the sea must be seeing exponential growth with the recreational sit on top market but real sea kayaking in dynamic economic times and over a thousand for a yak might well be in decline.

White Water, well in the UK the rivers just get busier every year.

Don't know if WW is dying. Never believed much in what I read in an "outdoor" type magazine and its always speculation. From what I see here in the Pacific Northwest are more cars with WW boats on them being driven by people I don't know yet. At our local clubs Wed. night paddles where in the past years we have had 5 to 10 boaters this years we have been having 20+ with the majority newbies and the faces always changing.

Every paddler I talk to is charged and full of passion.

Time will tell but in the long run does it really matter. Must of us don't boat for a living, we live to boat. WW companies may come and go with the demand but the ones that make a good product at a fair price will do alright.

completely agree!