photo courtesy of Zac Crouse and Kelsey Thompson.

My name is Zac Crouse. I am a musician, recreation therapist, and an expedition / whitewater sea kayaker.

This past summer, with the help of my friend, pro kayaker and documentary filmmaker Kelsey Thompson (Locals Only) I filmed my journey from the Ottawa Valley (Beachburg, ON) back home to Halifax, Nova Scotia. I was by myself for more than half of the 82 day, self-supported trip call Paddle To The Ocean.

photo courtesy of Zac Crouse and Kelsey Thompson.

Over the course of the summer and across 4 provinces I was able to paddle my 17-foot sea kayak through everything from class IV rapids to historic canals, play in tidal bores and learn how to use the world’s most powerful tides to assist in my progress. There were more than a few challenges: finding clean drinking water, a place to camp for the night, dodging huge container ships, and dragging my boat through inter-tidal mud flats and around hydro dams – all while filming the whole experience.

photo Cliff Pratt

The goal of Paddle To The Ocean is to help people realize the benefits of active transportation and to inspire folks to lead healthier, more balanced lifestyles. I also chose to use this trip as an opportunity to tour my new solo album of banjo music called ‘you plan to do nothing.’ I wrote the songs on the album while sea kayaking around Newfoundland, so I thought the best way to tour the album was in the same manner.

photo courtesy of Zac Crouse and Kelsey Thompson.

Astral Buoyancy was kind enough to provide me with a prototype Sea Wolf to test during the filming of Paddle To The Ocean.

The first thing I noticed about the vest is comfort. Two separate buoyancy panels move independently of each other, so I never found myself struggling against the the vest when twisting around for a brace or during a roll.

photo courtesy of Zac Crouse and Kelsey Thompson.

The vest itself is a more compact size than traditional PFDs – I often forgot I was wearing it. But it still has a lot of positive buoyancy. I had more than a few opportunities to verify this as I learned to paddle my sea kayak through Garvin’s and The Lorne on the Ottawa River.

photo Cliff Pratt

The Sea Wolf is easy to put on & take off, you can pull it over your head or unclip the vest at the side. The front pocket is made out of a thin stiff foam, not just fabric. This provided a bit of extra protection when I was carrying electronics like my GPS; and it was just the right size to carry my throw bag when I was paddling more challenging sections of the trip.

photo courtesy of Zac Crouse and Kelsey Thompson.

I am not very easy on my gear, so i needed something durable & long-lasting. I wore this vest all day, everyday, for most of the summer; and it still looks and works great. My only complaints about the Sea Wolf were that the zippered side-pockets were a bit difficult to reach when wearing the vest. This wasn’t really a big deal – I think these pockets are meant more for items you don’t need to access very frequently. Also, I could have used a thicker fleece on the built-in hand warmers. However, most vests don’t even have hand warmers, so I feel like I’m nit-picking a bit here.

photo Cliff Pratt

I wore the Sea Wolf throughout the summer as I paddled my sea kayak in a wide variety of conditions: class IV rapids on the Ottawa & St Lawrence Rivers, at Reversing Falls in New Brunswick, The Shubie Tidal Bore in Nova Scotia, and all the river and ocean sections in-between. It was comfortable enough to wear all day, but dependable when I needed it during an unexpected swim.

photo courtesy of Zac Crouse and Kelsey Thompson.

If you’re looking for a comfortable vest that can handle diverse paddling conditions, this is the PFD for you.

To see the Sea Wolf in action, you can check out the preview episodes of the Paddle To The Ocean documentary on my website: www.zaccrouse.com