oru-kayak

After years of releasing one origami kayak after another, Oru has really stepped out of its comfort zone and diversified. This time, the company puts its industrial-origami skills into a newly launched line of portable camping furniture.

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.

At the same time it's been launching portable kayaks, Oru has been quietly working to apply its origami construction to other products. It's now introducing camp furniture that packs small and flat, quickly building into a multifunctional campsite.

Ever since Oru introduced its first origami-style folding kayak back in 2012, other brands have come out with boats that were claimed to be lighter and more compact. Oru has now addressed that competition, with its sub-$700 18-lb (8 kg) Lake kayak.

Already the go-to for light, packable origami-inspired kayaks, Oru is now launching its lightest, most portable model to date. Sized down for the everyday commute, the new grab-and-go Inlet kayak rides to the water on your shoulder and sets up in well under five minutes.

​It was back in 2012 that we first heard about the Oru, a touring kayak that can be folded up origami-style when not in use. Well, after releasing a couple of other solo-paddler models in the intervening years, its makers have now unveiled the two-person Oru Haven.

​California's Oru Kayak has found great success with its origami-inspired approach to boatbuilding. The refreshed Coast XT is its flagship model for 2018, and continues the company's evolution by incorporating a few new bells and whistles that promise faster setup and better stability. ​

Since introducing its first folding kayak in 2012, San Francisco startup Oru Kayak has been growing its lineup with modestly evolving origami-inspired kayaks like the Bay+. Its latest is the all-new Beach, a 12-foot model designed for super-quick set-up and stable paddling.

The Oru origami-style kayak made a big splash in the foldable boat market, raising close to $450K on Kickstarter and earning all kinds of media and industry attention. Rather than resting on its accomplishments, Oru has designed the upgraded Bay+.

Designers of the Oru folding kayak have raised funds for a run at commercial production.

The Oru is a folding kayak, made almost entirely out of one piece of folded corrugated plastic.