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There’s a few things I’ve acquired over the last year related to our new paddling hobby and our Baja kayak vacation…these are too good to keep quiet about!

REI Zip Travel Tote ($24.50)

This clever tote folds into itself to form a neat, light package that you can toss in your suitcase or carry-on. Then when you need another bag, just unzip the pouch and turn it inside out to create a spacious tote bag to toss over your shoulder. What makes this better than other packable totes is that the pouch itself becomes a nice pocket, and the mesh pockets on both sides of the bag…great for carrying water bottles or other things you want to have handy. The bag is so handy and comes in such nice colors, you probably won’t want to keep it stowed away for long!

REI Beast Duffel Bag ($69.00)

I took this bag to Baja for an 8-day kayaking trip and found it to be absolutely perfect. It has the simplicity of a duffle bag with some nice features like interior pockets and a compartment for wet gear. But beware…when they say “beast”, they mean it. I decided to take a couple of heavy books and it was obvious that I could easily load this to the point of being too heavy to carry comfortably!

Wilderness Systems Tsunami 145 Kayak ($1325.00)

We love our kayaks, and were fortunate that someone more knowledgeable than us helped us decide what to get. The Tsunami 145 has a nice big cockpit, making it easier to get into and out of the boat. The shape is unique; at 14.5′, it’s a little shorter than the typical touring kayak, but that coupled with the hybrid hull shape makes it a nice stable-yet-maneuverable boat. The adjustable seat is better quality than you often get with other kayaks, and you can store quite a bit of gear in the hatches. Although it’s perfectly capable of being used in the ocean, we love to haul ours out to the local laguna or lakes for a quick paddle.

We didn’t get our kayaks at REI, but you can.

Talic Kayak Condo ($98.95 for a two-boat rack)

Kayaks need to be stored properly to avoid damage to the shape of their hulls. I did a lot of research into building our own system for kayak storage, but was glad that I ultimately spent the money on this solution by Talick. The “Kayak Condo” is a rack system that mounts to wall studs and provides a clever system for resting your boats on webbing that conforms to the hull’s shape. Steve and I installed these in less than half an hour, making them well worth the expense.

Oh, you might notice something in front of the kayaks in the photo above. That’s Balancing Bear Ernest…he’s pretty cool, too.

Now we just need to get those boats off the rack and back onto some water!