Hi all,

I am totally new to kayaking, but I am very much into outdoor sports
in general as a XC ski racer. Recently I decided to add kayaking to
the list of activities (even though my apt is already more like a
sports store) Anyway... I am looking for two kayaks, for my girlfriend
and myself. We are planning to use them for flat water ~4 day touring
trips in places like Adack park around Saranac lake. Each kayak must
hold one 170 lbs person plus a ~40 lb backpack. The kayaks must be
foldable/infalable so that we could carry them in case getting to the
river/lake requires some hiking. And we don't have space for 2 hard
shell boats anyway. The price range... hm, below $1000 per boat?

2 questions. One, if I need each kayak to hold a backpack, does it
mean that I need two 2-person kayaks; or, are there single-person
kayaks still with a space for a ~40 lb pack? Two, do I need a self
bailer or a non-self-bailer? I know, non-self-bailers are made for
flat water, but... what if we once in a while decide to use the kayaks
to go down a level 3 river? I.e. is it totally oxymoron to try to find
a kayak which could be used both for flat water and ocassionally for
low-level white water?

Any recommendations on the choice of brand and general thoughts will
be appreciated.

revyakin, runnerXCskier