Kayakers cringe when they talk about those rare but inevitable epic hikes out of distant rivers when things go awry. The grueling portage around unrunnable stretches of water ranks a close second to the hike-out as the top annoyances for paddlers who always prefer traveling on water with their boats. Marty “The Craw” Cronin, a Boulder paddler and tinkerer, was thinking about the shoulder-bruising hikes that often plague kayakers who are forced into long hikes out of a river gorge or even longer portages, and he designed an ingenious pack system for toting kayaks. His Crawpack (MSRP $75) is a backpack without the pack. It’s got a hip belt and padded shoulder straps with larger straps that can anchor just about any size kayak to a hiker. The 1-pound pack comes with its own cinch sack and ‘biner loop for securing inside a boat. The Crawpack, which Cronin makes, could eliminate the over-the-shoulder technique that leaves most kayakers walking crooked after long hikes. Anyone who has toted a 60-pound creek boat laden with gear over a mountain will nominate Cronin for kayaking sainthood once they have tried the Crawpack.
Get it — Check out the pack at www.crawpack.com.
