Olympic Outdoor Center is excited to announce our recent partnership with Current Designs Kayaks. Current Designs attention to detail, craftsmanship and care make them an industry leader and ideal partner moving forward.
Current Design's kayaks come in an immense variety of configurations for paddlers of all needs. Whether you are looking for a recreational kayak for the family or looking for a performance fiberglass sea kayak for expedition paddling, Current Designs has got you covered.
We feel the following plastic kayaks are best suited for the needs of our local customers here on the Puget Sound:
Current Designs Solara 120R: Sized to fit kids to full size adults, it is a great kayak to keep at the lake or take out for a weekday jaunt at the local put in. The durable rotomold polyethylene can take a beating in shallow rocky areas or beach landings. The open cockpit and Revolution Seating System standard on all Solaras provide serious comfort. If you're looking for the best length/weight/price value out there, the Solara 120 R is hard to beat.
Current Designs Kestrel 140R with Rudder: The Kestrel 140 R trades just a little bit of maneuvering ability for increased efficiency, better tracking, greater stability, and gear storage capacity. A generously sized cockpit and Current Designs Revolution Seating System offer all day comfort. The Kestrel 140 R also sports a bow hatch and bulkhead allowing for plenty of storage and increased safety.
Current Designs Solara 145T with Rudder: The Solara 145T is an incredibly versatile tandem kayak with the feel and glide of a touring boat combined with the stability and comfort of a recreational kayak. Featuring a unique sliding seat system the Solara allows paddling tandem or, optionally, sliding the bow seat back for improved solo paddling. This hybrid tandem/solo paddles with ease and you can rest assured it is fully outfitted for safety, including two bulkheads and storage hatches. The Solara 145T is a unique solution for those aspiring to paddle with others, solo or gear. Whether you're bringing your friend, man's best friend, a mountain of fishing tackle or a fully stocked cooler for a day of fun, the Solara 145T will make your day more enjoyable.
Current Designs Whistler with Rudder: The Current Designs Whistler now features increased foot room, making it a great option for paddlers wanting to move up from a recreational kayak or start out with a seaworthy transitional design. Stable and very user friendly, the upswept bow makes the Whistler highly maneuverable while keeping you dry when waves kick up. A great kayak for activity oriented paddlers like photographers or fishermen. The Whistler perfectly bridges the gap between recreational and sea kayaks. This boat is stable enough for beginners, but also rewards good paddling. With ample storage – in addition to efficient design – photographers, enthusiasts and fishermen alike will discover a boat they will look forward to launching every time.
For those kayakers who are in search of a more performance oriented solution in order to gain efficiency, capacity, tracking and or maneuverability we have selected the following fiberglass kayaks from CD. Current Designs offers 13 different colors in their fiberglass production and allow us to choose from any of those colors for the Deck, Cockpit Coaming, Hull and Seam. In short, there are thousands of different color combinations for a truly personal experience.
Current Designs Sisu: The Current Designs Sisu excels in rock gardens, tide races, wave faces and tours with ease. Slightly wider and shorter than its predecessor the Prana, the Sisu is more nimble and maneuverable as well. This exciting kayak is also extremely user friendly for aspiring paddlers to rapidly develop skills and elevate performance. The standard Sisu boats a roomy cockpit that accommodates a wide range of statures.The Sisu's unique chine configuration make it very stable on edge, allowing the paddler a tremendous amount of control and confidence in all types of conditions. The Sisu rips in current and on the face of waves due to a convex bow which works to keep the bow from getting buried.
Current Designs Equinox GTS: The Equinox GTS is the new, smaller, playful North American designed kayak for small to medium stature paddlers. Nimble, efficient and straight tracking are just some of the highlights you’ll experience. Smaller paddlers will appreciate this compact kayak on evening tours and long weekend excursions. The user-friendly key-hole cockpit and complete outfitting make the Equinox GTS ready for your next adventure. The Equinox GTS is a narrower kayak, at 22" wide, with a little less capacity than its big sister the Equinox GT.
Current Designs Solstice GT: The Solstice family of kayaks has long been the pride of the Current Designs Performance Touring Kayak fleet. The Solstice GT is the flag ship of the Current Designs touring kayak fleet and the most popular composite kayak ever made. This updated classic delivers a predictable feel while slicing through the water. Like all Solstice's, the GT has outstanding acceleration, glide, and tracking and can cover some serious distance in a hurry. The ample volume storage hatches have enough room for excursions on the biggest waters of the world.
In short, we have chosen Currently Designs not only for their extensive product catalog but also for their experience and expertise, especially when it comes to building and shipping composite sea kayaks.
Approximately 40 - 45 hours of labor goes into the creation of a composite sea kayak which takes place over the span of about 3 weeks. Current Design are the industry leaders in vacuum bag composite construction. This process ensures that the thickness of the material and resin remains uniform and creates a remarkably smooth and uniform finish. The end result is a product that is lightweight, strong and impeccably finished.
My overall impression of Current Designs kayaks can and should be broken into two categories: Plastic and Fiberglass.
Plastic Kayaks from Current Designs first impressions: The plastic boats from CD are well thought out and durable. The seat adjustment is simple yet effective without any metal components that may rust and degrade over time. The Solara comes equipped with flip lock hatch covers which are solid and easy to use while the rudder systems are robust and well designed with durability the emphasis. The overall package ends up being quite a lot of kayak for a really good price. Plastic kayaks, particularly the ruddered day touring boats the Kestrel 140 R and the Whistler with Rudder, offer a tremendous value.
Fiberglass Kayaks from Current Designs first imressions: The first thing that you notice when you see a composite kayak from CD is the attention to detail and pride of workmanship. The finish is excellent and everything about the kayaks construction has been tailored to best suit its design application. For example: The Sisu, a Danish designed kayak that is built to perform in dynamic environments like the surf has been outfitted with hard plastic hatch covers from KajakSport to lessen the chance of implosion. The Bulkheads are fiberglass to give the deck of the Sisu even more strength, spartan outfitting and rock solid foot braces scream performance. I won't go into hull design here but needless to say there are a lot of design features that allow the Sisu to dominate in the surf.
The North American Fiberglass Kayaks we carry from CD are the Equinox GTS and Solstice GT. These Kayaks are definitely designed and built with the multi day paddler in mind. The boats are proportioned in a way to maximize capacity while optimizing performance. The water line is quite long to create an efficient kayak that tracks well, hence the rudder. The cockpit is set up to provide a little more comfort with a higher more supportive seat back. The nice thing about this particular seat back is that it does not come high enough to interfere with the fit of your spray skirt. Rudders pedals are a gas pedal style that provide a solid platform for leverage and are easily actuated with a flex of the foot.
We are pleased and excited to be able to bring folks affordable, durable and safe plastic kayaks from CD along with customizable, performance fiberglass sea kayaks. All built here, in the good ole' USA.