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Does a mom you know love kayaking and could use a kayaking gift for Mother’s Day? These 15 Awesome kayaking gifts for moms will help give you ideas of things to buy her. Most items can be used on day trips, but the pot, neoprene attire such as the whole bodysuit, neoprene gloves and booties would likely be used on longer overnight trips. The zip-off pants can be worn for many different activities. These shared ideas offer a wide range of prices, from $55 to $956, depending on your budget and what your mom might already own.
Table of Contents
1. Lifejacket
Price: $199 MEC Fulcrum Guide PFD – Unisex
I love this lifejacket! It has a large front pocket that easily fits an underwater camera, making it easy to take pictures while kayaking. It can also fit some snacks in the two side pockets. A radio can be placed in the clipped pocket to keep in touch with other kayak members.
This MEC Fulcrum Guide PFD has been very useful during my Lake Isle Kayaking Adventures. I highly suggest buying this gift for a kayak mom, you know. It costs $199, which is an investment, but the woman in your life will appreciate the PFD, which will last a long time and be extremely practical. This life jacket is unfortunately no longer sold in yellow, but red and black are available.
It’s a comfortable fit and comes in many sizes, ranging from x-small to x-large. The lifejacket is short to allow her arms to move freely for kayaking, unlike a longer canoe PFD. It’s easily adjustable if you need to wear a coat underneath due to inclement weather.
It can be used as a guide lifejacket and for day-to-day use by a kayaker with moderate skill.
2. Wick-away Shirt
Price: $29.98 Bassdash Women’s UPF 50+ UV Sun Protection Long Sleeve
This wick-away shirt will prevent her from overheating when kayaking. It currently comes in multiple colours, from S (small) to 3-XL (3 extra-large). We often wore our wick-away shirts (different from the one I’m suggesting, as ours are older and no longer in stock) under our full neoprene suits to protect our bodies from the sun and wind.
A shirt needs to be easy to move in while paddling. This shirt is affordable at $29.98. You might be able to purchase two for your loving wife or mother. She’ll be happy to have multiple wick-away shirts, especially if she wants to change them out on her trip. This shirt could be used for hiking or backpacking the Berg Lake Trail.
3. Underwater Camera
Price: $956.71 Fujifilm FinePix XP120 Waterproof Digital Camera
A digital underwater camera is the third kayaking gift idea for Moms. It is a fantastic item to have if a mom in your life loves to take pictures! It can be worrisome to bring a good camera and then be nervous about dropping it in the water or having saltwater sprayed on it, which could prevent her from taking good pictures. An underwater camera saves that worry!
There are many types of cameras, but this one is a great option. It is definitely on the pricier side, but a gift that keeps on giving. This camera can also be used above water. It can be taken to many different locations. This camera is digital, allowing her to take as many pictures as she wants (as long as the battery lasts) and then sort through them when she gets home. Videos can also be taken underwater or while kayaking. If the camera gets splashed, no need to panic! It’s small enough to fit in the MEC Fulcrum Guide PFD pocket at the front and is easily accessible for that perfect shot at a moment’s notice!
4. Outdoorsy Hats
Price: $59.95 Outdoor Research Unisex-Adult Swift Lite Brimmer Sun Hat
The outdoor research sun hat helps protect her face when the sun is shining. It has fabric to keep a woman’s head from getting too hot while also providing a brim to keep the sun from her face. The sun reflects on the water when kayaking; doing anything to help protect her body from its rays is a wonderful idea. This hat will help protect her against sunburn. This $59.95 item is affordable to buy for a kayaking mother.
5. GSI Halulite Pot
Price: $74.95 GSI Halulite Pot
This pot is very useful, with orange rubber grippers on the lid and liquid-draining holes between them. This allows tipping the pot over while holding the lid in place so that the used water pours out (this is done far away from the campsite).
We’ve used this item to make Thai Chicken Pasta and Pineapple Chicken Stirfry. It’s fantastic to have a useful pot on a multi-day kayaking adventure to cook for a family of four. It’s affordable to purchase if she doesn’t own one. Many different recipes can be cooked in this pot depending on her taste buds. It’s easy to pack up and store as well.
6. Sandals
Price: $117 KEEN Women’s Newport H2 Closed Toe Water Sandals
Shoes can be bulky, and they aren’t breathable for kayaking. Sandals, on the other hand, are comfortable after wearing neoprene booties all day while kayaking. During our trip kayaking trip in Desolation Sound, sandals came in handy at the campsite to air out our feet in the warm air. The sandals are a bit pricey at $130, but they’re extremely cushiony to walk in. They are closed at the toes, protecting them from getting stubbed on a rock. The sandals can be used for many activities, such as walking around the campground after a day of hiking.
They have a variety of sizes and colours available.
7. Zip-off Pants
Price: $73.77 Columbia Women’s Silver Ridge Utility Convertible Pant
Zip-off pants are fantastic to wear hiking or kayaking. When it’s cold in the morning, it’s nice to have full-length pants that can be zipped off as it warms and turned into shorts. It’s awkward to have to wear shorts underneath hiking pants. It makes it bulky and uncomfortable to walk in or kayak. She could wear the shorts instead of the pants kayaking.
8. Neoprene Booties
Price: $47.88 Dacor 2.5mm Short Dive Boot
When we went kayaking in Desolation Sound, the water was extremely cold, so it was important for our whole bodies to be covered in neoprene in case we fell in. Wearing neoprene would prevent our bodies from freezing immediately. Even if the booties get wet, our feet stayed partially warm kayaking on the ocean. That’s important to prevent hypothermia. This is an extremely useful item for multiple kayaking days, and a mom you know could make good use of it. If you have $47.88 to spend on her, this would make her trip much better!
10. Neoprene Gloves
Price: $26.99 3 mm Neoprene Wetsuit Gloves
The neoprene gloves can come in handy when she is kayaking in high winds, and water splashes on her hands. It helped keep my hands warm and prevented them from freezing. If she already has booties, I’d suggest these neoprene gloves. This item isn’t a necessity if she has a normal body temperature (my family used them less than I did), but when conditions worsen, it’s nice to have the option to wear them if she needs them. They are extremely useful in the rain. For women who already have many kayaking items, this could be a nice addition for her, and it’s a mid-range price for you to purchase the gloves.
10. Neoprene Suit
Price: $149.95 Men & Women’s Wetsuit Top 3mm Thermal Sleeveless Neoprene Jacket
A neoprene whole-body suit is necessary for long-distance kayaking in cold bodies of water. It makes sitting on the foam chair much more comfortable and provides additional heat to both her upper and lower body parts when kayaking. If she faces the risk of being in extremely cold water, this item could, even more importantly, save her life (by preventing instant hypothermia)! It’s important to be prepared for a multi-day kayaking adventure and well-versed in the temperature variations in the part of the ocean or lake where she will be venturing. If you know a mom in your life who is exploring cold-water kayaking and you have the funds to make a more expensive purchase, this item could be a game-changer for her!
11. Windbreaker
Price: $260 Arc’teryx Squamish Hoody – Women’s
A windbreaker similar to Arc’teryx Squamish Hoody – Women’s would protect her against the elements when it’s windy kayaking. My coat was bought a while ago and is no longer available but there are many other alternative windproof coats available for purchase. They can be around this price range or higher. A good quality windproof coat is important for kayaking, make sure to inform yourself to buy a coat that will protect her against high winds. If you buy a coat that costs around $100, there’s a high chance the coat won’t be as effective. If you can’t afford this item, consider buying a cheaper product that is still of high quality.
12. Honey Stinger Organic Energy Chews
Price: $54.55 for a pack of 12 Honey Stinger
These honey stinger organic chews are excellent to replenish your energy while kayaking. Amazon offers different flavours depending on their taste buds. These energy chews are fun to eat. It’s awesome for her to feel like a kid again as she’s boosting her energy while kayaking. These are cheaper to buy, with many different flavours available, depending on how much you can spend on a mother in your life. It’s nice to try something different instead of having the same granola bars all the time.
13. Seat Cushion
Price: $26.07 Teton Camping Seat Cushion
This seat cushion, showcased by our cat Rocky, is wonderful for breaks or for sitting on while eating supper on a multi-day adventure. It’s much better than having to sit on a rock! It’s affordable to buy for a mom in your life and super easy to blow up. It takes a couple of seconds, and her butt will thank her and you for purchasing it. It’s collapsible and easy to store. Inform the woman in your life to keep it away from water, though, to prevent it from getting damaged.
14. Nalgene Bottle
Price: $23.11 Nalgene Sustain Wide Mouth Water Bottle 1L
It’s important to stay hydrated when doing exercise, especially on the water. A one-litre bottle filled with fresh, clean water is just the item a mom needs to bring with her kayaking. It’s small enough to fit between her legs or beside her in the compartment for easy access to drinking water. They offer a wide-mouth or a narrow-mouth water bottle, depending on her preference.
My mom strapped her Nalgene bottle to the front of her kayak, making it even more accessible than putting it in her compartment, below the kayak skirt. The option will be hers depending on what she prefers. Nalgene bottles are regularly used on our kayak trips for easy access to drinking water. We sometimes need larger water jugs to carry many litres of fresh water with us when fresh water isn’t readily available on our trips.
15. Collapsible Dry Bags
Price: $35.95 to $89.95, depending on the MEC Brooks Dry Bag size
The dry bags are made from rubber and come in different sizes depending on what she wants to put in them. Bags are used for food, toiletries, clothes, a tent, cooking items, etc. and will need to be purchased to pack items independently. The bags are priced differently depending on the size. The collapsible dry bags are essential for keeping everything dry on a multi-day kayaking trip. The last thing a mom would want is to find that water has gotten her clothes, the tent, or her food wet. That wouldn’t be a good surprise! We have multiple bags; they are so useful and practical. Over time, bags crack in the folds and need to be replaced. This is a good item to purchase if you’re unsure whether she already has a bag.
Tip: Kayak compartments are small, so for things to fit, it’s better to have smaller bags than trying to fit everything in bigger bags.
Final Thoughts
These are the 15 awesome kayaking gifts for moms I suggest for Mother’s Day. There is an assortment of gifts ranging from clothing to neoprene items, a cooking pot, and most importantly, a lifejacket to provide her with safety on the water, compartments for an underwater camera, and to carry snacks. You’ll need to find out whether she already owns some items or would benefit from adding to her collection. The gifts range in price depending on what you can afford. Practical gifts are always welcome, especially for kayaking!
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