There’s no craft that can expand your paddling horizons like a folding kayak. They can be checked as airline baggage and stuffed into buses, bush planes, mail boats, jitneys, helicopters, or even the trunk of your car. And if you live in an apartment they are a godsend. With a folder, that business trip to Miami lets you paddle in the Everglades, your Alaska sea kayaking holiday becomes a lot less complicated, and another boring convention in Salt Lake means a chance to run Escalante Canyon.

Most folding kayaks assemble in about 30 minutes and hold a mountain of gear. And they are extremely seaworthy; they’ve crossed the Atlantic twice, rounded Cape Horn, and run the Grand Canyon, the Yukon, and the Nile. Their flexible skins give them some hydrodynamic advantages – though most aren’t as fast as hardshell kayaks, they’re not as slow as you might think either.

Most folding kayaks are doubles. Many of these are bought by travelers who know that a double only weighs about 20 pounds more than a single, so it makes more sense to travel with a double than two singles. Doubles only cost about 20 percent more than singles so they are also more economical. Since folding kayaks are also expensive to develop and manufacture each manufacturer strives for versatile models. This may explain their large cockpits, high stability and impressive load capacities. Most really are very versatile; they can be sailed, fitted with a small outboard, run through mild whitewater, as well as be used for some serious sea kayaking.

Most paddlers have never heard of Seavivor. But Logan Fleckles and his small crew have been quietly building folding kayaks in Des Plaines, Illinois for years. The Seavivor’s hull is urethane-coated fabric, a material that, while tougher than Hypalon, is also thinner. A clear hull, so you can watch the fish, is also available. The deck is unsually thick laminated polyester. The beautiful ash frame is held together by simple brass latches making it one of the easiest folders to repair in the field. Everything fits together easily, precisely, and quickly. This is a limited production handmade product and the attention to detail shows. The part numbers, for instance, are burned into the wood, not just printed on.

The Classic Double seems speedier than the average double. Because it has no sponsons there’s plenty of room for paddlers and gear. The low deck decreases windage, but it doesn’t help the boat’s appearance. There is nothing flashy about the Classic Double, though it is well thought out, carefully made, and it paddles well.

Like the Seavivor double, the single’s frame is handmade of solid ash and birch plywood with simple but effective brass latches. There are no sponsons so getting the frame into the hull just right is tricky. The hull skin can twist during assembly causing the boat to pull to one side. The urethane and the polyester skin has perimeter lines and gear tie downs, but no provisions for a rudder. The long skinny hull is difficult to load and unload.

If you want a folding single that paddles as well as some hardshell you can buy some other model. If you want performance that’s better than many of the best hardshells, you’ll need a Seavivor. But you’ll also get a wet ride and a reason to brush up on your rolls. That may be a fair trade-off.