Oru Kayak has long offered some of the market's most compact, conveniently portable watercraft. Now the company is expanding the appeal of its lineup by pairing its vessels with an equally compact, portable electric drive system. Teaming up with the folks at Bixpy, it's developed an e-drive solution that travels and mounts easily and provides quiet, range-extending performance with less paddling effort.
Launched in 2012, Oru Kayak has blown up its original concept of an origami-inspired folding kayak from a single vessel to an impressive lineup of kayaks of different sizes and styles. Making those folding boats compatible with an electric drive took a little extra engineering, given that a collapsible kayak is a much different form factor from the average motor boat, kayak or stand-up paddleboard. For instance, as perfect as a self-carrying portable outboard like the new ePropulsion eLite looks on paper, a foldable kayak doesn't afford a transom for plug-and-play clampdown.
Oru worked with the compact e-drive experts at Bixpy to engineer around the issue. Bixpy already had a universal electric motor solution in its K-1 Outboard so it was simply a matter of creating a functional mount for Oru's kayaks. That mount secures adhesively to the base of the kayak, whether it's folded up in carry form or unfolded in full kayak mode. The motor drive then simply slides and locks in place, easily removing when it's not needed.
On the water, the Bixpy K-1 is powered by the accompanying Outboard Power Pack, which delivers an estimated runtime between 80 minutes and 12 hours, depending upon which of the 12 speeds the paddler selected. The motor also includes three reverse speeds. The kayaker controls speeds via a simple Bluetooth remote. The remote and power pack both float in case of a flip or crash.
At just 10 lb (4.5 kg) for the motor and power pack, the Bixpy e-drive is designed to complement the light, compact, readily portable nature of Oru's kayak lineup. It's even lighter than the aforementioned ePropulsion eLite outboard, which pushes 15 lb (6.8 kg).
Accessibility has always been a core mission at Oru, and its original origami kayak design was meant to expand accessibility for urban paddlers who might not have storage space or transport vehicles for traditional solid-hull kayaks. It sees the Bixpy motor option as a further expansion of this mission, empowering users who might not be able to physically paddle as far as they'd like and could use a motor boost.
"When we first introduced our concept of origami kayaks, the portable, lightweight design expanded paddling accessibility," said Oru product director Forrest Harvey. "Our partnership with Bixpy Motors reinforces this mission and grows our kayaking community to support individuals of all experience and mobility levels."
The new Bixpy e-drive kit is available now for $1,299. Oru says that it's compatible with all of its kayak models.
Source: Oru Kayak
