GCI Outdoor SitBacker Canoe Seat ?

[flatlander44]

I'm looking to get a seat with a back for my Wenonah Solo Plus. Is anyone familiar with the "GCI Outdoor SitBacker Canoe Seat"? What do you think of it?

Any recommendations for another seat? I'm more interested in a backrest than padding.

Thanks.

[Jim Krueger]

I have two of these GCI seats that I've used in our 17' Bluehole canoe over the years. The construction has held up fine thus far and they do have a pretty good adjustable back. The only problem I've experienced is having the whole seat roll back but I think this is mainly due to my canoe seats being paddled until they are more rounded. I could also help by tightning the straps a little more.
Overall, these do OK on fishing trips but for river-running, I perfer not using them for several reasons. Gary Rowland uses a canoe seat in his solo boat all the time, not sure of the brand but it looks like a good one. You might PM him for the details.

Best Regards

[JasonK]

I've got a couple and have used them in old Blue Holes (with no seats left - just the seat thwarts), Buffalo canoes, and Mohawks. They're really good and have held up pretty well (I've got 3 years on mine). The wider the seat (front to back) and the flatter it is the better they fit, so they're great on nylon webbing seats.

I agree with Jim though - while they're great for lazy, laid-back summer floats or slow rivers I wouldn't use them when the river's a rollin'. You're better off actively sitting there and kneeling from time to time at that point.

[Jim Krueger]

Thanks for your note and suggestions Jason! In addition to my earlier post to Flatlander, we stopped by Gary's this afternoon, on an unrelated visit, and I took a look at his canoe seat and briefly visited. Gary's earlier canoe was a Bell Yellowstone Solo, and he did use one of the GFI seats, although one with the Bell logo imprinted on it. At any rate, he has another couple of solo canoes now with slanted seats and does not use the GFI seat at all due to the seat angle.
Flatlander, my suggestion is to do get a canoe seat, I think they're fairly sturdy and comfortable on many occassions, and not too expensive. I've paddled kayaks more than canoes over the years, some with substantial seat backs, but most with minimal back support. Regardless of the boat, I like to lean back and relax sometimes when I'm drifting (like everyone), however I've found sitting more erect , away from the seat back when paddling greatly helps with my boat control and my back comfort on a day-long basis. I tend to put more emphisis on my seat bottom padding/outfitting being comfortable.
Several of my beginning kayak students over the years have begun by leaning back in their seats a bit much, like they were in a lounge chair, after we visit and paddle a couple of days, I think they are maybe in better control of their boats, and seem to be more comfortable . I hope this helps.

Best Regards
Jim

[flatlander44]

Thanks for the input. Some of the key words for me are "slow", "lazy" and "lounge chair". My canoe was dubbed "Serenity" for a reason. I'm in KS and so far my paddling in this boat has been on lakes and the Fall River, which is really a lake with river banks.

Looks like the sitbacker will be on my Christmas list. My seats are nylon webbing and aren't angled so, judging by your reviews, should work just fine. It looks simple enough to remove if I get on any more challenging waters.

Thanks again.

[TBC]

I use mine a lot my wife uses it on every float. Good product IMO.

[Eric Esche]

I do not have any experience with the GCI Outdoor sitbacker canoe seat. I know you asked for recommendations for a seat back and not for padding, but read on. I've got a different brand I would recommend to anyone alone, but it's the extra padding in combination with a seat back that really makes the difference, at least to me and my tandem partner.

I have 2 of the Chinook Technical Outdoor Products seat backs that strap on to canoe seats with fastec buckles that I use on with my Mad River Canoes on the Buffalo River and similar floats and they do add to the comfort level without getting in the way, but what REALLY adds to the comfort level is that padding that I add. Yes, the back support is worth having, but the extra padding (in addition to the seat back's padding AND the back support are worth every ounce and provide all day comfort. (I got my Chinook seat backs on eBay for about $10 each with free shipping after my canoe partner tried someones seat back for a few minutes on a Buffalo trip and inquired if I had every thought of getting some.) My tandem partner likes this set up enough to have purchased her own extra padding as described below and we take our seat backs and the padding on every open canoe trip now.

Before I got the seat backs, I used some soft and medium density neoprene sheet pads I had scavenged over the years. 1.5" thick and much softer than microcell. But they were black, absorbed a little water, got real hot in the sun, and were crumbleing a bit at the edges, and did not hold ID marking well. Then after my father-in-law passed away, my mother-in-law gave me back the yellow foam seat ring I had purchased for JM when he needed it, knowing that I saved foam of all types for rigging boats. Really nice mother-in-law. I got the foam donut at a Walgreens. You can laugh at our using the yellow donut, but it is very soft, does not absorb water, it is very visible, and will float, and will readily accept marking with a permanent pen for ID and does not need a cover. They really are comfortable to sit on for an all day canoe float trip, on rocky lunch stops and then at a camp site.

I've used my yellow foam donuts about 20 times now on canoe floats with no wear and tear, and everyone who has tried it, liked it as well. They were under $20 at Walgreens, and work much better than the inflatable seat cushions which can tear up, and are sweaty. Might make a good christmas present for a recreational canoeist who does not have one.

The Chinook Seat backs are holding up as well, and I would try to get them again if I ever had to replace them.

Eric Esche

[okieboater]

Eric, would the yellow donut qualify as a throwable rescue device? Your opinion?

[Eric Esche]

Eric, would the yellow donut qualify as a throwable rescue device? Your opinion?

My opinion is that it would NOT qualify to any law enforcement officials as it does not have an official USCG or CPSC written tag, seal, or stamp of approval and it is probably below the minimum floatation level needed to qualify, but as to usability, YES. Easily thrown, easily grabbed, easily held on to, and it does float. Have seen kids "swim it" across the river by sticking one arm through to the shoulder.

USCG would probably want straps on it if it was made big enough to qualify for minumum floatation as a class IV PFD and then a cover so they could sew their approval tag on it, but the foam would be a lot more comfortable that what ever they use now. (I think the current class IV's are made of multiple thin sheets of expanded polyethylene bonded together.

My personal experience is that governmental agencies aren't much on approving inovation, even when handed to them as a finished product. Design class of mine at Georgia Tech tried to get approval of a finished flexible fresnel type mirrored Mylar layer to go on one side (hole in center for aiming) Class IV PFD and a retro-reflective printed HELP on the other and cloth SOLAS tape covering the handles for greater observability under all conditions. We used a self extinguishing polyurethane foam in our prototype, that was very comfortable and would have had long life. Those and other ideas like including various sea survival / sea rescue devices in a small pouch on the handles, like a water proofed "D"cell Strobe, and a waterproofed 532nm (green) signalling laser were never approved, although the PJ's at a couple of the USCG Rescue stations liked everything we suggested and thought our working prototype was very practical.

My experience at the time included training for and conducting assigned aerial sundowner patrols off the coast of Georgia and we included comparable side by side photographs of our prototype and a stock approved Class IV PFD in our application for approval, taken from land, air, and sea observation points at various distances and altitudes in multiple lighting conditions. Our prototype was visible at greater distances under all conditions than a stock PFD.

Eric Esche

[flatlander44]

Just an update on my own question.

Santa gave me a Sitbacker and last night I was making adjustments while in the canoe. Turns out the Sitbacker is too wide at the gunnels for the stern seat in a Wenonah Solo Plus. It is a tight fit on the bow seat, but plenty of room on the center seat.

Glad I have the Sitbacker, but may still be on the lookout for something a wee bit narrower.

Thanks to everyone who posted.

[stymie]

Just an update on my own question.

Santa gave me a Sitbacker and last night I was making adjustments while in the canoe. Turns out the Sitbacker is too wide at the gunnels for the stern seat in a Wenonah Solo Plus. It is a tight fit on the bow seat, but plenty of room on the center seat.

Glad I have the Sitbacker, but may still be on the lookout for something a wee bit narrower.

Thanks to everyone who posted.

For me the seat had a bit to much lean. I always felt like I was moving around so to speak. It was because the backrest straps are attached to the front of the seat cushion. When you move your knees up it takes the down pressure off of the front of the cushion thus the seat leans back. I solved it by creating a new strap with clips that goes through the back rest. I attached d rings to the canoe seat that the new backrest strap clips to. It makes the backrest stable and still adjustable.