I don’t love Walmart. But I’ve come to terms with it. Here’s why. In my sleepy little resort town/fishing village there are four places to shop: Publix for groceries, Bealls Outlet for clothing, Home Depot for home upkeep and repair, and Walmart, which does all of that and more.
There isn’t a sea kayaking store within one hundred miles of me. The closest stores that might have some of what I might need as a sea kayaker are West Marine (15 miles to a mini-store, 30 miles to a full size store) and Bass Pro Shops (35 miles north). West Marine has some of the things I need because they can be adapted from their “big boat” focus to small boat use. Bass Pro Shops, on the other hand, are so exclusively focused on hunting and fishing that their fishing kayak supplies don’t work for me at all. That has meant using the internet as best I can to find the items I need… until I found the marine isle at Walmart.
The video below talks about safety gear, mostly flair kits. One of these I bought from West Marine at a hefty price, mitigated by a sale and rebate. After discovering the Walmart’s Marine isle I found a similar kit, actually a better kit, for less money than I paid West Marine after its sale and rebates!
What I really wanted was a distress signal kit I could put in the pocket of my PFD. That way it would always be with me if an emergency arise. After a diligent search, the only one I could fine was at Bass Pro Shops. I ordered it online. When it arrived it was totally inadequate. Then I stumbled on this: a kayak/paddle sport signal kit in a pocket size, waterproof pouch. Exactly what I had been looking for and was unable to find, even on Orion’s own website!
