The R2 Ultra on a gravel bar below the cliffs. Photo: Morne Mamlambo, Mamlambo Fossils
By Morne Mamlambo, Mamlambo Fossils
My first trip in the Razor Kayaks R2 Ultra is the one you can watch in my video Fossil kayak adventure pays off. I drifted down the river toward the river mouth, past people fishing for salmon, with limestone and sandstone cliffs and the odd cave along the way. It was about 86°F (30°C), which is hot for New Zealand, and so peaceful on the water that it felt like the best way to fossil hunt.
Drifting past the cliffs on the first trip. Video still: Mamlambo Fossils
One of the caves along the cliffs. Video still: Mamlambo Fossils
I spent the day working through the fossil layers: shark teeth, belemnites, petrified wood, and a seal napping on the rocks about 16 feet (5 meters) away. I’d run out of water, the sun was about to set, and I was literally on my way out when I spotted something tooth-shaped in the rock. Back home, after a few cycles in acid, it turned out to be what I suspect is a plesiosaur tooth, about 1.5 inches (3 to 4 cm) long, and the biggest plesiosaur tooth I’ve found.
A seal napping on the rocks, about 16 feet (5 meters) away. Video still: Mamlambo Fossils
The tooth as I spotted it in the rock, on my way out. Video still: Mamlambo Fossils
The plesiosaur tooth after preparation, about 1.5 inches (3 to 4 cm). Video still: Mamlambo Fossils
I spend most of my time in Canterbury, on the South Island of New Zealand, exploring the rivers that come from the Southern Alps down to the coast. The kayak gets me to areas I couldn’t reach on foot, and with it I explore cliffs and other exposures to find fossils. I’ve done about ten trips with it so far. The best find from the kayak is a plesiosaur propodial, one of the big flipper bones, about 70 million years old.
Ten Minutes to the Water, Five to Pack Away
Paddling solo down the river on the first trip. Photo: Morne Mamlambo, Mamlambo Fossils
I usually inflate the kayak at the car with a 12V inflator. It’s quite loud, so I do it away from campers and other people. Inflating it and getting it into the water takes about ten minutes. The kayak is light and easy to carry down to the river, and so far I haven’t carried it farther than about 330 feet (100 meters).
Packing up is even quicker. I usually deflate it, pop it into the car trunk, and let it dry out back at home before I pack it away, so packing away, including deflating, takes about five minutes.
On the Water: Easy to Steer, Fast, and Rock Solid
No wind on the first trip, heading for the river mouth. Video still: Mamlambo Fossils
On that first trip there was no wind, and the kayak was so easy to steer and so fast that I actually had to slow it down to keep an eye on the cliffs. I hadn’t even put the skeg in, because the river is quite shallow in parts. The R2 Ultra can be paddled by one or two people, and even though I’m in the two-person version on my own, I can steer it with no problem at all.
On the water below the cliffs. Photo: Morne Mamlambo, Mamlambo Fossils
I went for the larger kayak so I’d have room for more fossils. The extra space up front is where they go, and I put most of the weight in the nose, which balances it nicely with one person on board.
It’s very stable, and that matters when you weigh about 265 lbs (120 kg), as I do. I’ve been on other kayaks that feel wobbly, but this one is rock solid, probably the most solid kayak I’ve ever been on. That matters for my camera equipment too, which can’t get wet. I’ve taken it out in most types of weather since, and it handles well in windy conditions.
What Surprised Me Most: The Build Quality
Pulled up on a rocky shore. Photo: Morne Mamlambo, Mamlambo Fossils
The build quality is very, very good. You can tell the stitching is going to last, and there’s some really good reinforcement on the front and on the bottom, so when you bash into a rock, it’s not going to damage it. I’ve scraped it across gravel bars quite often, and I’ve only noticed shallow scratches, nothing deep or serious.
The backpack is super easy to get the kayak into, too. It’s big enough, so it’s not a struggle, and it means I can hike the kayak into a lake and explore there.
Tips for Your First Trip
I found the easiest way to get in is to have one leg on either side of the kayak and then sit down into it. The seats will need some adjusting until you have them perfect for you, so take some time to do that before you go on your first big trip.
Who I’d Recommend It To
A quiet stretch of river from above. Photo: Morne Mamlambo, Mamlambo Fossils
If you don’t have a pickup truck, this is a great kayak to explore with. It easily fits inside a car trunk, without having to go on a roof rack, which becomes a pain. It’s great for road trips or for taking to the beach house, and it’s easy enough to inflate that kids over 10 should be able to handle it. I haven’t tried fishing from it, so I can’t talk about that.
The R2 Ultra at a Glance
Figures from Razor Kayaks:
- Capacity: one or two people
- Weight: 32 lbs
- Maximum load: 635 lbs
- Length: 14 ft 1 in
- Width: 33 in
My Verdict
Is there anything I’d change? I think it hits all the marks that I look for in a kayak: it’s very stable, easy to steer, quick to set up and pack away, very, very well built, and it fits in the trunk of my car. As I said at the end of that first video, you’re definitely going to see me using it on future adventures.
Disclosure: Razor Kayaks supplied my R2 Ultra for a video collaboration. Everything above is based on my own trips with it.
Morne Mamlambo on the Canterbury coast. Photo: Mamlambo Fossils
About the author: Morne Mamlambo is a New Zealand fossil hunter, science communicator, and content creator behind Mamlambo Fossils. His more than 300 videos on fossil collecting, geology, and fossil preparation have amassed over 300 million views across social media platforms, and he shares new discoveries weekly with an audience of more than one million followers.
Many of the fossils he has discovered are now housed at institutions including Canterbury Museum and Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. He is currently studying geology and biology at the University of Canterbury.
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