One day, you want to kayak with your friends and you guys decide to rent kayaks. But, the staff throws a question at you: “single or tandem kayak?”
Your mind suddenly goes blank as you don’t know what to choose.
Oh yeah, single or tandem kayak? Which ones should you choose?
Well, when renting kayak, this might not be an issue. You can simply choose one. And you can simply switch to the other option next time if you don’t like it.
However, things get a little tricky if you are serious in kayaking and want to buy the right kayak.
Well, you won’t have this issue if you plan to paddle solo. What if you plan to paddle with your partner? – Kid, friend, BF or GF, spouse, etc.
Talk about longevity. You are going to use the kayak(s) very often. It would be disastrous if you regretted choosing the wrong kayak(s). – Don’t you think so?
So, single or tandem kayak. Which option is better for you?
Well, this post helps you make an informed decision by identifying the PROs of each option, so you know which one is better for you.
1. Single over tandem kayak
1.1 No argument
Sometimes, you’ll hear people calling a tandem kayak as “divorce boat”. This might sound funny, but there is a reason for it.
Tandem kayak is the recipe of arguments when both front and back paddlers can’t collaborate.
And what are the results? Well, the blades keep hitting each other; your partner doesn’t know how to maneuver; you get scolded as your partner thinks you can’t teach……
So, you guys might blame each other. And it hurts the relationship.
Besides, you might compromise your kayaking ability. You want to paddle fast but you can’t, as you need to consider your partner’s skill.
The thing is, you don’t need to face this if you choose single kayak.
Well, one single kayak for you, and another one for your partner.
So, you don’t have to worry about paddling in sync with your partner anymore. You can totally follow your own pace and paddle as per your skills. – Meaning, you’ll get total FREEDOM.
And of course, there is no argument with your partner anymore. Peaceful.
1.2 Easier to transport and store
Tandem kayak is much HEAVIER than single kayak, due to the size and the length.
Alright, so what does it mean? This simply means it’s harder for you to load and unload the kayak on your car.
Essentially, both your partner and you should do this together. But, what if your partner has problem loading and unloading the kayak? – Maybe your partner is your child.
And you might have to do it all by yourself. Then, you have to watch out for your shoulder and waist.
Ok, you may argue where 2 single kayaks could be heavier than 1 tandem kayak. Well, this could be true.
The thing is, you can load and unload the kayaks one-by-one. It takes longer to do this, but it’s definitely better for your shoulder and waist.
And it’s easier to store 2 single kayaks than 1 tandem kayak, as the LENGTH of tandem kayak occupies more space.
What about inflatable kayak? Single kayaks are even better. Both of you can inflate the kayaks simultaneously. – So, this saves your time.
Meanwhile, it might take longer to inflate a tandem kayak if it only needs one paddler to do this.
1.3 No awkwardness
I’m not sure if you are aware of this. For tandem kayaking, there is a general rule: weak or thin paddlers as the front paddlers; strong or heavy paddlers as the back paddlers.
The notion is about weight distribution to help paddle efficiently.
Because of this, usually you’ll see ladies as front paddlers and guys as back paddlers.
When the order is flipped, you might feel a bit weird. – Ok, how does this relate to you?
If you paddle with your girlfriend, you ask her to be the back paddler. Indirectly, you are telling her that she is heavy or fat. – Do you think your girlfriend is happy with that?
Likewise, if a guy sits in front, other paddlers might think he is weak. – There’s no guy in the world likes to be called as weak, right?
How awkward, isn’t it?
So, get rid of this awkwardness. Go single kayaks for each of you.
1.4 Flexible
Some people think tandem kayaks are flexible. If we want to paddle solo, we can still paddle on a tandem kayak.
But, they’ll change their mind if they really think about it.
Tandem kayak is obviously heavier than single kayak. As mentioned above, heavier weight means harder to transport.
Whenever you want to paddle solo on a tandem kayak, you carry exra weight when loading and unloading your kayak.
Besides, weight also makes it harder to maneuver. You need to use greater force to maneuver a tandem kayak, if you paddle solo. And you kayak moves slower. – Well, you just waste your energy.
So, tandem kayak doesn’t give you flexibility at all, but in fact single kayak does.
Right now, you might foresee where you paddle solo most of the time. Single kayak is your best bet.
And paddling with your partner? No problem. As mentioned above, get another single kayak for your partner.
You guys still can paddle side-by-side. So, you can still maintain the freedom while paddling with your partner.
1.5 Favour in rescue
2 is better than 1. It is always true? – Not really, especially when bad things happen.
When a tandem kayak capsizes, both paddlers fall into the water. This makes self-rescue rather hard as the paddler doesn’t have enough time to rescue the other.
Besides, if you think self-rescue skills, such as wet exit and roll-over technique, are hard to learn, these are even harder for tandem kayaking. – These require great collaboration between paddlers.
In contrast, when a single kayak capsizes, the next paddler can instantly help and rescue the paddler who falls into the water. Right now, every second counts.
Furthermore, the rescuer can help flip the kayak, and help the paddler re-enter the kayak. Basically, this is what T-rescue about.
For a tandem kayak, it’s harder to re-enter the kayak. – Unless both of you have superb self-rescue skills.
2. Tandem over single kayak
2.1 Bonding
Ok, so you’ve heard the infamous joke that people call them as divorce boats. You also know how awkward it is when you flip the order of sitting on kayak (well, when there are both genders).
Seems like tandem kayaks are nothing good but disaster.
Well, you might’ve heard a joke where the biggest reason of divorce is marriage.
Amusing, but it is true, isn’t it? But, would you refuse to get married just to avoid divorce? – It’s absurd, right?
Same goes to tandem kayaking. While we can’t avoid any frustration and arguments, we may actually do the quite opposite. – That is BONDING.
Let’s assess the style of relationship. How do you guys approach any issues? How well do you guys embrace each other’s imperfections?
Did you guys yell or fight with each other? – If yes, yeah, then tandem kayaking could be disastrous for you.
But if you guys tolerate, tandem kayaking might be your elixir.
Feeling awkward when kayaking? Never mind, just laugh together and have fun. And sort things out together. Learn and help each other.
Oh, do I have to mention you both can socialize and experience together, too?
2.2 Speed
I said it’s slower to paddle a tandem kayak earlier. Well, that is for solo paddling.
When both paddlers paddle together, tandem kayak will move faster than solo kayak. This is a fact.
Here are the official world records in Canoe Sprint. Regardless of genders and classes, K4 always has the fastest sprinting speed, followed by K2 and K1. This is even true for canoe discipline.
FYI, K4 is a tandem kayak discipline that has 4 paddlers. Likewise, K2 is 2-paddler tandem kayaking and K1 is solo kayaking.
Essentially, greater paddling power from paddlers overcomes the weight of tandem kayak. – Hence, the greater speed.
Who doesn’t like paddling fast? If you are capable to do both, would your prefer paddling fast, too?
You might not feel the impact in recreational kayaking. But, sometimes a slight increase in speed can excite you.
2.3 Cheaper
Single kayak obviously is cheaper than tandem kayak, if we compare the unit price.
But, 1 tandem kayak is always cheaper than 2 single kayaks. – Guess what. This even reflects on kayak renting.
Because of that, unit cost per paddler is lower. Hence, tandem kayak is more affordable than single kayak.
This is a pure price-conscious factor. This works when both of you are committed to kayaking and you wish to buy kayak at a cheaper price. – Nothing more, nothing less.
Maybe both of you just want to give kayaking a try. You both want to experience first to tell whether you’ll like it or not.
If you guys dislike kayaking, then you just lose the money on buying the tandem kayak, which is lower than 2 single kayaks.
However, if you foresee that you will be paddling in future although you are a total beginner, then you should opt for single kayaks.
That’s because your partner might feel otherwise, and gives up paddling right after a few tries.
2.4 Chilling
You don’t to have paddle all the time when kayaking. You can just stop paddling for a while and enjoy the moment.
But, what if you could stop paddling while the kayak kept moving? Is it even better?
This is the biggest perk of tandem kayak, which you can’t get from single kayak.
So, when you are tired, stop paddling and enjoy this “free ride”, while your partner keeps paddling.
After recharged, let’s switch the role. So, it’s your time to paddle and your partner can take this moment to rest.
Never forget about fairness even when kayaking.
2.5 Maneuver better
One great thing about tandem kayak is you can be CREATIVE in maneuvering.
I believe you are familiar with the common strokes, such as forward, reverse, sweep, and draw strokes.
So, you can mix the strokes to make turning more efficient.
For example, front paddler does sweep stroke. Back paddler does reverse sweep stroke on the other side. The kayak can turn 180 degree easily.
Or, the back paddler does forward strokes while the front paddler does bow rudder. This helps maintain the speed or even accelerate when turning.
The above are just the tip of the iceberg. You can have multiple combinations of strokes to help maneuver better as you want.
Well, you can also argue that we can do this with single kayak. Yeah, it’s true.
But, you can only do one type of stroke at one time. And this costs time and energy. In the end, you might not travel farther than paddling tandem kayak.
Tandem kayak allows you to SPLIT the role to maneuver, so it is less tiring for paddlers. – And it is more efficient.
Final thought: single or tandem kayak
Is this a debate between single or tandem kayak? – Not really.
Does this mean one is better than the other? – Not really, either.
After all, everyone’s perception is DIFFERENT, and this matters to know which one is better.
Before you decide to buy a tandem kayak or 2 (or even 4) single kayaks, there’s no harm to know the pros of each option in advance.
You get to know what you want and what works for you. From there, you know which one is better for you.
Same goes to kayak renting. No harm to understand both in advance. Then, choose accordingly to boost your kayaking pleasure.
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