KCS KY-Pro Explore trolley: test and review, a first look.

 I first bought a Mk 1 KCS Expedition trolley in 2003 and it is still in use at my caravan on the Solway. I have since upgraded my main expedition trolley through various versions and currently use the KCS Expedition trolley Mk 5. I do not just use it for getting the kayak from the car to the beach but use it on expeditions to get on and off ferries, for long road portages such as West Loch Tarbert to East Loch Tarbert across the Kintyre peninsula and for rough off tarmac road tracks such as portaging round the falls of Shiel where the River Shiel pours into Loch Moidart at low tide, the Portage across the Tarbert of the Isle of Jura and the portage from salt water Loch Nevis over the hill into fresh water Loch Morar. So the new trolley has a lot to live up to. KCS can be contacted here.

Unlike the previous incremental changes this is a complete redesign but using similar materials.

The driver for the design was to create a more compact trolley when it is disassembled and in this it is spectacularly successful. 

The previous Mk5 trolley is in the red bag on the rear deck. Admittedly it is not fully disassembled, I just took the wheels off, but it is undoubtedly bulkier than the new model.

The new pads have thicker foam than previous models. A nice touch is the smaller pieces fit right at the top of round kayak hatches and the larger pieces fit at the top of oval hatches.

The parts all assemble without tools. The pads push into place using captive headed bolts which push into retaining slots on the crosspiece. The two axle supports then bolt onto the underside of the crosspiece and this secures the pads. The bolts are attached to the axle supports so you wont loose them and they also have large heads so you can use them with cold hands. The axle spacers are permanently attached to the axle supports. The axle is simply threaded through and the wheels secured with spring axle pins.

Like the previous Mk 5 trolley there is an integrated axle stand. I chose the 10" foam filled wheels and tyres. These do not fit in 10" round hatches. 

However, if you buy the 10" pneumatic tyre option and let a little air out you can "roll" them into the hatch by holding the wheel vertically and pushing one side down into the hatch. Alternatively you can buy 8" wheels but these arre not so good on rough ground.

At the moment I am landlocked due to Scottish Covid travel restrictions ,so I have been unable to test the KY-Pro Explore trolley in the field. So how does it compare with the previous Mk5 trolley? 

Well the good news is that the pads are just as wide and just as long as those of the Mk5 trolley, including the T support pad at the back. This is good news as the trolley should be able to handle rough bumps with a fully loaded kayak without twisting forward if the wheels hit an obstruction. (This was the reason for the extended T pad.)

However, if you are reversing a loaded kayak and it hits a bump, the Mk5 trolley could twist back. I overcame this by cutting a slot beneath the T piece and putting an extra strap through it and right round the kayak hull. Why is this important? When would you want to reverse a fully loaded kayak over a bump? Well an example is on the ferry to the Small Isles. 

The MV Loch Nevis serves the Small Isles. It is not a RORO ferry. There is only a stern door. If there are other vehicles on board and they are not getting off at your stop, you have to reverse your kayak off between them as there is no room to turn. There is a real bump at the ramp so stability when reversing is very important.

On the new KY-Pro Explore trolley I have drilled the rear of the two oval hull supports supports and tied loops of 3 mm cord through. This allows a strap to be threaded through the loops and and then wrapped round the hull to secure the rear of the trolley for reversing over bumps.

This extra strap round the hull, from the rear of the trolley (left in photo), resists the trolley body twisting round the axle, if the wheels hit a bump when reversing the a loaded kayak on the trolley. This extra strap also minimises the trolley twisting so that the axle is not at right angles to the direction of travel, if only one wheel hits an obstruction.

On swede-form kayaks, like P&H which have the wide point behind the seat, I do not bother with a third strap going forward from round the axle then forward on either side of the hull and fastening round the front of the cockpit rim. On fish-form kayaks, like the Valley Nordkapp LV, which has the wide point in front of the cockpit, I do use a third strap, to prevent the trolley slipping rearward on bumpy surfaces.

However, a KCS customer with a fish form kayak was troubled with the trolley slipping back and asked if it would be possible to hook the strap onto the cockpit rim with some sort of clip. So KCS came up with these really neat accessory "S" clips that hold the strap forward. These prevent the strap loosening off if a bump tries to force the trolley back. This makes the strap from the axle forward round the cockpit rim unnecessary.

The photo above is a P&H kayak with a swede form, so the strap would tighten if the trolley was forced back. These "S" clips are not necessary on this type of kayak but will prove invaluable on my Nordkapp LV, which has a pronounced fish form. The clips could be used with any brand of trolley carrying a fish form kayak.

Another improvement with the new trolley over the Mk5 is that the pads sit closer to the axle thus lowering the centre of gravity. This is important with a fully loaded boat on an adverse camber as it makes the trolley/kayak much more stable.

This promises to be KCS's best trolley yet. It is £135 compared to £125 for the Mk5, which is still available. I think the new Explore trolley's  main advantage over the Mk5 is more compact packing. It promises to be equally stable and robust. I just need to get it out for a proper test...until then here are some photos of previous KCS trolleys in action.

The portage across Jura.

The Falls of Shiel portage.

The Loch Nevis to Loch Morar portage.

West Loch Tarbert to Tarbert across the Kintyre peninsula. Frequent kerbs made this more challenging for a trolley than it looks.

Kayak Carrier Systems Easy Haul kayak trolley portage strap long term test and review.

I am a great believer in using a kayak trolley, not just for short getting to and from the water but for longer portages of isthmuses that enable round trips that would not otherwise be possible due to time or geographical constraints. This photo was a portage over the 1.2km Tarbert on Jura but our shoulders arms and hands were really sore at the end of it. Just look how Tony is twisted round, trying to share the load between both arms.

Trolleys are also great on ferries but don't underestimate the distance you need to trolley the kayaks round the terminal, the length of the car deck and then the off ramp to wherever you can launch from.

I have been testing a new custom made trolley portage strap from KCS called the Easy Haul since October 2015. It has been used on the Solway, the Clyde and the NW coast of Scotland. It has been used on tarmac, rough tracks, ferry decks, sand and shingle. The test has now covered over 13km and 220m of ascent and descent.

The Easy Haul consists of a broad shoulder strap, shoulder pad an adjustable short towing strap and a carabiner.

On the Scottish west coast one of the most notorious portages is that at the Tarbert between salt Loch Nevis to freshwater Loch Morar. The track is 1.2km long rises to about 100m from Nevis and falls about 90 to Morar.

Despite being in the middle of an asthma attack which required multiple stops for puffs of my inhaler...

...I made it to the top first and Maurice and Mike were nowhere in sight. I even went back and towed Maurice's kayak 1/3 of the way up the hill. The Easy Haul is a stunning success and with both arms free you could even use two walking poles for extra drive. One thing to watch for, if you are attached to a loaded kayak, do not go too near the edge of any drops!!

Alternatively...

You could make your own from an existing kayak portage strap (for carrying the kayak on the beach), a piece of rope and a carabiner (perhaps use your kayak short tow line) BUT kayak portage straps get soaking wet if you use them to get the boat to and from the water . I would not like to put a soaking wet strap over my paddling under suit or land clothes. (Portaging is such hot work, you will not be using your waterproofs!)

A series of coincidences on our leaving Cara and Gigha.

 We enjoyed a leisurely first luncheon on the white shell sands of Port Sgiathain on the south west coast of Gigha. (Perhaps it was only second breakfast because I cannot recall if any essence of Jura was consumed.) We were in no hurry as we wished to use the ferry slipway at Tayinloan to recover our kayaks. Having no desire to inconvenience the ferry or experience the unleashing of its ramp we planned our our crossing so that it would coincide withe the ferry's departure from Tayinloan. This meant that it would overtake us on our crossing of the Sound of Gigha so we kept a sharp lookout behind.

The rumble of engines soon announced the passage of the MV Loch Ranza but we were well to the south of her course. For the first time Ian caught a clear sight of the Paps of Jura and I regailed him of the trip Tony and I had made to Jura back in April. So that's another future trip sorted!

 Gradually Gigha, the Paps of Jura and...

...Cara with its white sands, Mull and Brownie slipped astern as we approached...

 ...Tayinloan on the Kintyre side of the Sound.

 We had only the briefest of stops, while the ferry finished loading, during which we had time to admire...

 ...the creel boat Kyra OB469 before...

 ...the Loch Ranza departed with another cheery wave from her captain.

 As the ferry motored her way back to Gigha...

 Ian and I landed on the slipway and strolled back to the cars for our kayak trolleys. It had been a truly laid back and delightful trip and we savoured our last moments on the west coast of Kintyre. We were in no particular hurry and decided to enjoy the delights of Jessie's Ferry Farm Tearoom before heading on our way. Coincidentally Ian and I both chose the daily special, wild boar with chorizo burgers which were literally immensely satisfying! Ian and I now faced equally long drives to diametrically opposite parts of Scotland. Ian to Grampian in the NE and myself to Galloway in the SW. Amazingly we each arrived safely within 10 minute of each other. What a coincidence! But this was not the only coincidence on this trip. I had set my iPod onto shuffle play and remarkably the second song which came on as I was driving north on Kintyre towards West Loch Tarvert was by Paul McCartney and Wings. No it wasn't Mull of Kintyre, with its mist rolling in from the sea (of which we had seen plenty). It was Helen Wheels, which recounts one of the McCartney family trips from their farm on Kintyre to London in their trusty LandRover which they called "Helen Wheels". I am pretty sure that the Brownie of Cara would not know how to hack an iPod shuffle play order....or would he?


Altogether we had enjoyed two half days and one full day paddling 51km round Gigha and Cara. It was probably about my 10th sea kayaking trip but Ian's first. Like me, he plans to return but I do not think that is a chance coincidence!

The Jura portage, a miracle, an udder and the 177th Law of the Universe.

The key to our weekend trip to Jura and Islay lay in the timing of the strong tides in the Sounds of Jura and Islay and the fact that Jura is nearly bisected by...

...West Loch Tarbert in the west and Tarbert Bay in the east. The connecting isthmus is only 1.9km wide and 26m high. I had last portaged across here in 2007 but since then increasing knee dislocations a nasty accident to my knee, major operations to both knees and shoulder surgery and a few other health problems had prevented a return. However it was now payback time for the countless hours of physiotherapy. I was very much looking forward to returning to old haunts on Jura and Islay. The best places to read about Islay (and Jura) are Armin Grewe's IslayBlog.com and Ron's Islay Blog. 

It does not take a rocket scientist to work out that if you have taken advantage of the ebb tide to travel down the Sound of Jura to Tarbert, you are not going to arrive at hight tide! Indeed it was strangely reassuring to observe that the tide was distinctly low on our arrival thus confirming the 177th Law of the Universe did indeed still apply.

 The first part of the beach was hard firm sand and proved easy enough then you come to a deep layer of rotten sea weed at the high tide mark which is hard going. Fortunately it was not as extensive as on previous visits. From the top of the beach to the track to the wooden cabins is the worst bit. If you were on your own you might need to unload to get across this bit.

The two of us managed fine and after a short time we were on what passes as the main road on Jura. We saw no vehicles and no people but...

..this standing stone showed that we were not the first people to  come here. Deer were everywhere though. Some people think Jura got its name from an Old Norse word for deer or another Old Norse word for...

...udder, though I can't imagine why. However, neither Old Norse origin really stands up to close scrutiny. Ecclesiastical writing in AD678 recorded what we now know as Jura as "Doraid Eilinn". This was over a hundred years before the Vikings arrived in these parts and sacked Iona Abbey in AD802.

 It might be just 26m to the summit of the watershed between the West Loch Tarbert and Tarbert Bay but I was well and truly knackered (but also elated) to reach the summit. Tony punched the air in delight when he saw that the tide on the west side was not too far out.

The descent was not much easier. This was a smooth bit. much of the track has been repaired with a particularly coarse grade of hard core with lumps the size of bricks to snag wheels. On my last crossing I was using the KCS original trolley. This had to be used to return and rescue two other kayaks which had broken trolleys. The KCS was the best of the bunch at that time but it was not perfect. It was narrow and had a tendency to topple over on sideways slopes. It also sometimes twisted under the kayak and the kayak would crash down onto the wheels. On this occasion, I was testing the new KCS Expedition trolley. You can also read Ian's thoughts on the trolley here. The KCS Expedition trolley survived the challenge of the Tarbert portage unscathed as did my knees. A tribute both to KCS and my surgeon.

It was with some relief that I reached the head of West Loch Tarbert. In truth the portage is no big deal for anyone of reasonable fitness. However we were trying to beat the setting sun and I felt a great sense of achievement in being able to do what seemed quite impossible as recently as November 2013 (when I had my second knee operation). Miracles do happen.

The sun had already set. We still had our dry suits to put back on and paddle for a further 3km through the tidal narrows until we arrived at our accommodation for the night....

KCS Expedition kayak trolley test and review.

Introduction

Since taking up sea kayaking I have found a trolley to be one of the best pieces of kit to avoid back strain. There are two basic situations in which you may wish to use one: transporting your kayak from your vehicle to the sea or carrying with you on your expedition to negotiate land (or sea) barriers or to get on and off ferries.

In the first situation a trolley will help if:

•  you paddle on your own, 
•  you travel to a symposium as a single delegate
•  the car park is distant from the water
•  the tide goes out a long way. 

Generally you will leave the trolley in your car so its size is not too crucial. 

The second situation involves taking the trolley with you on your kayaking trip. This requires the trolley has some folding mechanism or can be dismantled. If you do not want the trolley on deck, small size is crucial to fit your hatches. On a kayaking trip you can use a trolley to: 

•  cross isthmuses or narrow islands intentionally as a short cut or to avoid bad weather round  headlands.
•  catch a ferry home from an island you have paddled to on a short day.
•  catch a ferry as an emergency get back home from an island in deteriorating weather
•  use a ferry on a more major island crossing and avoid the expense of taking the car over.
•  use slipways on either side of a causeway blocking navigation between two islands.
•  avoid locks on a canal joining two bodies of water.
•  portage round an obstacle such as a barrage or a rapid on an otherwise navigable river

KCS Expedition trolley

This is the new KCS Expedition trolley. The original KCS team consisted of Ronnie Weir in design and manufacture and the late Mike Thomson of Scottish Paddler Supplies in retail.  At Mike's funeral I met Ronnie and told him I hoped he would continue the business but Mike's death and Ronnie's other business commitments meant that KCS products disappeared from the scene. Then last year, it was with great pleasure  that I heard Ronnie was to restart KCS. He then asked if I would like to make any suggestions to improve the kayak trolley.

I had tested the original KCS dual purpose trolley/loader in a group trolley test for issue #2 of Ocean Paddler magazine in 2007. The trolleys were put through their paces carrying fully loaded sea kayaks on the rough 2km with 24m ascent  4x4 track across Jura from East Tarbert to West Tarbert. The KCS dual purpose trolley/loader ended up making several crossings as it had to return to pick up two of the other kayaks whose trolleys had broken. However, though tough, the KCS was not perfect. Its wheelbase was too narrow and its supports too high and so it tended to fall over when traversing a gradient or when one wheel hit a rock. It also had a tendency if a wheel hit a stone for the hull supports of the trolley to twist forward allowing the hull to drop onto the wheels. Even if this did not happen the trolley would twist sideways then crab behind you. Under load, especially on a traverse, the axle supports tended to work their way together making the wheelbase narrower and the trolley more unstable. It had no support stand so took two people to put a loaded boat on it. Lastly though it was compact when disassembled compared to other trolleys, there was still room for improvement! However, I thought the KCS trolley was so good that I bought two at full price soon after I started sea kayaking in 2002.

During our phone call last year, I fed my ideas back to Ronnie who was very open to suggestion. He said he was not only going to improve the dual purpose trolley but was going to develop a new KCS Expedition Trolley incorporating my ideas. It would have a stand, be lower, have a wider wheel base, be made of stronger gauge  polypropylene, have an extra hull support to prevent the trolley twisting forward and sideways and finally pack away to a smaller size! It sounds like all my wish list items had been answered! Soon after Ronnie delivered a prototype with the instructions "test it to destruction!"

This shows the prototype during testing of the new keel support. (The angle of the support has since been adjusted.)

 This ground at the Solway was an ideal proving ground  to test the new trolley keel support when the wheel hit a small rock and...

...also how stable it was when tipped. With the keel support fitted the hull support has not slipped forward. One other thing that improved was that the wheels stayed much more parallel with the centre line of the boat, even after one wheel hit a substantial rock. On the original trolley if you hit a stone with one wheel the trolley was likely to twist then it would crab out sideways behind you which would be dangerous if any vehicles were about on a road,

The first proper outing was a 1km portage on tarmac and...

...smooth surface estate road at Shielfoot. The trolley passed with flying colours. The stand made single handed loading much easier. 

However,  the real test for any trolley is the Tarbet portage across Jura. I had every confidence in the trolley to tackle the portage after a 15km open crossing arriving just before sunset with a further 3km paddle to the bothy on the other side! It had no problem with the firm sand on the beach at East Tarbert.

It is a tough crossing, not just for the trolleys.

This was one of the smoother sections of road. much of it has been repaired with wheel jarring coarse hardcore. On the previous portage only the KCS dual purpose trolley survived unbroken but it did fall over about three times and it "collapsed" about four times after hitting a stone and the hull support pads slipped and rotated forward allowing the hull to fall down onto the wheels.

This time the trolley got us over the portage safely and without incident before night fall. Not only did the trolley survive but it did not fall over and...

 ...the new rear keel extension stopped the main hull support pads twisting over if the trolley was jarred to a sudden halt by hitting a rock. The pads are very effective at preventing hull scuffs. (The otherwise excellent Kari-tek trolley causes quite a bit of hull abrasion on a rough portage). The 10" wheels on the KCS Expedition allow the loaded trolley to cross terrain that smaller wheeled trolleys could not cope with. The all up weight including the bag was 3.05kg.

The new expedition trolley (above) is wider and lower than the original dual purpose trolley. The hull supports are now flat instead of being an L shape and that means the trolley packs flatter when dismantled. The black plastic drain pipe over the axles is my own addition. I originally installed it on my two dual purpose trolleys as a spacer to prevent the axle supports "working in" together when under load. The new expedition trolley uprights are thicker and are not prone to doing this but I have found that the drain pipe makes an excellent clean handle. After a long portage the axle is very dirty with a sticky mixture of aluminium and polypropylene dust. Do not think that there is undue wear though. My two 13 year old trolley axles are still fully functional. A friend tried to portage some locks on the Crinan Canal with another "heavy duty" trolley the C-Tug. It had plastic axles and they melted to the wheels on the portage!

 The trolley support foot worked well on a variety of surfaces including soft sand. One person can now lift the rear of a loaded kayak onto the trolley. The support is on a friction swivel mount and folds vertically when not in use. It also folds back so will not catch if you forget to raise it.

 The new keel support slots onto the axle and is secured by the single bolt which goes through the centre of the trolley. This is a prototype which has been cut by me several times. The finished article will be neater.

This is the trolley completely dismantled for fitting inside a kayak. This fitted inside my Cetus MV fully loaded for a winter camping expedition.

This is the trolley partially dismantled and like this would easily fit inside an oval rear hatch on a day paddle.

 This is the trolley partially dismantled to fit inside the supplied...

...Lomo dry bag for mounting on the rear deck if your kayak is full. The bag has no mounting straps but I just use a long piece of shock cord wound over the bag several times with an olive fastener for quick and secure attachment (to the deck lines). The trolley also comes with spare lynch pins for the axle and spare small thumb screws for the hull support plates.

I cannot comment about the longevity of the Expedition trolley at this stage other than to say that because it is made of the same materials as my 13 year old dual purpose trolleys it is likely to be similarly unscathed in 13 years time.

Conclusion

I think the KCS Expedition trolley is now an unparalleled heavy duty trolley for serious expedition use. Despite this it packs small and is quick to assemble/dismantle. The effective stand makes the trolley ideal for solo expeditions. I have found all my criticisms of the original trolley have been addressed and Ronnie Weir is to be commended for such a positive response to consumer feedback. (Many other designers view their creations as perfect and are unwilling to accept even positive criticism.) For me this is now the perfect expedition trolley, I cannot think of any way it could be further improved. Price of production models has yet to be finalised and will appear on the KCS website.

Disclaimer

Ronnie Weir is a friend. I have had free use of the KCS Expedition prototype this spring but I have bought two previous KCS trolleys at full price. In recompense for the loan I have spent time testing and feeding back to Ronnie ideas for improvement and I have also modified the prototype with my own drills and saw! I have no financial interest in KCS.