Pikeman,

Thaniks for the insights. I just recently acquired a spring creek clamp in seat because my snap always seemed to be dangling at the end of my bungy cord during portages. Doh!

I'm going to be evaluating this new one for weight, ease-of-installation and positioning in our Wenonah Champlain this season. My only concern at the moment is whether the occupant will be sitting too high and thus change the center of gravity (making us a bit more 'top heavy") when we travel.

On the other hand, I have really liked the snap-in seat and can't make up my mind whether to part with it. Can always keep the two and sell the one I don't want I guess! Thanks again for the info -- I considered getting the style you had but ran into a large group of scouts and leaders on bwca 1-week trip who ddin't report back on it favorably ---- always good to hear what you and others think on these various options!

I've got one of the spring creek yokes and used it to portage my SR17 during last year's trip.

Advantages:
1.  Very light
2.  Comfortable seat
3.  Easily adjustable for width during portages
4.  Quick to flip from seat to portage yoke

Disadvantages:
1.  If you fall while on the portage, your neck is in a very unsafe spot trapped inside of the yoke.  I would not let my kids carry the canoe due to the safety concern
2.  Put quite a bit of stress on a small area.  My boy goes around 150 lbs and I'm starting to see some deformation in the gunnel's metal frame after using this yoke for one week.

I also have one of the old town snap-in plastic seats that I used 2 years ago.   It also works nicely.  I used a small pair of c-clamps to lock in into place so that it would not fall out during portages.

Dave

That was where my wife sat she used a throw-able life preserver as seat cushion with it. I never sat on it.

Good to know as well Fallguy! How are the seats to sit on? It looks (and I'm only guessing here) that the two stretches of cloth over the aluminum cross bars might be kind of hard on the seat (mine, not theirs  )? What was your experience?

I have used the seat / yoke combination from Spring creek on a Souris River Wilderness 18. Never had a problem with the pads slipping off the shoulders. They more than likely had the pads spaced to far apart. My only complaint was  that the canoe does bonce a little when portaging.

Thanks Mad Mat! That was the weight info that I was looking for and couldn't find. I should have looked closer at my Piragis catalogues FYI, I ran into a group of scouts & leaders with that third option seat/yoke in that other paddling place that shall remain nameless and they reported that the yoke option tends to slip off of your shoulders during portage. So they weren't recommending it! However, I would think (and want it) it might be a useful extra seat as I have good portage pads that I really like...so if it comes in a bit under on the weight that might work for me too! I have 2 growing young kids to fit into our Wenonah 18 champlain and so far the portage packs have been the 'fourth seat'.....maybe I just need to buy another boat that my wife and I can paddle in parallel?.....

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the above is a third option - it says it is adjustable for width ? which I'd think would be important. its removable and functions as a yoke also.

potential problem with the old town snap-in seat is will it fit your gunnels ? and is width correct ? its designed to fit the "standard" vinyl covered alum gunnels used on royalex and poly hulls - if its a loose fit, then its just another PITA to deal with on portages

piragis has both of the spring creek models - 36 oz for hte seat/yoke, and 41oz for the other (Wen)

not certain, but pretty sure that Spring Creek is the provider for the Wenonah seats and yokes for the most part

Okay, so this question has been perplexing me all winter but it also has sufficiently distracted me from noticing the cold so it's all working out just fine

Here's my question for any of you very knowledgeable canoeists and gearheads: Which of these two options is
a) Heavier (and what's the weight on each)
AND
b) Better quality/value?

What do you all think? I have one of them
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and am thinking about getting the other one

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but need some help deciding if that's the best course of action. Maybe I should just buy another of the same? Anyway, any advice would be great! Thanks in advance