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Independent Playak Review: Seals Pro Rand Skirt

Hype

Seals PRO RAND skirts have two truly unique features I haven’t seen in any other WW skirt. (1) Their rubber rand provides a perfect cockpit seal. (2) Seals provides five different cockpit sizes for their neoprene skirts and a sizing booklet with a stunning 1300 boats for the right size of skirt for your whitewater, touring or sport & recreation boat.

Features

• rubber rand that seals the cockpit
• five cockpit sizes and sizing chart to help you find the right size for your boat
• 3.5 mm neoprene
• Top-edge wear guard with Aramid fibers
• Oval shaped form fitting anatomical tunnel
• Glued, stitched and sealed

Test Setup

Seals PRO RAND SKIRT with cockpit size 1.4 & 1.7 for a Jackson Kayak AllStar (2004) and a Jackson Kayak 4Fun (2007), respectively. The skirts we tested had a double-tunnel that was made to order.

We tested the skirts during pool sessions, at the upper wave in Bremgarten, Switzerland and on rivers in the Swiss Alps.

Pros

• The rubber rand provides a tight fit on the cockpit. The boat stays dry, literally!
• The rubber rand makes it easy to put on the cockpit rim
• Soft neoprene
• Comfortable tunnel
• Made to order if desired

Cons

• The rubber rand doesn't stretch very far. This is obviously also a pro, because it means that it fits on your cockpit like a glove, but it also means that it may not fit on your second boat at all. Luckily Seals offers an extremely long list of cockpit sizes and fitting skirt sizes. Just make sure to buy the correct size.
• Personally, I miss a knee-off strap. I know it’s a European thing, but I consider this to be a safety issue. The knee-off strap makes life easier in case you have to get out of your boat without using your hands to open the deck. (Check out https://playak.com/news.php?idd=148471502401, about in the middle of the post).

Conclusion

The Pro Rand convinced me on pretty much all features. Most importantly: Dry boat and great comfort.

For Playak,
Michalis Meyer

More Info

www.sealskirts.com