Pakayak 142 Overview/Background If you frequent my site you probably know that my fiancé and I used to have two Oru Bay ST folding Kayaks , and eventually returned them. They were a lot of fun but for our kayak camping trips in remote locations we were looking for something a bit more robust. Probably less than a week after we returned the Oru Kayaks we both purchased the Pakayak 142 thinking it would hold up better over the long run. Unfortunately due to COVID-19 it took about 9 months to receive the Pakayak..... This was a really long wait and about a week into it we were honestly really missing our Oru Kayaks . Eventually my Pakayak showed up and about a week or two later my Fiancé's did as well. So why is a Pakayak so cool? It's a 14 foot Kayak that comes apart into 6 pieces which nest inside each other when stored (Video of this further down the article). This allows the Pakayak to easily be stored in an apartment and you can easily transport multiple Pakayaks without any expensive roof rack on your car. Since I drive a Jeep Wrangler with a soft top, I don't want to have a roof rack on the top 🙂 As for the official dimensions and stats, here is a picture of the tag from my Habanero colored Pakayak: Pakayak 142 Unboxing When my Pakayak finally did arrive, my first thought was, "This is a huge box!" but then the more I thought about it, I was asking myself, "How in the world does a 14 foot kayak fit in this thing?" The kayak was in the box nice and tight and it was a little bit of a struggle to get it out of the shipping box by myself. The first thing I noticed once I got the Pakayak out of its shipping box was how that is a lot bigger and heavier than my Oru Kayak was but that was expected. The second thing I noticed was the awesome case that it came in! The case seems to be very high quality. I have thrown two Pakayaks into my 4 door Jeep Wrangler and the case itself has seemed to be taking the beating just fine so far. It looks like it should last a while, but I will be doing a full review of the Pakayak at a later time. After flipping the case over though I did scratch my head looking at the tiny wheels: They just seem not proportional to the size of the case or the weight of the kayak. When you unzip the Pakayak case for the very first time you finally get to see the ingenious engineering of this 14 foot kayak. Even the comfy foam seat fits perfectly into the carrying case! One nice touch is that directions for packing are also on the top of the last piece that goes into the case, so if you forget while packing up it's easy to see how the Pakayak is assembled and packed back up while on the go. Pakayak First Assembly After unboxing, I was super excited to get the Pakayak out of our apartment, and try assembling it for the first time! I had watched the official instruction video once our twice, but prior to this I never attempted to put it together. I figured I would try to see if I could assembly without reading any directions: It took me about 6.5 minutes to assemble it on the first go. I got a little caught up with connecting the two large sections which is the final step. The Pakayak Video suggests to put the seat underneath to help level it off. I tried that and as you can see in the short video above, I struggled a little bit. What helped me was to do the side clips before the bottom clips. When disassembling the Pakayak for the first time I felt like it was super easy but ended up getting caught on one step as a result of not reading the directions... There are foot pedals in the Pakayak for balance/control while paddling. When you dissemble the Pakayak you have to reset the feet to zero before packing up or the kayak pieces don't nest right. Once I figured that out it was super easy to put back in the carrying case. Now that I have done this process three times, I can have the kayak set up and torn down in 2-3 minutes. The Pakayak is super simple to put together! Pakayak Review: Test Paddle The first paddle we did was a really short paddle, only one of our Pakayak’s had arrived at this time so we took turns trying mine out in Mission Bay San Diego. It's the short paddle you saw in the YouTube video above. I have also done a longer 6 mile paddle in Mission bay once our second Pakayak came in the mail along with a third trip to San Diego Bay. When compared to the Oru Bay ST , the first thing I noticed in the water with my Pakayak 142 was how straight the boat tracks. Maybe this isn't a fair comparison since the Oru Bay ST is a full 2 feet shorter but the weight of the Pakayak 142 also seemed to provide a much smoother ride overall. I didn't feel like I was being bounced around with every small wave or pushed as much by the wind. I don't want to go too in depth in this article since I have only used the Pakayak 142 three times at this point. I plan to write a much more in depth review after a few more trips and at least one kayak camping trip in the near future. If you are interested in the Pakayak 142 , feel free to ask me any questions and I will get back to you right away! If you found this review helpful please consider clicking on my Pakayak affiliate link here to purchase your Pakayak. At no additional cost to you, my blog will receive a small referral bonus that will be invested back into this blog. Pakayak Ocean Handling Update Since this initial review we took the Pakayak on its initial Ocean test and it handled perfectly! Read the trip report and watch the video here . 🗺️ More Kayaking Adventures Kayak Camping to Labyrinth Canyon on Lake Powell : 32 Mile Kayak Camping Trip on Lake Powell Gibraltar Beach Catalina Island Camping : Kayak Camping along Catalina Island off the coast of Los Angeles California Coronado Island Tidelands Park : Day kayaking off Coronado Island with great views of San Diego Skyline Antelope Canyon Lake Powell : A day Kayak trip in Lake Powell through the beautiful Antelope Canyon. Beach your kayaanddn take an amazing hike Kayak Camp Black Canyon to Arizona Hot Springs : Drop off into the Colorado River at the base of the magnificent Hoover Dam and paddle through the deep canyon to Arizona Hot Springs. Find more detailed guides to adventures on the Ten Digit Grid Adventure Map !

Pakayak 142 Review: First Look

MikeJones

@MightyGirl edited a video of us testing the Pakayaks off Coronado Island in San Diego. This video shows some great footage of how the Pakayaks perform in the water.

mkcast

I am new to kayaking and searching for a stable first kayak to paddle around lakes and calm rivers. Would you say Pakayak is too much and unstable for an inexperience paddler? My biggest concern is self rescue. I don't know how I don't think I can if kayak flips over. I am comparing Pakayak with Point 65.

MikeJones

mkcast First off, welcome to Ten Digit Grid!

mkcast I am comparing Pakayak with Point 65.

I am not super familiar with a Point 65, but a quick Google search and it looks like a sit on top kayak. The sit on top kayak is going to be much more stable than any sit in kayak like the Pakayak.

mkcast My biggest concern is self rescue.

What concerns do you have? Not being able to get back in? With the Pakayak I Really like the cowboy method which is where you grab the kayak from the back and straddle the thinnest part and slowly pull yourself up. Works really well for me.

With picking a kayak out it really depends on what kind of adventures you would want to do. Kayaks are expensive and I believe the Pakayak is a great all around kayak that is easy to transport and store for those with small apartments and small cars. I have taken the Pakayak in calm reservoirs, and the ocean and it has performed great.

No matter what kayak you do get, if you pick one up I highly recommend lessons. Here in San Diego where I live there is a great group that does free kayak skills training on the weekends and it fantastic training!

DJF

I am interested in getting a Pakayak. I am not an experienced kayaker but have more canoe experience. I am in northern Florida will not be using it in the ocean but on the rivers. I am retired but ran marathons, bike 25 miles twice a week, play tennis 3 times a week and golf a couple of times. I have a SUP. Consider myself reasonably fit and athletic. I am female and petite 5' 4" and a small frame. I have read some reviews where they say it is a kayak for an experienced kayaker and it is a little tippy. I would be on the rivers in Florida which might have gators which I have not seen but I am sure they are around. Means if at all possible I do not want to have a kayak that is not stable and I would land up in the river regularly. Any insight would be really helpful. Thanks

MikeJones

First off welcome to Ten Digit Grid!

DJF I have read some reviews where they say it is a kayak for an experienced kayaker and it is a little tippy.

As for the tippiness I dont think its very tippy, I never rolled out accidently. Tippiness is tricky though and all relative in my opinion based on all of our different experiences on the water. Before we purchased our Pakayaks, I have kayaked on sit on top kayaks, and inflatable kayaks before buying an Oru Kayak that I ended up returning and then getting a Pakayak.

I mention all that because it looks like you have at least canoed and have a SUP so you are no beginner to being on the water and probably have a good baseline of balance on the water. I would think people who think the Pakayak os more tipy have probably only used sit on top kayaks or dont have much experience on the water.

Hope this helps even though it wasn't probably as clear cut of an answers as you were looking for 😉

If you have any other questions feel free to ask!

Redrockspooh

Nice review. Are you still liking the Pakayak? Any issues? Initially I was leaning towards the Oru but your review has me now considering the Pakayak. I've never owned a kayak (storage issues) but I've rented quite a few times. I imagine most of my kayaking will take place in the reservoir near me (calm flat water), but I'm not far from the Cheasapeake Bay (I live in the DC/Baltimore area) and the beach is only a few hours away. Seems like the Pakayak would be the better choice?

MikeJones

Redrockspooh Are you still liking the Pakayak? Any issues?

We do still love our Pakayaks. I actually just came in from cleaning them because we were out on our local reservoir this weekend. Took some fun gopro footage as well ;-)

I actually am prepping to write a new article soon with our one year review, but here are some quick notes. The kayaks have been performing great. You can see on our YouTube Channel we have taken them on a handful of multi-day kayak camping trips and lots of day trips. My only real complaint right now is that the wheels on the bag have rusted and no longer work. And I have a small whole in the bag as well.

Redrockspooh I imagine most of my kayaking will take place in the reservoir near me (calm flat water), but I'm not far from the Cheasapeake Bay (I live in the DC/Baltimore area) and the beach is only a few hours away. Seems like the Pakayak would be the better choice?

Honestly the main things to consider with the Pakayak vs Oru arguments are:

Weight
Hull durability

The lightweight of the Oru Kayak is really nice. Much easier to handle by myself, especially now that my wheels have rusted shut on the bag. Luckily my wife usually goes kayaking with me so it's no problem, but we also built our own wheels to attach to the bag as well.

My main worry with the Oru kayak was repetitive landings on rock or hard beaches. I got some decent scratches in my Pakayak and am so thankful that it's a hard durable plastic for those remote beach landings.

But if you want something lightweight and easy to carry by yourself, then the Oru may be the better option. Let me know if you have any other questions. Either way I think you will enjoy either one!

p.s I love the Chesapeake bay area! Spent my college days on that water!

djland69

I’m trying to decide between the pakayak and the oru bay st. I love the lightness that the oru . My biggest fear of putting a hole through it. My best friends lake house is not sandy at edge but has a lot of rocks . I would consider myself still a beginner and have taken several kayaks out in bays and lakes. Would the pakayak be too much for me to start with. Of course I would take kayak lessons

MikeJones

djland69 Would the pakayak be too much for me to start with

The Pakayak is a great starter Kayak, no issue there. The big decision for you between the Bay ST and Pakayak is weight.

Bbsteel

Pakayak...

Can you tell me how tall you guys are.

The front of the cockpit looks really high...

Are you happy with the fit ??

MikeJones

Bbsteel I am about 5 foot 7 inches. The fit is great!