We tested out an Oru folding kayak to see if it really floats

I was nervous about testing an Oru folding kayak out. Like, really nervous. I mean, how well could a folding kayak really float? Wouldn’t it just leak through all the folds? How deep is this lake anyway? And how big are the fish? Do they nibble on people?

Okay, calm down. Just stay close to shore so if it starts filling up with water, you can swim back easy peasy. And stop thinking about the fish.

So leaving my shoes on the muddy bank, I stepped into the Oru folding Kayak and sat down. Having strategically placed it half in and out of the water so I didn’t have to actually get wet (don’t judge me, the water was cold) I pushed off with the oar and glided out.

I didn’t paddle straight away, instead just stared intently at the bottom of the kayak to make sure water wasn’t seeping in. So far, so good. Giving it a wobble from side to side, it was actually pretty sturdy in the water.

Oh, this thing might actually float.

I gave a few strokes of the oar to see how it went and the Oru folding kayak glided through the water with ease. Much easier than my old BCF cheapy and surprisingly, much more stable on the water. I’m certainly no expert, but the paddle itself felt pretty good as well.

Wow, this thing is actually really awesome!

Check it out below:

Before I get too far into it, let’s go back a bit shall we?

Last year we introduced our readers to Oru and their folding origami kayaks (read the original article here), a new USA-manufactured product that was about to hit Australian shores. The reason we shared it with you is that this origami kayak appeared to fold down small enough to fit in your car, caravan or camper.

Many of us RVers and campers like to get out on a kayak occasionally, but transporting it becomes a huge hindrance, leaving it only to those who are die-hard kayakers. I myself can’t even reach the top of my 4WD, let alone get a kayak up on the racks without any help. So the idea of a kayak that folds down small enough to be shoved in the back of the car or your RV storage was very appealing.

Fast forward a few more months and Oru Kayak is now available in Australia. Fortunately and with thanks, they lent me an Oru Kayak Lake to try out for a few weeks. The Lake is Oru Kayak’s newest, lightest and smallest folding kayak. This one is designed for both calm water and beginners, but they offer several other kayaks suited to beaches, surf and even a tandem folding kayak.

Can people who suck at origami still put together an Oru folding kayak?

The short answer is yes. As someone who is not so hot at origami, once I worked out how to assemble it, I got the Oru Lake folding kayak from whoah to go regularly in around four minutes. The first assembly took around 15 minutes because I had to follow their video instructions. To make it easier, there’s a QR code printed on the side of your kayak that you can scan for quick access to the video.

Oru Kayak claims the lake should take around 1 – 3 minutes to assemble, but I think that’s for clever people who can remember what way the seat goes. The folds are a little stiff when you first assemble it, but it’s not long before they become easier to pop in and out of place.

As proof, here is me putting it together:

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The range of Oru folding kayaks

Oru has several different folding kayaks suited to different conditions, so you will need to consider your available space, how often you plan on using it and the conditions you are likely to use it in. I personally think the Beach LT hits a sweet spot between price and versatility. Also, being only an occasional recreational kayaker, I’m unlikely to kayak in poor weather or choppy conditions.

	Lake	Inlet	Beach LT	Bay ST	Coast XT	Haven
Price	$799	$1,299	$1,799	$2,199	$2,899	$2,899
Type	Recreational	Recreational	Recreational	Performance	Performance	Tandem
Water	Calm	Calm	Calm	Choppy	Heavy Surf	Calm
Assembly	1-3 min	3-5 min	5-10 min	10-15 min	10-15 min	10-15 min
Size assembled (cm)	274 x 81	295 x 79	368 x 74	373 x 64	493 x 64	490 x 84
Size folded (cm)	107 x 25 x 46	107 x 25 x 46	84 x 31 x 74	84 x 36 x 74	84 x 36 x 74	86 x 43 x 74
Weight	8kg/114kg capacity	9kg/125kg capacity	11kg/136kg capacity	12kg/126kg capacity	15kg/181kg capacity	19kg/227kg capacity
Suitable for	Beginner	Beginner	Beginner	Beginner-advanced	Intermediate-advanced	Beginner-intermediate

The verdict?

The Oru Kayak Lake is waterproof, lightweight (just under 8 kilograms), and does indeed fold down small enough to fit in your car or RV. As an added bonus, it’s pretty wide on the water making it sturdy enough for beginners. I wanted to find more wrong with it, but I just couldn’t. The only real downside is the cost compared to a cheapo regular kayak from somewhere like BCF or Anaconda, but these obviously don’t fold down to fit more places like an Oru Kayak does.

Given how spacey the folding Oru Kayak Lake is while sitting in it, I reckon you could fit your small to medium size pooch in front. However, given that my pooch is wolfhound size and would most likely get in the way of the paddling, I haven’t actually tested this, so don’t hold me to it.