For me thigh bracing in a sea kayak is all about finding a balance. I want to be locked in enough that I’m not gonna lose a knee at a critical moment, but I also want enough room to access my ditch/day bag easily, and also to be able to lift my knees on long crossings. A high knee position is also better for power delivery and can help squeak out an extra 1/4 knot during a race.
These thigh braces seem kind of minimal but combined with the geometry of the cockpit and the flexibility of the skin, they give a surprisingly good connection. My coaming is narrower at the knees than most so knee pressure up into the skin is doing most of the work here, the little hook is just insurance against popping a knee on a roll.
Just like on any kayak you could go a lot more substantial than this but every time I try that I find myself missing the ability to easily raise my knees for a stretch.
Installation is critical, you only get one shot with contact cement, and I screwed this one up. That front corner needed to be directly lined up with the edge of the coaming and instead it’s overhanging an eighth of an inch. Seems trivial but there’s a surprising difference in knee feel!
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