Reviews of gear that I have actually used in real situations.
Jetty Island Accessories
Here are some odds and ends that I’ve found helpful for days out at Jetty Island.
Inflatable Kayaks
To get to Jetty when the ferry isn’t running, you’re going to need some sort of boat. Here are some kayaks that I’ve used to cross the channel.
Intex Explorer K2 – “The Jetty Island Classic”
If you are looking for an inexpensive ride to Jetty Island, the Intex Explorer K2 is about the least expensive option that you can find. Maybe you don’t have much to spare after dropping a couple grand on kiteboarding gear and lessons or maybe you want to check out Jetty without committing to a secondary hobby of kayaking? Whatever your reasons are, if you want to go cheap it’s hard to beat the Intex Explorer K2.
While this is listed as a two person kayak, depending on your size, amount of gear and tetris skills, you may not be able to comfortably fit more than one person in the boat. I’m about six feet tall and over 200lbs and find that I can take my gear bag and about two boards but definitely don’t have space for another person.
The seats are held in with straps and velcro so you can easily just use one. Some folks don’t use any seats but I personally find it difficult to paddle without a seat. The sides are wide and being up a few inches helps you get a good angle to the water.
While you can find YouTube videos of folks white river rafting with this boat, I wouldn’t recommend it for anything more than crossing to Jetty and back. This boat is a step or two above a pool toy and costs about the same as one. The chambers on the floor of the first one I bought split causing it to bulge out. This made for a harrowing return trip. I returned it for a new one and that one worked just fine for a season and a half before it started to fall apart in minor ways. The seat straps broke and the plastic slot for the skeg cracked.
Speaking of the skeg, you should definitely use it! It helps stabilize your boat and keeps it pointed in the direction you want it to go. Without it you’ll put in a lot more effort paddling. In my zeal to not miss the wind, I’ve forgotten it a couple of times and paid for that mistake every time.
Another thing to remember is to not over inflate this boat. It really can’t handle it. The boat has a few areas with measurements on it. Bring a cloth tape measure with you and check that the 10cm rule on the boat is actually 10cm. If it’s bigger, then you’ve overinflated it. While I can’t say for sure, I suspect that this may be why my floor chambers came apart on my first boat.
The boat comes with a pump. It works fine but make sure you don’t over extend it. I broke my first one. Better yet, with a common inflatable adapter you should be able to use your kite pump.
Given how inexpensive this boat is, this tends to be the starter boat for a lot of folks at Jetty. It’s not uncommon to see four or five of these at a time at the kayak parking lot. Once you determine if Jetty is for you, you will want to upgrade to a better boat when this one starts to wear out.
Intex Excursion Pro
After my Intex Explorer started to succumb to wear and tear, I decided to upgrade to the Intex Excursion Pro Kayak, Professional Series Inflatable Fishing Kayak. This kayak is on par with some of the more serious kayaks you see on Jetty but comes in at around half the price. It’s made of much thicker material that can take more pressure and is thus more rigid.
It’s a little longer than the Explorer, a little narrower and it has a lower profile. That and it’s rigidity makes it cut through the water easier making it easier to maneuver and less effort to paddle.
The boat comes with a pressure gauge that you can hook up to the valve. It has a nice clear green, yellow, red indicator making for a quick check. If you did over-inflate, there is a button on the gauge to release some air.
The only thing I don’t like about this kayak is that the valves are Halkey-Roberts valves. These are common on SUPs but not on kites so if you want to use your kite pump, you will need to get an adapter. I use this one:
Overall, I’ve been super happy with Intex Excursion Pro. I’ve taken it through one season of very regular use and expect that it will last me for a many more.
Gear Bags
When I head to Jetty, I prefer to consolidate my gear into a single bag rather than juggle multiple kite bags, boards and loose gear. It makes it easier to put in my kayak, carry across the island and keep things together when the beach gets crowded.
Generally I look for large capacity for all the bulky gear, shoulder straps so I can carry the weight on my back and keep my hands free for my boards and some level of water resistance. Here are a few that I’ve used:
Leader Accessories Deluxe Water Resistant PVC Tarpaulin Duffel Bag Backpack 90L
After spending a lot of time looking for a bag that meets my needs during my first season at Jetty, I finally settled on this one. It’s big enough to fit my harness, bar, helmet, wetsuit, one kite and some odds and ends. With all of that, I didn’t have enough space for my impact vest so I would strap that to the outside of the bag. There are loops on the side that I added some velcro straps to to carry my pump. I really like that it is side loading making it quick to pack and easy to access the gear that you need.
While the bag is made of water tight PVC material, it’s not water proof. There is no roll top to it, just a zipper that water can seep through. This isn’t an issue though unless you submerge it. For keeping your gear dry from splashes while you’re paddling this works just fine.
The pack has shoulder straps so you can carry it like a backpack. The straps are sturdy and comfortable enough. I’m mostly happy with the overall construction of the bag as a thing to toss in my kayak and take a short hike across the island and to do that over and over again all summer long. There is an internal pouch which split on me from regular use which was a bummer but not the end of the world.
While I was happy with this bag, I ultimately decided to replace it mostly because I wanted something big enough to carry two kites and all my gear.
North49 Waterproof Canoe Pack 120L
When I was looking to upgrade my bag to carry more gear, I stumbled on the North49 Canoe Pack. At 120L, not only is it 30L bigger than my previous bag, it has all kinds of straps, loops, handles and other ways to carry gear.
The main bag is big enough for two kites, harness, bar, helmet, impact vest, and wetsuit. On occasion, I’ve crammed a third kite into it instead of the wetsuit. The bag has loops along both sides with pockets at the base. I strap my kitepump on one side and two water bottles on the other side. The lower water bottle tucks into the pocket at the bottom. The bag is top loading, which really makes sense for this bag, but that makes it harder to pack and find things on the beach.
Fortunately, the bag comes with an attached external bag which is really handy for keeping the small odds and ends that you want quick access to. I keep sunscreen, sunglasses, trail bars, a small first aid kit, an anemometer, a roll of Gorilla tape, a spare shirt and more in the external bag.
The pack has grab handles at the top and bottom which are super useful when you’re loading or unloading it into a car or kayak. It’s got decent shoulder straps and a hip belt making it nice and comfortable to carry gear across the island. There is even a head strap so you can use your forehead to help with the load. It took me a good long time to figure out what that weird strap was for!
The bag is fully waterproof with a roll top that clips to straps on the side and has additional cinch straps that go over the top to keep it extra secure.
I put this bag through heavy usage for one full season at Jetty (probably about 30 trips) and while I feel it’s reasonably sturdy for what I need it for, one shoulder strap is starting to show some wear at the seams probably because I often sling it over one arm. My water bottle is a little too snug in the side pocket so those seams are also starting to tear. Even with that wear and tear, I feel I can get a least one more season of heavy usage out of this bag.
The Unplug Ultimate Adventure Bag
Because too much is never enough, and because I really miss having a side loading bag, I recently made an impulse purchase of The Unplug Ultimate Adventure Bag. This beast is a whopping 155L so not only will it be able to fit all my gear, but you can bury me at sea in it!
I’ll be updating this review after I’ve put this bag through it’s paces this summer. But, I am pretty excited about it. It’s huge, has shoulder straps, grab handles at the ends, is side loading with a roll top to keep it waterproof and plenty of loops along the sides to strap kite pumps and other accessories on. Check back later for how this bag survived Summer 2020 at Jetty Island!
Kite Compression Bags
As part of packing for Jetty, I ditch the big bulky kite bags that most kites come in and instead use kite compression bags. These are generally handy for travel as well. I’ve used two different bags, the Dakine and this one from PKS. They are more or less the same and I wouldn’t really recommend one over the other. These bags have a nice wide mouth that makes it easy to get a folded up kite in, with a cinch string to close the bag, compression straps to squeeze out the air and make it compact and a shoulder strap to help you carry them.
I don’t like to keep my kites compressed because there’s often sand in them when they’re packed up and I’d prefer to not have that digging into my kites and rubbing around. So I will usually loosen the compression straps when I get home.