Summer Blowout Sale !!!

June 16-18

Camping Gear - up to 75% off!

PFD's - up to 75% off!

Paddles - up to 75% off!

Canoes - up to 40% off!

Kayaks - up to 40% off!

Buy any Necky or Ocean Kayak valued over $1000 and get a free Carlisle Voodoo paddle!

This is the sale of the summer - you won't want to miss it!!!

Bring The Kids?

So you want to go paddling but you are hesitant about bringing the kids. Whether you are going for an hour, a day trip or even a full weekend, here are a few tips to make your trip a successful one. 

The most important thing is a PFD. Finding one that is comfortable for your child could be the difference between you making your trip or cutting out early. Proper clothing, sunscreen and safety equipment are always the no brainers you should have with you and your child. Don’t forget the snacks and drinks!

Picking the right paddle is very important even if they are not going to assist in the paddling. For an older child who helps with the paddling, getting the right size will help them paddle for a longer period of time. A paddle that is too large and heavy can be quite fatiguing, hence the whining and complaining will start early and may set the mood for the whole trip. Even if your child is not helping out with the paddling it is beneficial to have a token paddle for them to hold on to or “lily dip”.  This will help them last for a longer period of time. I recommend using a paddle leash in case they drop it in the water. If they are sitting on the bottom of the hull, I highly recommend to have comfortable seat with plenty of back support.

Bring along activities to help keep your kids occupied.  You can make this aseasy or as complicated as you want. A can of rocks for the kids to throw in the water, naming animals you see along the journey or bringing a fishing pole for them to use. You are only limited by your imagination and the size of your boat. And don’t forget to sing a little row, row, row your boat!

Prepping your child is one of the easiest things you can do.  Get them pumped for the trip and explain all the things you will be doing.  Depending on your child this can be done the day before or just before your paddle. Let them help you pack and carry some of the gear.  Kids love to help! The more involved they are the more excited they will become.

These few tricks have worked really well for us while canoeing, kayaking, camping or any activity we may want to do. Now the only complaining we hear is when the trip is over and most of it is coming from us. Jenda has all the essentials to outfit your child for any paddling trip, from PFDs and paddles to their very own kayak.  So next time you come to visit, bring the whole family!

Jason & Lori

Jenda PaddleSports

http://www.jenda.com/ 

Paddle Making Workshop

Jenda held it's first Paddle Making Workshop on May 27th with Lloyd Stonehouse.  We had great weather for this outdoor workshop with a nice breeze that helped out during some of the pysical labour. 

With a great selection from from a cherry, ash, walnut or or maple paddle blank, we then had the choice to create an otter tail, beaver tail or voyageur style paddle. With great instructions from Lloyd Stonehouse who showed us how to size, fine tune and make our very own paddle using simple hand tools and a little bit of elbow grease!

Lloyd is one of Canada's Leading Paddle making instructors and has been running seminars for 25 years and offers them  from Hallifax to Vancover.  Lloyd spends his summers giving seminars in our Provincial Parks around Ontario.  He has led trips on the Nahanni River in the NWT and has paddled  down the Coppermine River  to the Artic Ocean.  He also taught tripping for Ottawa U summer camp and has a deep and lasting love of his Rivers, his boats and his paddles.

 

This was a six hour workshop and all participants were very pleased with their final results and eager to add their finishing touches to make it water worthy for their next canoe trip!

Jenda's Recreational Kayaker Course

Jenda held it's first Recreational Beginner Kayaker Course on the weekend.  It was a full course and we could not have asked for better weather!  And to top it all off, the grand finale consisted of the ice cream boat showing up at the end of the course for a nice refreshing treat!

This is Jenda's second season offering recreational kayaking courses on the Rideau River with our instructor Andrew Fine.  Andrew has just recently moved to Ontario although has been exploring Canadian waterways since 2000. Andrew grew up canoeing and kayaking and became a passionate outdoorsman while he obtained a degree in Outdoor Education at Earlham College in Indiana. Andrew has been leading trips and teaching classes in Canoeing, Kayaking, Rock Climbing, and Backpacking ever since for Earlham College, Silver Bay Association in Upstate New York and The National Outdoor Leadership School. Andrew began working for Jenda Paddlesports in the winter of 2010 and has helped develop Jenda into a base for fun and instructional Canoe and Kayak courses and activities and is looking forward to getting others excited about the outdoors.

Our kayaking courses have been in high demand and all courses so far have been full!  To help pick up the slack, our very own Jason Kirby will be helping out to teach these courses so that we can offer you more dates throughout the summer months.

The Beginner Recreational Kayaker course will teach you the basics of handling your kayak on and off the water.  This course will teach you about your kayak and the gear you'll need, as well as how to get the most comfort out of your kayak.  We will get you started using good habits to progress your skills from getting into the boat to balance and paddle strokes.

The Intermediate Recreational Kayaker course will review the basic paddle strokes and refine them, as well as add a few more advanced strokes to help progress your skills as a kayaker.  We will also practice some emergency procedures so you are prepared for that unlikely situation of capsizing. 

Our next course dates are June 9th and June 23rd.  You can find a full list of our courses and schedules here.

If you already have group or would like a private course, please contact us and we will be happy to make arrangements with you!

SUP!

While Stand Up Paddling (SUP) has been around for many many years, there are even pictographs of Hawaiian Kings paddling a board while standing up, Stand Up Paddling is now the fastest growing segment of paddlesports. There are specialized boards for flatwater touring or racing, shorter, more responsive boards for wave riding and river paddling and all around boards that do a little of everything.

Jenda`s Recreational SUP course focuses on flatwater paddling with a focus on kneeling and standing on a board, forward and turning strokes as well as safety considerations.  We also demonstrate different SUP equipment and gear as well as transporting and carrying your SUP.

Jenda held it`s first Beginner Stand Up Paddling course on Sunday.   It was a chilly start to the day but luckily the water was warm enough allowing us to test our boards to their limits. 

We ended the course with a little taste of what to expect in the advanced course, which in our opinion is when the fun really begins!

 

If you want to hop "on board" this new trend, take a look at our course schedule here.

Our Blu Wave Paddleboards arrived just in time for this course!  They sure are pretty!  Our in stock SUP boards can be found here.








A big thank you to Stuart Paynter for taking such great pictures!  We will post a few more on facebook soon.

Jenda's 1st Social Paddle!

Jenda's 1st Social Paddle took place on Sunday and we could not have asked for better weather!  We had a good size group of varying ages and varying styles of kayaks ranging from a Hobie peddle kayak, touring kayak and recreational kayaks! 

This was one of the first times out for many of the participants inclucing it's leader Jason to undertake a big 13 km paddle along the peaceful Steven's Creek.  This is a great accomplishment especially for the newbies in the group!  Judging from Jason's groans every time he moves that other participants are likely feeling some muscle tenderness from this first outing as well!

A big thank you to everyone who came out and participated - the great weather and your great attitudes made it that much more enjoyable!

The next outing will be a sunset paddle on May 23rd with the final destination being Kelly's Landing Restaurant.  Full details and regsitration info can be found here.

Spring Sale - April 13-16th

Spring has sprung a little early this year and so has our annual spring sale! 

Save the HST during our spring sale and get a free paddle with the purchase of a kayak. (Paddles are $70 to $200 value)

Save the HST on any canoe and get 2 free paddles (Paddles are $60 to $200 value)  

We will not be at the Cottage and Big Back Yard show this year.  Come and visit us for great deals while saving on admission and parking fees.

Nemo Kayak Shelters

Canoe and Kayak Magazine Rate 3 of Nemo's Tents As Best Kayak Shelters

 

We've summarised their findings below as well as included the direct links to their article.

Why do we care?  Jenda is a new dealer of Nemo equipment and we think they are tops for great quality light weight gear that compact up nicely for all your paddling adventures!  Our gear has just arrived in the store and we are excited to test it out for ourselves... perks of the job of course.

 Nemo Moki


Nemo Moki
(retail value: $750)
12 lbs., 43 sq ft, 3P/4S, Vestibule 42 sq ft

The Moki is another quality product by the aforementioned Nemo Tent Company.  A 3P single wall with an extraordinary linking option—a tunnel, essentially, that connects two Mokis together.  We endured 70mph winds with two linked together on a lengthy trip to the Brook’s Peninsula a couple of seasons ago.  Beyond the obvious gain of space and the neutral boot room concept, the fact that you had your own space but your buddy right next door, was ideal.  Steve stayed tidy on his end while I kept a mess in mine.  Nit on the Moki is condensation build up on the inside, although in all fairness, it was nominal.  Two zip down side mesh panels are clever and functional.  Zip down to mesh for massive air flow, or unzip the mesh and you can climb in and out of the tent by stepping through.  Tent is taut as a balloon and impervious to monster blows.  High-end mountaineering is the target application, but it’s a good choice on the coast as well.

By: dcostello | Thursday, March 22, 2012

Nemo GoGo EX

 

Nemo GoGo Ex
(retail value: $330)
3 lbs., 1P/3S, 20 sq ft, Vestibule 15 sq ft

This is my go-to high desert river float shelter and features a two wall system (rare in this class) and I for one, can dig it.  I have yet to find a snug single wall that doesn’t have me feeling like I’m sleeping in a condom. With the GoGo Ex, you have the option of a pure mesh top or a full coverage fly with mini-vestibule, or with the fly rolled back, something in between.  The door zips are well situated and there is ample headroom, enough room to even keep your clothes inside and your boots in the vestibule. The height at the feet is a little low and with my 2.5 inch pad and bag it’s a little snug.  What’s over-the-top-cool about this thing is the structural component.  In a word, AIR.  That’s right.  As with several other Nemo tents, a vinyl tube inflates effortlessly with a nifty blow/squeeze pump.  Quick as a wink, the flaccid tube becomes rock hard and safely lasts WAY longer than four hours.  Get it as hard as you can to prevent creasing or buckling though.  It works well and is a marvel of design.  As with the Wedge Bivy, the caveat here is livability.

By: dcostello | Friday, March 23, 2012

Nemo Pentalite



Nemo Pentalite
(retail value: $370)
5 lbs., 77sf, 3P/4P, Vestibule 20 sq ft

A slightly different take on the nouveau teepee-style tent, the Pentalite has 5 sides and room for four and gear.  Space to weight ratio is very high, weighing in just under 5 lbs. (with included pole).  Center-pole can be subbed with paddles or driftwood to cut weight further.  The Pentalite has a sophisticated, optional floor design, called the ‘Wedge.’  Adding a couple of pounds to the package, it effectively provides a floor and mosquito mesh to the shelter.  Utilizing a combination of snaps, zippers and Velcro, I found it a bit confusing to attach and left wondering why they chose no less than three different attaching methods for the operation.  Fair venting overall, very good with front flap open; it is a single wall in the end and will have a sheen of condensation on the inner walls come morning.   Perhaps the most advantageous configuration of this unit is the fly and pole, alone.

By: dcostello | Thursday, March 22, 2012

We will be at The Outdoor and Travel Show March 17-18th at the CE centre.

We will be at the pool doing demo's of the Hobie Mirage Kayaks.

If you like the outdoors, you will not want to miss this show!




Click here for full show details.

The Ottawa Boat and Sportsmen's Show

Join us at the new CE centre February 23rd to the 26th at booth #520 where we will be featuring a great line-up of recreational, tripping and angler boats.  Come on out and see what Jenda has in store for 2012 and take advantage of some great deals at the Ottawa Boat and Sportsmen's Show.