Folding Kayak

wincrasher · 01-19-2015, 12:40 AM

Does anyone have any experience with this product, or seen one in the wild?

I like the idea, and the light weight. Longer, lighter and narrower than my AE inflatable. And more compact to carry in the van.

Kinda pricey, but what isn't that's any good these days.

Look at the assembly video on their site. Looks fairly easy.

[vimeo:zg3320nu]112744301[/vimeo:zg3320nu]

Davydd · 01-19-2015, 02:32 AM

Super cool! What is the price? Weight? Size when packed? Length? For the record here.

My only question would be how durable the folds would be knowing that folding tends to eventually fail with most materials.

wincrasher · 01-19-2015, 03:35 AM

I went ahead and ordered one. I watched about a dozen youtubes on it. No negative reviews found.

There is a video of a guy beating on one with a hammer, so they are fairly indestructible. They rate the folds at 20,000 cycles. The material is corrogated plastic - it's what they make big commercial signs out of, so it's UV stable and printable FWIW.

They have 2 models (both 12' boats) - the cheaper one is 26 lbs, the more expensive one is 28 lbs. By comparison, the AE inflatalble is 36 lbs plus your paddle and the rigid floor accessory - so I think it ends up 40 lbs. I have 2 FRP hard shells - the 12 footer is 56lbs and the 10 footer is 35 lbs, for comparison.

The folded dimensions are 32" x 28" x13". The AE bag is a bit shorter, but it's much fatter. I think the Oru can lay flat in the back of my van under the bed. But I could also probably hang it from some 3M hooks, so I'll be thinking about that.

They have 2 prices - the original model is $1195, and the new model is $1495. I ordered the newer model because the seat is better, and it has stainless clasps and some other features. Pricey, yes.

Davydd · 01-19-2015, 03:30 PM

Assuming 20,000 folds is unfold and fold back up equals 10,000 uses then you would have 27 years of useful life if you kayaked every single day and stored every day for perspective of what that number means. even if they were optimistic about the folds I doubt it would ever be a problem. You don't get many opportunities to kayak in a season especially in places like the Arizona desert. In northern Minnesota you could every day if you didn't get tired of it but then you only have about a 5 month season.

wincrasher · 01-21-2015, 02:25 AM

Well, I got a message that UPS will bring it on Monday, Jan 26. I'll report back then on my impressions.

Davydd · 01-21-2015, 03:21 AM

I'm surprised they didn't name it Origami Kayak. Does Oru mean Origami?

wincrasher · 02-01-2015, 02:06 AM

My Oru Kayak came in!

It takes up a good amount of space in the back on my SUV.

But doesn't seem so big in the back of my van:

Laid down may work better, as you could fold the bed down:

32.5"x28"x11"

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All the hardware appears heavy duty and a good quality. The clasps are stainless:

It unfolds easily, but it's plenty stiff. It will take a few foldings, and unfolding, to loosen it up. I'm leaving it assembled overnight to see if it loosens up a bit.

Took me about 20 mins to put it together the first time since it was so stiff. There was some grunting involved. The instructions are step by step and quite clear. The video was really helpful. No surprises.

Dry storage bag:

Foot rest:

The deep vee of the hull should provide a lot more performance and better tracking than my inflatable. 12' long x 25" wide.

Overall, I'm quite impressed with it. It's extremely rigid - almost indistinguishable from a hard-sided yak. Love the lightness - only 26 lbs. Easy to carry and you can hold it from the combing without any stretching or it coming apart.

markopolo · 02-01-2015, 01:20 PM

Looks great

Your photos really show that the Travato 59G has the most space for carry large dimension items. I'm not just talking about camping. The 59G would be super useful as a primary or secondary vehicle for a household.

wincrasher · 02-01-2015, 01:33 PM

Well, consider that my van has the 2014 bed arrangement. Because of the people griping about the bed and lack of drawers, the 2015 changes made narrow that storage space by about 6". Not sure a new 59G could accommodate this boat laying flat either.

Davydd · 02-01-2015, 04:44 PM

It is a nice looking kayak but I am afraid we will have to stick with our Advanced Element kayaks because we have to carry two of them. One would fit in our under bed space but not two as we only have about 15" of clearance.

wincrasher · 02-01-2015, 05:29 PM

Laying flat, it can squish a bit, but not two in 15".

I think my zero gravity chair plus this boat laying flat, I can still lower the bed.

eurovanman · 02-20-2015, 05:17 AM

I have the first generation Oru. It was a bit cheaper when I bought, under $1,000, but the newer version looks very nice. I love this thing. Setup in 5-10 minutes. Fits in the back of my Eurovan. I have had it for a couple of years. The photo below is free camping on Walker Lake in Nevada. I have spent almost ten days there in the past few years, during the winter, and always had the whole lake and campground to myself. The main attraction for me was the extremely quick setup and takedown time compared to every other folding kayak on the market. They will also be coming out with a tandem touring kayak in the future.
Another note is they were on Shark Tank the tv show about a year ago. http://www.metropolismag.com/Point-of-V ... ami-Kayak/

wincrasher · 04-22-2015, 09:01 PM

Just an update on the Oru+.

I finally caught a sunny warm day and took her out to the lake. It's still plenty stiff, so it took me a few minutes to put it together. But I got it without alot of stressing or straining. This boat is a replacement they sent me - the first one had a split on one of the seams upon delivery. After a couple emails back in forth, they sent me a new one - I put the old one back in that same box and sent it back. They paid UPS both ways.

Well, it's certainly lighter, more rigid and thus faster and easier to paddle than my inflatable (AE). The downsides is that being more narrow, it's more tippy than the inflatable. You get used to it after a while. Also, it could use a skeg, as any boat 12' long could use one. If the wind is to your back, I find it easily wanders either left or right. With the wind in your face, it's easy to track true.

It was fairly windy today. I found being so light, I could use my body and paddle as sails more or less.

So my final verdict is that I like it. It's really light and will fit inside the van.

eurovanman · 05-04-2015, 04:35 AM

I like my Oru. It was really frustrating to put together the first few times, but now I just take it slow and it takes me about 10 minutes. I just had to learn the technique. I spent two of the last three weekends up at mountain lakes paddling around with my dog. https://www.flickr.com/photos/50895723@ ... 935296600/

Wincrasher, How does the Oru fit in your Travato? Will it sit upright with the bed down? or Will it sit flat width wise it the back aisle?

wincrasher · 05-04-2015, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eurovanman

I like my Oru. It was really frustrating to put together the first few times, but now I just take it slow and it takes me about 10 minutes. I just had to learn the technique. I spent two of the last three weekends up at mountain lakes paddling around with my dog. https://www.flickr.com/photos/50895723@ ... 935296600/

Wincrasher, How does the Oru fit in your Travato? Will it sit upright with the bed down? or Will it sit flat width wise it the back aisle?

No, it will not sit upright with the bed down. I lay it flat on the floor.

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