Folding Kayaks Forum

I've just been exploring Wayland's new website. This seems to be a new aluminium folder they are offering:
http://www.wayland.com.pl/en/products/o ... ition.html

Ian

Adding aluminum line-up is not a small feat. Probably had to dissemble Wisper and Kahuna down to the very last rivet and study closely. In a year or two they will eliminate some bugs. FC models aren't exactly bug-free, plus there will be some "proprietary" bugs of Wayland.

Offering keelstrip as an option is an omission (or an intentional cash grab) - sharp V of the hull mandates a lot of protection, especially if used according to the sales pitch, i.e. expedition paddling. Though, this size limits "expeditions" to about same length as with Kahuna, - 5-7 days.

Claims of carrying such a boat over "long distance" (even with lighter TPU hull) is of course nonsense ... Unless you're going to use your hands as a paddle, puffed cheeks as a PFD and a vehement prayer as a pack of food and dry clothes...

Hello!
I have been looking at the Feathercraft Wisper XP for some time now but the price is just too steep for me. Only very recently I fand out the website of Wayland that seems to propose a sort of polish copy (?) of the Wisper and of course much cheaper.

Has anyone heard of any feedback related to Wayland Proximo I or Wayland in general? What would be the favorite dealer anyway?

Thanks!

For information on the Proximo this appears to be your best bet http://www.waylandkayaks.co.uk/
They had a laudible comment up on their website until recently saying that production of the Proximo had been delayed while they sorted out some quality issues with the manufacturer, so if you deicide to buy one it might be an idea to talk to them first. If you search this forum you'll also find some conversations some forum members have had with Wayland UK around shipping to the US

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Simon

Pakboats Quest 135, Nautiraid Narak 460, 416 & K1 (sold my 550), First light 420, Feathercraft Wisper, Fujita Alpina AL-1 400, Incept k40 (for sale)
Non-folders: Cape Falcon F1. Beth sailing canoe, 2014 Hobie Adventure Island

It is true that we recently put a notice on our website along the lines of quality issues, it was more of the factory hoping to get feedback from those who had brought the Proximo I as those early users would have been using the boat in a much wider 'testing' context than is possible with the factory's own trials etc.

Wayland do act on feedback and do make changes / modifications / improvements quickly where possible. The photos that we have on our website was supplied by the factory earlier this year. We have just received a show Proximo I - the very first Proximo I in the UK, and this particular boat has a much better finish / design in the cockpit area (quite different to the photos), and some of the standard specs have changed already.

We wanted to see the boat in the flesh, and provide feedback, before offering the boat for sale on our site. Anyone in the UK interested in this boat is welcome to have a look and try it out. Given the long lead times at the moment, by the time a customer's order is made, most of the 'rough edges' will have been ironed out.

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Regards

Simon Bolze
Wayland Folding Kayaks UK

Exclusive Distributor - UK (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
Worldwide dealer (IE - no active Wayland distributor in that country)
http://www.waylandkayaks.co.uk info@waylandkayaks.co.uk