What to buy for the paddler that has everything.

With Christmas fast approaching there are a myriad of gift ideas for the paddler in your life, just wait until you see our Christmas hot list! But the real question is what to get for the kayaker that has everything. Now after a long debate about the pros and cons of each item on this list, we finally whittled it down to the following, Check them out:

Paddlebag- No matter if you are a canoeist or kayaker a paddlebag is a great gift, available in both canoe and kayak paddle options. Ideal for keeping the car clean from paddle dirt or perhaps more importantly paddles clean from car dirt! Paddle bags aren’t just for the car either, they are one of the most useful travelling items on the market, they allow you to fly with your paddles with out fear of them being lost or separated and you can use any left over space in the bag to stuff full of important paddling items that you were not able to fit into your main bag. For kayak paddles we favour: the YAK Paddlebag and for canoe paddles your best bet is The Palm Canoe paddle bag (Limited stock!)

Karabiners- The ultimate addition to every safety kit and useful for other stuff too it never hurts to have some extras or spares. Especially screw gate karabiners which if not properly maintained will get filled with river grit and grime and eventually stop working to their full potential. So with that in mind a couple extra karabiners are always a great gift. Our favourites are the Petzl Williams locking Biner and also the Palm Wire Gate Karabiner

Palm Stomp Socks– Neoprene socks with a kevlar sole aren’t a new product by any stretch of the imagination, but they are a great way to add another couple of degrees of warmth to your feet in the winter, and usually they wear out or like almost all of my socks, one gets inexplicably lost, possibly as a result of sock fairies. Sock fairies are a serious problem and its only a matter of time before they strike you or someone you love, so give the gift of a new pair of socks until we can figure out a way to tackle the fairy crises that is sweeping the nation. Find them HERE

Thermals- Although this winter has started out being fairly mild we know a cold one is on the way and sometimes an extra thermal layer can make the difference between a frustrating swim and near death hypothermia. So by giving the gift of new thermals you are really giving the gift of life. Ones we recommend include the Palm Seti for Men and the Palm Seti for Women, this waffle like fabric works as a mid layer for on the water and also looks great for down the pub after paddling.

Watershed dry bag stern float– The most whitewater kayaker specific item on our list this multi purpose piece if gear is very handy for packing overnight gear into your boat for big your first big multi-day trip or just keeping your lunch and safety kit with you on your regular days out. The greatest part is the bag does double duty as an airbag so if you do take an unlucky swim your boat cant fill with as much water which can make the difference between your shiny new boat slamming a rock a breaking and seeing it casually eddy out without a problem. Watershed use a Zip Dry system which is without a doubt the best dry bag closing system on the market so there is no more worrying about how may times you have rolled the top over, Brilliant!