11 Essential Inflatable Kayak Accessories

An inflatable kayak is one of the most versatile, practical, and joy-inspiring river boats you can acquire. But the boat is just the start. You also need some well-chosen inflatable kayak accessories before you make your first descent.

After paddling an IK on short day runs and long, multi-day trips, I’ve come to rely on a short list of must-have gear, plus a few nice-to-haves. Here’s my run-down of essential inflatable kayak accessories. (Note: This post includes affiliate links, meaning we might earn a commission if you buy something one of the river gear manufacturers we mention—at no cost to you.)

Inflatable kayaking Middle Fork of Salmon River — *Running the Middle Fork of the Salmon in an inflatable kayak*

1. Personal Flotation Device (PFD)/life jacket

If you have a boat, you need a life jacket—of course it’s a necessity rather than an accessory. But it’s worth spending time on this purchase so you find one that works well for you and the type of paddling you do. Choose one that’s made for kayakers as they are more streamlined than life jackets used by rafters, giving you high mobility with a low profile. Look for one with pockets to stash sunscreen, lip balm, and other small essentials. Also look for one that has a place to put your river knife. I’m a huge fan of the Stohlquist Betsea, which is specifically designed for women.

*My favorite PFD thus far, the Stohlquist Betsea, which has pockets to stash sunscreen and lip balm, plus a knife holder*

2. River knife

A long time ago, I was in a raft flip on the Numbers section of the Arkansas where I became entrapped under the back chamber with my ankle ensnared by a rope. As I was frantically trying to extract my foot while barreling upside down toward Number Three rapid, I felt the rope suddenly and magically release. My future husband had used the knife he carried on his life jacket to cut the rope. With my foot finally free, I was able to push myself out from under the raft and swim to shore.

I bought a knife of my own the next day, and have never paddled without one since. I have a knife similar to this NRS Co-Pilot Knife.

*Before your next paddling trip, get a knife that you can affix to your PFD, like this NRS Co-Pilot Knife*

3. Kayaking helmet

Unless I’m on dead flat water (like the Green River in Labyrinth Canyon, for example), I always wear a kayak helmet in my IK. It’s always cool to protect your head. Bonus about helmets: They help you keep your hat on in a hard wind.

You need to try on various helmets before buying one. Once you figure out which brand and style work for you, then you could look into ordering one online—similar to finally finding the perfect running shoes. When you know, you know. They all fit very differently, and you want one that feels comfortable and has an easy-to-adjust and easy-to-clip chin strap. I prefer helmets without built-in visors because I always wear a visored ball cap under my helmet (I want that sun shade when I’ve taken off my helmet on shore). But some helmets have built-in sun shades, and you can also get a nifty sun visor like this Salamander Beak Visor that attaches to the rim of your helmet.

And speaking of hats, the best kayaking hats have long bills and no annoying hardware that gets mushed into your skull when you put your helmet on over them. Bonus points for cooling mesh panels and an size-adjusting mechanism that’s flat and smooth. (Side note: This sort of hat tends to be the same one you’d reach for on a hot summer run.) My current favorite hat that does all these tricks is the Topo Designs Global Hat.

Topo Designs Global Hat — *This soft, mesh-paneled hat from Topo Designs has a long brim to block the sun and no hardware to annoy you when you put your helmet on over it*

With some experimentation, you’ll find the combination of helmet, hat, and/or visor that works for you.

4. Inflatable kayak thigh straps

Before you take your IK on its maiden voyage, buy thigh straps. They are absolutely indispensable, in my opinion, for helping you be a more assertive paddler. Yes, IKs are quite stable, but without thigh straps you might find yourself tossed out of the boat in real whitewater—while your boat sails through the rapid unscathed.

Thigh straps enable you to brace against waves (much as you would in a hard boat), execute sharp turns into eddies, and perform other moves that are critical to running whitewater. Using thigh straps helps keep your knees up so you can lean forward into waves and better use your core power to execute moves (as opposed to having your legs flat out in front of you).

And in case you’re worried about entrapment with thigh straps, here’s my take on that: If properly installed and used, thigh straps pose no trap hazard. You don’t put the strap around your leg, or put your leg through the strap. Rather, the strap forms a C shape that slides over your bent knee. You can use the attached cam straps for tightening, but if your boat flips, the straps simply slide off your legs. They also come in handy for helping rescue swimmers, who can easily grab the strap that’s on the opposite side of the boat and pull themselves in.

Here’s a short video that shows how the straps just slide over the top of your knee.

I have a couple of different types of thigh straps, but these NRS Inflatable Kayak Thigh Straps are my favorite because they are well cushioned.

5. Kayak throw rope

Having a small throw rope in your IK enables you to use your boat’s speed, agility, and stability to help with rescues. I’ve seen several cases where an inflatable kayak paddler could rescue a swimmer faster than any of the raft crews. IKs can move more quickly, they are exceedingly stable, and they typically always have a spot for at least one more person to perch until a transfer can be executed. Rather than towing a swimmer to safety through cold, turbulent water, you can get the paddler into a boat and out of the water much faster. And if you can’t maneuver right up to the swimmer, having a throw rope will help get them reeled in.

I like the Kokotat Huck Throw Bag 50 with Belt, which gives you 50 feet of rope, packs down compactly, and has a quick-release mechanism. I also use the NRS Compact Rescue Throw Bag. And another I’d like to have in the arsenal is the super-compact NRS Wedge Rescue Throw Bag. (Our favorite full-size rescue rope is this NRS Standard Rescue Throw Bag.)

6. Paddle (and spare paddle)

You probably bought a paddle when you bought your boat, but if you’re assembling all your gear for the first time, I recommend this straightforward Werner Skagit 2-piece paddle. It’s relatively inexpensive, is lightweight, and breaks down easily. (Sometimes breakdown paddles are hard to pull apart again: Have a friend pull on the end and twist while you push the metal button down.) And while you’re at it, buy two if you can swing it so you can have a spare strapped into the bottom of your boat.

7. Paddling Gloves

Although for years, I didn’t want anything to come between my hands and my paddle, I’m now a huge fan of my paddling gloves, which are similar to these NRS paddling gloves. These keep your fingers free for fiddling with cameras, cam straps, and carabiners, but they protect your hands from calluses and provide essential sun protection. On long multi-day trips on sun-drenched Western rivers, my hands have suffered sunburn and heat rash. Using sunscreen on your hands is a loser, as of course it just washes off in the water and it makes your grip slick, even if you strive to apply sunscreen only to the backs of your hands.

Get the gloves. The only downside is keeping track of them. I tuck them into the pockets of my life jacket when I’m not wearing them, and dry them out in the evening.

*These NRS paddling gloves protect the backs of your hands from sunburn and your palms from calluses*

8. Dry bag

A small duffel-style dry bag is best for an IK. I have tried using less-expensive roll-top bags, but most of them, sadly, don’t have a loop at the base, so they’re harder to secure in the boat. Especially if your boat flips, you’ll find that a roll-top dry bag stays anchored at the top, but the rest of it flops around, which makes flipping the boat back over in moving water that much harder, especially if you have a lot of gear in the bag. A duffel bag, like this small Watershed Ocoee, tucks neatly behind your seat.

Watershed Ocoee duffel dry bag — *Watershed Ocoee duffel-style dry bag is perfect for inflatable kayaks*

9. Water bottle

Having water accessible in your IK is critical. I used to think that straws were for kids, but I’ve found that a straw helps gets liquid into your mouth quickly, which is important when you’re trying to paddle. So I’m now devoted to the Hydro Flask Vacuum Water Bottle, which has a straw and a tab that tucks shut so it doesn’t leak. (In fact, I carry it around with me even when I’m at home.) It has a built-in clip that’s handy for affixing to other gear that’s already strapped in, such as your dry bag. But you can also use any water bottle with a loop and just carabiner it in. The point is to make sure you have your own source of water so you don’t have to depend on tracking down the rafts to get water.

10. Small first-aid kit

If you’re paddling with a larger group with a major first-aid kit, your collection of medical supplies can be minimal. But it’s a great idea to have essentials in your own boat, including:

Adhesive bandages
Sterile gauze
Waterproof tape
Poison ivy soap and ointment
Moleskins and/or blister bandages
Ibuprofen
Antibiotic ointment
Anti-dehydration tablets (I add Nuun tablets, popular with runners, to my water bottle on hot trips to guard against dehydration)
Sunscreen
Bug spray
Snake bite kit
Tweezers/tick remover
Lighter
Antiseptic wipes
Bee sting kit

This sounds like a lot of gear, but this Adventure Medical Kits Mountain Series Explorer is fairly compact and includes most of this stuff. In our years of boating, we’ve had the most trouble with sunstroke, dehydration, and insect stings (thankfully, no snake bites), so if a purchased kit doesn’t include remedies for those ailments, we add them in.

11. K-Pump

You don’t just need a pump for your IK, you need a K-Pump. I don’t know what we did without these before they were invented. (Well, I do … we spent valuable river time trying to keep the snake-like hose from popping out of the valve while trying to balance the pump on a squishy floor and get any kind of traction so you could get air in the boat.) You can single-handedly pump up your IK with the K-Pump 100 and it tucks neatly lengthwise into your IK.

K-Pump 100 — *K-Pumps are the best for pumping up inflatable kayaks, and they pack neatly into the back of the boat*

All the gear you need for your inflatable kayak

Besides your IK paddling clothes, this set of gear should set you up for a variety of circumstances, from day runs to multi-day river trips. We’re huge fans of inflatable kayaks as they are roomy enough to carry a decent amount of gear so you can create your own self-sufficient world. But rigged with thigh straps, they also give you the mobility and power you need to run serious whitewater.

Do you have other IK gear you consider essential? Drop us a comment.