: .. how would you right a kayak with sponsons inflated?

The next wave... *L*

Been a while since I've seen posts about the sponson guy's rantings.

Sponsons make sense for people who are in craft they cannot handle - and out when/where they should not be. At that point they will be hard pressed to deploy them anyway. At best they add a (questionable) bit of safety for those already operating very unsafely. Great logic there.

It can be argued (as for anything) that they have some uses - but 99% of their value is in assuaging fears in people who should probably just stick to warm ponds or take up another sport. Playing on fears, and offering a way around those fears via some technological panacea, is the worst sort of marketing. Whether he beleives his own nonsense or not, Timmy's harping on about the irresponsibility in the industry is nothing more than a ruse to draw attention from the dark side of his own actions. Methinks he doth protest to much!

Disagree? Fine. Go buy and install a set, and go out into conditions that make you think you need to deploy them to remain safe, and then do so... Play with them in all sorts of different situations, do capsize/recovery practice sessions, etc., etc. Just be very careful not to get hung up in them while doing all this. If you end up regularly using them after a thorough trial period I'd be pretty amazed.

Most can visualize all this well enough to skip the cost/time if they take a minute to think some of the potential use scenarios through.

Only thing I can see using them for might be some sort of expedition/long crossing where they could offer the ability to turn a kayak into a raft for extended rest periods or in case of injury/incapacitation. Very few do this sort of paddling (and in raft mode - it's compromising the paddling itself).

Another one that "works" as advertised - but has questionable value is the "Roll Aid" Back Up thing. OK, you're back up - then what? A one shot (CO2) deal. More fear of capsize marketing. Probably only with good intent, and I have read positive comments from buyers - but even these folks I know of moved on to simpler and repeatable options. Best use? Someone with an unreliable/one sided roll who goes out in conditions where capsize is more likely (it's always a possibility).