The P&H Sea Kayaks Volan 160 is a 16-foot sea kayak made with carbon and kevlar. It is without a doubt one of the most beautiful kayaks that I've ever touched. The questions I want to answer is how good is the Volan? Is the P&H Volan 160 worth the hefty price?
This kayak is referred to as a playful, highly versatile, day and weekend kayak. But does it live up to this description? Well, let’s get straight into my unbiased review of the P&H Volan 160.
P&H Volan 160 Specifications
Price: $4500-$6000 (USD)
Length: 16’
Width: 23”
Weight: 42-58 LBS
Capacity: 265 LBS
Best use: All conditions
Features of the P&H Volan 160
The boat has several features including:
- Large bow and stern hatches, a day hatch, and optional bow mini hatch.
- Full deck lines and bungees for storage.
- A skeg, but the option of a rudder.
- A padded and contoured seat with a back band and hip pads.
- A bulkhead in the front and back.
As an interesting fact, all the P&H sea kayaks are named after constellations or whiskeys.
This sea kayak costs a lot of money, but there is a good reason why. It is a composite kayak, made of a kevlar carbon infusion, and is their highest-end kayak. You can get the same kayak made out of different materials. These are a little cheaper but also a little heavier. The joy of composite materials is that they are lightweight, but also look and feel beautiful.
Portability
This is a 16-foot sea kayak, so it will never be effortless to move around. But it is in fact on the shorter end of sea kayaks, and only 42 lbs. This makes it relatively easy for one person to move it around, and a complete breeze for two people. For a sea kayak, this is incredibly portable simply because of how lightweight it is.
Stability of the Volan 160
No 23” kayak is going to be as stable as a recreational or day kayak. These kayaks will be closer to 30” wide. So, for what it is, the Volan 160 is a stable kayak. It has good primary stability – the stability you feel when just sitting on the water. It also has good secondary stability, which is the stability of the kayak when you hold it on edge. This is not surprising because the hull has a soft chine. That means that it is not round but has a flatter hull that comes up to straighter edges.
Performance, Speed, and Maneuverability
Sea kayaks are designed for speed, so this is a fast kayak. But it is not the fastest sea kayak – if you wanted a faster one you would get a longer kayak with less rocker. The Volan has a fair amount of rocker (the curvature of the kayak from bow to stern), which means it turns very easily, despite it being a 16’ kayak.
The Volan 160 comes with a skeg and it tracks perfectly well. I love a playful kayak and do not mind giving up some performance and speed for a bit more maneuverability and playfulness. It is very much my type of kayak, with a lot of rocker and a big bow that is designed to go through waves. It is designed to handle any type of water conditions and I have no doubt it will do that, although I haven’t had the chance to test it in rough water yet.
Comfort
I tested out the Volan 160, the high-volume version, but P&H also has a 158 for smaller paddlers. The 160 was perfect for me, a 6’ 2”, 195 lbs man with a 34” inseam. It fit me like a glove. The seat and hip pads are contoured and foam and are very comfortable. This helped me feel like I had full control of the kayak and keep confident that the kayak would hold me in any sort of rough conditions.
That being said, there wasn’t much more space next to me, so it could be a tight fit for other people. That’s why, before you buy a boat like this you should always test it out and at least sit in one before you buy it to make sure you fit, especially if you are a bigger person.
There is a lot of foot space, and the footpegs provide nice comfortable platforms for your feet. There is also plenty of space for people with long legs. So comfort-wise, two big thumbs up.
The only thing to note is that there aren’t aggressive thigh supports, you are putting your legs under the boat. So what I will do with this is take foam and customize the boat so that I have the support needed on my thighs. This is what you would expect to do with a lifetime kayak.
Features
The P&H Volan 160 sea kayak comes with a skeg as standard, but you can choose to buy one with a rudder. The skeg is controlled with an awesome and smooth slider system that allows you to choose specifically which depth you want it to go. If you choose to order a rudder you will no longer have a skeg box inside the stern hatch which will free up space for storage on an overnight trip.
The Volan 160 has four different hatches. The bow and stern hatches are the main hatches for gear as there is the most space there, as well as bulkheads separating them from the rest of the boat. Relatively speaking there is lots of room, however, this isn’t a big kayak, so it isn’t ideal for long expeditions, but perfect for day trips or weekends.
The day hatch behind the seat – a very common placement for it, is fine, but my preference would be to have just one big hatch. But this is a personal preference thing.
The mini day hatch up front is an incredibly useful way to use dead space and did not impede my legs. It has enough space to through some sunscreen, snacks, and a phone, all of which you can access easily.
Personalize Your P&H Volan 160
You can go to the P&H sea kayak website and fully customize the kayak you order, including things like the color, whether you have a rudder or a skeg, choose the outfitting, whether you want the mini day hatch, etc. There are a whole range of options. It will take a few months before you receive your custom kayak, but it is an option.
Who is the P&H Volan 160 Volan Kayak For?
To sum it all up, this is an expensive kayak, but one that is worth it in my opinion. You are paying for a lightweight, beautiful, composite kayak. This is a lifetime sea kayak. There is no reason that, if you look after it, this kayak shouldn’t last your entire lifetime. From that perspective, it is a reasonable price.
First and foremost this touring kayak is for people who can afford it. It is also for people who value having a lightweight kayak and are willing to pay a premium for it. It is for people who want an all-around sea kayak: something that can handle rough conditions if they pop up in open conditions. If you are unlikely to put yourself in those conditions you may want to choose a kayak that has less rocker, and is designed less to handle those conditions but will travel faster.
For me, this is my type of kayak. Not only is it a beautiful kayak that paddles effortlessly, but it does what I want from a kayak. It can handle anything – from ocean surf, to boat waves, rock gardens, and ocean waves. At the same time, you can load it up in the car and go for a weekend exploring in flat water. I give this a big enthusiastic two thumbs up. This will be a lifetime kayak for me too!
Kayak: P&H Volan 160
Paddles: Aqua Bound Manta Ray Hybrid
PFD: NRS Odyssey PFD (Touring and Rec)
Clothing: NRS Short Sleeved Guide Shirt
Sunglasses: Wiley X
