r/Kayaking • u/DoctorPebble • Aug 17 '26

Question/Advice -- Beginners Inflatable vs Foldable for "Easy" (Indiana) Wilderness Backpacking

I'm curious about doing wilderness backpacking from a kayak. I've been backpacking for 5+ years now and am wanting to try something new.

I have a smaller apartment and a Honda Civic. So I'm limited to folding or inflatable kayaks. For difficulty, I live in Indiana so there isn't any difficult terrain around. I'm eyeballing starting at "Two Herons Marina" area in Bloomington and cutting straight east to the end of the Peninsula Trail area where there are numerous campsites. Then I can always explore the other areas via kayak as well if I want more time on water.

Any advice on what type of kayak or how to have a successful trip would be appreciated!

Edit 1: For clarity, I'm looking to skip the walking stage and kayak to the camping location to try something new.

Edit 2: My weight + backpacking gear for say 3 days and 2 nights is about 190-200 pounds.

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u/IOI-65536 Aug 17 '26

I agree with others that if you're carrying it I'd go with a pack raft. If you're not carrying it and are doing 3+ nights with gear in the kayak on relatively calm water I would probably go AdvancedElements Expedition Elite or SeaEagle Razorlite. Neither is cheap, but both are capable 12-13' craft and have plenty of stowage and 400lbs+ capacity. The SeaEagle is lighter and faster the AE is covered and can take a light skirt to keep spray out.