In Today’s Newsletter: Master essential on-water kayak repair skills, gear up with the best base layers of 2026, and dive into a thought-provoking look at how risk-averse policies are impacting paddling programs.
• How To Repair A Kayak On The Water (Video)
• Best Base Layers
• Sinking Outdoor Ed: How risk-averse policies are drowning public school paddling programs in red tape
• And More…
— Paddling Magazine Newsletter Editors
How To Pull Off This High-Stakes Field Repair (Video)
Offshore rocks are magnets for paddlers, but one mishap can mean a damaged kayak. If you are paddling where there are no suitable landings, the ability to repair your kayak on-water can be the difference between an epic and just a good story. In this video shows you some top tips for managing and repairing a kayak on-water.
Stay Warm, Dry & Comfortable: Best Base Layers for 2026
In the pantheon of outdoor apparel, the base layer is arguably the least glamorous piece of gear, yet it's the unsung hero that most profoundly impacts comfort. Here are our picks for the best you can get.
Best Base Layer Overall
Icebreaker Merino 260 Half Zip Thermal Top & Merino 200 Oasis Leggings
Most Durable
Outdoor Research Vigor Grid Fleece Quarter Zip Top & Bottom
Best For Sun Protection
NRS Silkweight Hybrid Hoodie
Adventurer Pushes SUP To New Heights
Andrew Hughes set out to chase the world’s highest SUP record. A disappearing lake nearly derailed his attempt.
Worth The Risk
Risk-averse policies are drowning public school paddling programs in red tape
Pardon me in advance for yelling.
On morning radio the other day, a 20-something municipal recreation administrator was interviewed about a new protocol to make flooding the neighborhood skating rinks safer. In his city, self-organized and well-intentioned volunteers had done what they needed to do for years, working early in the morning and late into cold nights to make 18 local rinks for their children and grandchildren to stretch their legs on winter days.
“Is there reason to think flooding rinks is a dangerous activity?” asked the interviewer.
“No,” said the rec administrator, “I don’t know of any examples of people getting hurt making these rinks. We just want them to be safe. So, we’ve created a course for the volunteers to take so they will be able to continue making this contribution to the community without any incidents.”
With no reason to rinky-tinker with a system that has been working fine for decades, but with growing unease about the city’s liability exposure, this municipality decreed anyone involved in the rink-making would need to take a course…
James Raffan is an explorer, recovering academic and former executive director of the Canadian Canoe Museum. His book about Bill Mason and Canadian canoe culture, Fire In The Bones, was first published in 1996. James is also the author of Tumblehome, a regular column in Canoeroots and Paddling Magazine, where he celebrates the single blade’s rich heritage.
Greatest Whitewater Descents Of The Century (So Far)
Grand Inga Rapids, Democratic Republic of the Congo (2011)
In 2011, after seven years of planning, four of the top expedition kayakers in the world—Tyler Bradt, Rush Sturges, Steve Fisher and Ben Marr—attempted to kayak the Congo River’s Grand Inga Rapids, the highest volume whitewater on the planet. The Congo flows at more than 1.6 million cubic feet per second and is the deepest and second-largest river on Earth. It’s also one of the most remote, with the 50-mile section these paddlers attempted having already claimed the lives of numerous explorers…
