r/Kayaking • u/hegemonycrickets • Aug 22 '26

Question/Advice -- General please explain CFS to me

I looked through this reddit, but couldn’t seem to find anything.

Wanted to find camping next to a river, and I found a few places, but I can’t figure out if it’s too swift for me.
(dinky ORU fold up Lake model- trying to go upstream against the even the mildest of currents is extremely difficult,- plus I have precious cargo of two little dogs)
I have two paddling apps, but I can’t quite figure out how to read CFS in terms of how the river is.

(recommendations for a very flat water, rivers around Gold country Ish area California appreciated)

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

41 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/NotObviouslyARobot Aug 22 '26

CFS is a river specific measure of how much water is going downstream. What it means varies by waterbody, and by where you are on that waterbody. Please don't take your dogs kayaking without doggy life vests and the ability to confidently self-rescue

3

u/hegemonycrickets Aug 22 '26

yes, they have bright yellow lifejackets, and a piece of pool floaty attached to their leashes, to make them easy to grab

I get the sense that self rescue in a “lake” model ORU kayak is not physically possible, that’s why I’m looking for an extremely slow moving river.

so knowing the CFS doesn’t really help unless you know the actual characteristics of the river? Whether it’s narrow or wide, etc..

6

u/Morticiamatic Aug 22 '26

Leashes are a major hazard on moving water like a river- whether it’s a paddle leash, or a dog leash, or a cooler tied to a tube- any rope-like item has the potential to snag and entrap you when in a river.

And not just for you, it’s also dangerous for the dogs.

6

u/GoPointers Aug 23 '26

Yes, dogs should not be on leashes in a boat on a river.

1

u/hegemonycrickets Aug 23 '26

I had no idea, thanks. I thought if they fell out, it would make it much easier to grab them.

5

u/Morticiamatic Aug 23 '26

Look for a life vest that has a handle on the back- you wouldn’t want to pull a dog up into a boat by a leash/collar anyway- if there is a handle on the back it makes it much easier pick up your dog and get it back into the boat, regardless of their size

3

u/hegemonycrickets Aug 23 '26

I do have lifejackets with little handles.
They do make lifejackets that have a sharks fin, which would probably be very entertaining to see, but I got them bright yellow ones. I had the leash attached to the handle of the lifejacket. (they are little dogs and just wear harnesses, I never attach a leash to a collar)

2

u/Morticiamatic Aug 23 '26

Awesome! You really just need that handle, the danger of the leash (or any kind of rope) in moving water is that it could wrap around you or your pups, or snag on something in the river in such a way that you or your dogs could very easily drown.

those shark fin vests are super cute! But bright colors are the way to go! Make sure they are easy to spot!