Kari-Tek for all your paddling needs
Welcome to the Kari-Tek website. We manufacture the kayak roofrack - the Easy Load Roof Rack, kayak and canoe cradles, folding trolleys, webbing straps, portage straps. We also make canoe trailers and trailers for sea kayaks and river boats plus storage racks to your requirements. We developed the highly acclaimed Kari-Tek range of sea kayak skegs - available as retro-fit kits or as an option in new sea kayaks purchased from us.
Visit our online shop or our Ayrshire showroom for all your kayaking gear. We sell a range of sea kayaks: we're Scotland’s agents for Sea Kayaking UK, sea kayaks designed by Nigel Dennis, and agents for Kirton Kayaks, Rockpool and P&H sea kayaks.
We are also agents for Lendal and Swift paddles and Reed Chillcheater kayaking gear and much more...
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Kari-Tek Easy Load Roof Rack for cars and vans |
Kari-Tek Skeg Systems |
Kari-Tek cradles for kayaks and canoes |
Kari-Tek expedition rated Folding Trolley |
Kari-Tek commercial rack for vans |
Karitek's second Mid West Sea Kayak Symposium has resulted in some rave reviews: "Wow! What a fantastic event, its difficult the find the superlatives to express my appreciation". "Great fun and brilliant organization all round". "Coaching top notch".
We're delighted that so many of you enjoyed the weekend - we certainly did! - and thanks to all who helped make this event a success.
Watch this space or visit the Symposium website for info about next year's event www.midwestsymposium.com.
New kayak brands: Lettman and Hobie
Kari-Tek's ever increasing range of choice for the discerning paddler has increased even more! We are now the Scottish dealers for Germany's Lettman Kayaks and Hobie Kayaks.
With an impressive track record in competition paddling, the Lettman family have developed a range of fast, efficient sea kayaks. Hobie Kayaks are all about fun with a range of sit-on-top kayaks featuring Hobie's patented MirageDrive pedaling system. We'll have more online shortly, so get in touch with Karitek today to come and try out these new additions to our demo fleet!
We're delighted to announce that we're now stocking the Werner Shuna sea paddle. Werner's top quality paddles are proving more and more popular with sea paddlers across the UK, and the Shuna is particularly well adapted to use here. It's available in 2 piece carbon and glass variants: click here to buy Werner paddles online>
Karitek will be attending this year's English Canoe Symposium at Lakeside in Cumbria. The symposium has loads of sessions - both flat and white water - to choose from, plus a host of non-water based activities to choose from on both Friday and Saturday evenings.
We'll be there on the 12th and 13th with our demonstration roof rack and many of our other products - we look forward to meeting you there!
Kari-Tek are now offering their own discreet and stylish roof rail system for vans, opening up a world where boat loading is no longer a struggle!
The system suits for most vans, including those with flat or recessed steel roofs, high lift roofs and van conversions with fibre-glass lifting roofs. It makes for easy, adjustable and demountable fitting of Kari-Tek's Easy Load Roof Racks to your vehicle.
Our ever increasing range of fitting kits includes Iveco, Land-Rover Discovery, Range Rover, Mazda Bongo, VW Caddy and VW T5 vans, plus a kit to fit direct to Yakima cross bars. Read more>
We're delighted to announce that we're now European distributor for Flat Earth Sails from Australia. These are shaped, battened sails specially designed by professional sailmakers for sea kayaks, giving a lightweight, responsive sail that are a joy to use and will change the way you think about sea kayak sailing!
Buy online or try out in our demo fleet>
Ideal for outdoor centres, the latest addition to our range of trailers is the new Easy Switch Trailer system. The system is designed to save you time, hassle and money, allowing a single trailer chassis to be switched quickly and easily between any of a range of cost-effective, free-standing load racks for boats - white water kayaks, sea kayaks or Canadian open canoes - or bikes. Read more about this great new trailer from Kari-Tek here>
Carbonlite 2000 is here!
We're now stocking the first British designed sea kayak to be made available in the amazing Carbonlite 2000 material. Read more about this fantastic new material on our News page.
Books online!
Kari-Tek stock a range of great kayaking books. We have books of classic trips for open canoe (Eddie Palmer) and for sea kayak (Cooper and Reid), the latest instructional books on technique (Gordon Brown) and navigation (Franco Ferrero), plus Ronald Cameron's biography of Andy Jackson. The perfect gift, they're all available to order online - click here to visit our bookstore!
Interested in an extended trial of one of our sea kayaks? Kari-Tek's kayaks, all of which are fitted with one of our own range of skegs, are also available to hire. Prices start from £20 per day for a single kayak. Click here for details.
Kari-Tek's Skeg Systems give you the ultimate in control and reliability. Our wire skeg design provides unrivalled feel and is immune to the wire kinking and glider jams that can plague other systems. Our entry-level rope skeg beats other rope skegs hands down with its responsiveness. Both share the same robust cassette system with a deep dagger blade which grips the water for optimum performance. Click here for more about our Skeg Systems>
Join our free emailing list
If you'd like to be among the first to hear about our latest news, events and special offers then simply fill in your email address to receive our occasional email newsletter.
Kari-Tek's Geoff Turner runs the end of season social paddle on Loch Etive. This year's paddle was a great success. Read more on our News page.
Kari-Tek now on Facebook
Kari-Tek are now on Facebook. Keep up with our latest news, special offers and new lines online at facebook.com/karitek.co.uk
Kari-Tek Skeg in Norway bid
Kari-Tek's wire skeg design has been selected for use by the 2011 attempt to kayak from Scotland to Norway, following the route of the wartime "Shetland Bus". Read more on our News page.
Kari-Tek Hydro Skeg
As paddlers ourselves we're constantly reviewing our products to ensure they give you best value for money. Unfortunately, with recent large increases in component prices, we're having to suspend production of our Hydro Skeg® for the time being. Production of our popular wire and rope skegs will continue - our wire skegs were in the news recently featuring on the 2011 attempt to kayak from Scotland to Norway. Read more on our News page.
We're delighted to announce that the Rockpool Taran and P&H Delphin have now arrived at Kari-Tek! Both are revolutionary new sea kayaks; both are now available in our demo fleet.
More info on our News page>
Fresh fish in our shop!
We've a new range of T shirts in stock this summer specially designed for kayakers and canoeists by Ayrshire company Fresh Fish Clothing. More info>
Plus loads of new products, including this year's must have, the i-Pood (no really!), new river and sea kayaking cags, jackets and other clothing, bouyancy aids, collapsible crockery and floating binoculars! Click here to see featured products>
Kari-Tek are Scotland’s agent for SKUK kayaks - designed by Nigel Dennis - and local agents for Kirton, Rockpool and P&H sea kayaks. We have the west of Scotland's largest demo fleet; you can try out our kayaks on the water at our showroom or on the nearby Firth of Clyde. Click here for details.
This is Canoeing
A 2-disc celebration of canoeing, showcasing top single-blade paddlers in their pursuit of remote wilderness journeys or challenging white water.
From open canoe slalom races to 1,000 mile birchbark expeditions, multi-award winning film maker, Justine Curgenven captures the essence of canoeing in 12 short films. Due for release on 12 March 2010 - click here to pre-order online.
Shop online
Take a look at our extensive catalogue of kayaking gear and buy online: Sea Kayaking UK fibreglass sea kayaks designed by Nigel Dennis, Lendal paddles, Reed Chillcheater kayaking gear, bouyancy aids, compasses, towlines, paddle floats, paddle leashes, lighters, load straps, even magazines and DVDs.
Visit our showroom!
Come and visit our smart new shop and showroom, plus a great new display of the widest range of sea kayaks in the west of Scotland.
Located just 7 miles east of the Ayr bypass, we're easy to find (see map on our Contact us page). We have a great range of kayaking kit, plus of course we have the full range of Kari-Tek kayak handling products, from roof racks to trolleys, and our revolutionary skeg systems.