Founders at Kayakways USA - husband and wife duo who are the perfect combination of scientific explanation with physical flexibility! - qajaq-rolling junkies and world-renowned teacher of capsize manoeuvres.
“Way back in probably 2006, Chris emailed us to see if we wanted a tuiliq at no cost, which of course we did! And he asked if we could send him some measurements. Which, of course, we didn’t! Then we bumped into him at the Isle of Skye symposium. He had a booth set up there displaying Reed Chillcheater gear. We were really impressed with aquatherm and aqua fleece materials (not being exposed to it before). He recognized us and reminded us that he offered to make us some tuiliq! We started to apologise about not getting to the measurement list. He said “I can measure you right now” and he did! And he did a great job, when the tuiliqs arrived they fit great.
He also offered to give us some other pieces of kit that evening, and I took a blue aquatherm paddling jacket, and Turner took a black one. Mine came in handy right away because I forgot to pack a raincoat, in Scotland of all places!
I wore that Reed paddling jacket everywhere. I still have it and it is still my “go to” paddling jacket. I just used it for a two week paddling trip to Alaska.
We love using Reed gear for our personal paddling. We both love aqua fleece paddling trousers, and the keyhole tuiliq, as well as the paddling jackets (above). But the main thing we used Reed Chillcheater for is the tuiliq for our clients. We wanted folks to experience the full Greenlandic experience as much as possible. In the States we had a trailer of wooden kayak and skin-on frames, tuiliqs and wooden paddles for folks to share and try. But when we flew to the UK we were not as well stocked. So Chris gave us some extra tuiliqs to travel with and keep our clients warm and to allow them to experience this amazing garment. We also teamed up with Chris to sell our favorite Reed gear in our small online store providing easy access to US customers.
The tuiliq is one of the key elements to providing that unique Greenlandic experience. Learning to roll is full immersion and it takes a lot of “In the water” time. Plus the water is really cold in the UK (and actually most places that we teach), so the tuiliqs were definitely appreciated! Our clients really appreciated being able to try the tuiliq and many folks liked it enough to order one for themselves.
After traveling and teaching full time for many years, Turner and I yearned to be home more. I became a registered nurse and work part-time in a hospital, but I teach kayaking part time. Turner builds skin-on frame kayaks at our barn in Maine and imports Tiderace kayaks, he also designs paddles (he recently worked on the Ipik for Gearlab), and he maintains our small online store. We both play as much as possible! Paddle, bike, hike and ski!
Besides the fact that Chris is really awesome, funny, generous and often inappropriate, I would add that Reed has some really unique details that make it very comfortable as well as functional. The gear lasts a long time, my paddling jacket is almost 20 years old and it’s still my favorite!
It’s good stuff! Get some!”
