C-Forum

I just purchased a new Ledge and am in the process of outfitting my canoe. I noticed that some folks use hip pads and others don't. What are the pros and cons? What is the typical length and width of hip pads and where do you purchase them? I come from a kayaking background and am hoping hip pads will help with my roll. Moving on to perhaps another thread here, my legs seem more loose than perhaps they should in my bulkhead. I have a thirty inch inseam (maybe the problem?) and stocky legs. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Hip pads are great, I cannot paddle without them. What kind of paddling do you do? Everyone has their own reference of course. I would try paddle with them first, bet you will not go back without them. Pros- control of your boat , Cons- time to make them.

I installed hip pads in my Octane 91 and love them. Increases control when paddling and makes rolling easier. I am sure you could buy them somewhere but I think making your own is going to be the best bet. Just get some mini cell foam and shape away until you get the desired formation. I can pull my boat out later and post a few pictures of my setup to give you an idea. I recommend ordering foam from http://sweetcomposites.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, they have everything you need (including glue) and offer great customer service and prices.

As to the cons:

I found that before I shaped them properly my pads were too bulky and my foot would sometimes get wedged between the saddle and the pad when trying to exit the boat. I admittedly have a pretty tight fit in there. I never felt seriously threatened but it was scary enough to take the time and angle them properly to allow my feet to slide out more easily.

hmm tried em, dont understand why people like em. My personal con is they limit how much I can lay the boat over and keep weight centered. Now, some of the Millbrook boats I have paddled dont do much different the farther they edged, so I can see how hip blocks can function in that application. But for me, if I wanted to have my hips attached to the boat, Id get a kayak.

true that, if you are floating down the river, you don't need hip pads.

I have hip pads in all the c 1's, but never thought about them in a canoe.

Personally I never liked hip pads that reach up higher than the cockpit rim. Found that the limited my flexability for rolling and found that outfitting my hips lower in the boat and having a more secure thigh bulk head / straps the better my roll and more control I have. However you install just have to make sure you can get one's feet out of the boat!

Tried pads and then ditched them. By the time I had finished contouring side slabs in my Ocoee I had quite enough contact with the boat around the knee - mid thigh area to stop my legs sliding about when rolling and actually at hip height I like to be able to slide my bum around a bit when weighting up an edge. In fact several friends have decided that their hip pads work best when a slightly loose fit so they have a bit of lateral movement for edging - I have no idea if they actually engage them to roll or not.

My preference is Cheek control without the pads. My C1's seat pivots up from the back for exit safety.

I use hip pads in most of my boats EXCEPT for the L'edge. When paddling the L'edge my legs are locked in and as Longboatin described I want the movement for my hips. I have mini pads in the L'edge that I use for carrying the boat on my shoulder but those do not really contact my hips.

In my other boats (all Kaz designs) I love hip pads, and in those boats I have saddles with straps (not bulkhead).