Zegul Arrow Play HV Sea Kayak review

Recently off Rhoscolyn, Anglesey, I paddled up to a striking yellow and white Zegul Arrow Play MV with South Coast Canoes emblazoned on its side. The owner enthusiastically stated that his kayak was brilliant in dynamic conditions and awesome fun to paddle. He also noted that the Zegul Arrow Play sea kayak is rarely seen in British waters. A few fantastic brands dominate the UK sea kayak market, and they offer many well-designed and constructed boats. Zegul’s Arrow Play is an outsider but a great addition to any prospective buyer’s demo list. It is important to try out numerous kayak models before choosing the best match for both comfort and performance. After all, the kayak chooses the paddler!

My experience in the Zegul Arrow Play HV has also been positive. Despite not being a dedicated tide race surfing kayak, it is a superb dynamic water day and expedition sea kayak. It falls into the multirole play category of sea kayaks, ideal for the paddler who can only own one kayak at a time. When not surfing my SKUK Romany Surf in tide races, it is the Arrow Play I have most enjoyed paddling on journeys in exciting conditions.

The Zegul Arrow Play is especially nimble and playful in confused clapotis with fun coastlines. This performance is apparent both when fully loaded on expeditions and day trips. I’ve paddled it on wonderful life-affirming camping trips, particularly in Scotland. These experiences were all enhanced by the Arrow Play, which was superbly responsive despite being laden with equipment. In contrast, some other sea kayaks can feel sluggish when loaded. Whilst on an expedition, the feeling the Arrow Play provides, dancing near the rocky shore impact zone, is joyful.

Perfect balance

Due to the fish form and chines nature of the Arrow Play’s design, care must be taken not to load the rear of this kayak heavier than the front, especially when expeditions. When rushing to load my first Arrow Play expedition in Tarbert, Harris Harbour, I departed to find my boats distinctly twitchy and unsteady. I was glad to find that better loading restored perfect balance the following day. When the load is reasonably balanced, paddling the Arrow Play in strong winds is fine, with predictable weather cocking often easily controlled with edging or skeg. My version did not have the optional rudder, but I would love to try one with this feature – I’m a big fan of the Tiderace ruddered kayaks too – if only I fitted the Pace Action better.

I have frequently used the Zegul Arrow Play as my coaching kayak, where the ability to paddle comfortably and with assurance over extended periods is essential. The Arrow Play’s positive secondary stability for student paddlers is brilliant for practising edging manoeuvres and self-rescues. When edging, the obvious secondary stability provides ample feedback, informing the paddler of where the dreaded tipping point lies. This secondary stability also makes out of cockpit balance games easier in the Arrow Play than some other rounder-hulled kayaks.

How is this playfulness achieved? I’m not an expert in kayak design, so I’m presuming that this boat’s moderately boxy/chined and fish-shaped design helps confer secondary stability and responsiveness, making it fun to paddle. These hull chines are not as aggressive as on some other kayak designs, and this limits the tripping tendency more aggressive chines can confer when paddling over eddy lines. The Arrow Play’s chined hull also helps engage carving turns when surfing on waves. Due to the good hull speed, it is good at catching the less steep longer waves that slower and more rockered kayaks struggle to catch.

Consequently, it is great fun on downwind surfing blasts. The Arrow Play’s modestly rockered profile does, however, limit its performance in steeper wave environments, for example, certain tiderace overfall features and steeper beach surf. Far more rockered sea kayaks are preferable for this kind of paddling, as their bows and sterns feel looser on the curling waves. Nevertheless, paddlers who often use highly rockered surfing sea kayaks tend to revert to faster and roomier kayaks on expeditions. They often have bigger garages to accommodate lots of kayaks too!

Three sizes

My Zegul Arrow Play’s build quality and comfort have been well-tested and abused over the last four years of general paddling and expeditions. Reassuringly, the gel coat has proven to be reasonably robust on my frequent bumps into rocky shores. The Arrow Play is produced in three sizes, the larger of which comfortably accommodates my 36-inch legs with size 12 feet and 95 kg posterior. Dignified evacuation from the cockpit is also feasible for the longer-legged paddler. I also like the HV cockpit’s high leg/knee positioning that protects my weak hips and facilitates good power transfer between the foot and paddle blade – more spread leg cockpits do not agree with my dodgy hip.

The affordability of this sea kayak is also good. Its retail price is currently 10-20% cheaper than many other equivalent sea kayaks in the UK. The standard A-Core currently retails for £2,900. Zegul is based in Estonia and is a friendly company and highly popular brand in Scandinavian and Baltic countries. They have an excellent social media profile, with inspiring photos and films of their kayaks being paddled adventurously around the world.

In conclusion, this sea kayak works well for me. It is superbly designed with excellent build quality. And best of all, it is responsive, playful, and stable, even on expedition. The Arrow Play’s good looks and scarcity make it more unusual and striking when paddled in British Isles waters. Arguably, it should be on every prospective sea kayak buyer’s demo list. After all, the kayak chooses the paddler!

Some equivalent multi-purpose sea kayaks

Sea Kayaking UK Explorer – similar specification to the Arrow Play – no chines, more rounded hull.
Tiderace Pace Action – multi-purpose fast sea kayak with rudder.
P&H Cetus and Volan – at 17 ft long, the Arrow Play sits neatly between these two kayaks.
Rockpool Taran 16 – multi-purpose fast sea kayak with rudder.
Valley Etain and Sirona – at 17 ft long, the Arrow Play sits neatly between these two kayaks.
Northshore Atlantic Evolution – a 17 ft long dynamic water kayak.

Summary

Positives

• Responsive and fun in dynamic seas.
• Exhilarating to paddle when laden on expeditions.
• Excellent secondary stability.
• Downwind blast surfing.
• Reasonably fast.
• Impressive build quality and customer care/support.
• Comfortable cockpit and leg positioning.
• Three sizes – LV, MV and HV.
• Constructions – A-Core or C-Core carbon fibre.
• Optional rudder.
• Looks excellent – lovely colour schemes.
• Price.

Negatives

• Insufficient rocker for loosely surfing steeper overfall/beach waves.
• Custom orders require importing and may take a little longer to arrive – plenty of stock kayaks already in the UK.