Rescue stirrup

A stirrup is an aid used to help people get back in their kayak following a wet exit.

Stirrups come in two forms:

• A length of tubular webbing long enough to go around your cockpit coaming and then drape down into the water.
• A large loop of line or webbing that you wrap around a paddle shaft setup as an outrigger.

In both cases, you leave enough loop dangling in the water to let a foot slip in (like a stirrup) to aid in reentering the cockpit.

The rescue stirrup is an item that people seem to either love or hate. For some people, they couldn't re-enter a kayak without a stirrup making the stirrup an essential piece of equipment. For other people, the large webbing loop is an entanglement hazard and they won't have anything to do with it. You should avoid relying on a rescue stirrup if you can learn to re-enter without one. Remember, however, that a stirrup can be important if a paddler becomes injured and it can allow a disabled paddler to enjoy kayaking with an added margin of safety.

As with any of the self rescue devices you won't know what you need unless you get out and try. You might find that in cold water you would like a little extra margin of safety and decide to carry one in your cockpit bag.

Practice Practice Practice. Its fun!