I'm considering adding the Spring Creek seat/yoke to the canoe. My 7 yr old has began joining us on bwca trips now. Last year we used a sling type seat that worked okay, but thinking about upgrading to something more comfortable for him. When not used in the bwca the canoe is used in creeks and lakes in south central Indiana and occasionally one of my other younger sons will join us for a short float.

Anyone with experience both as a seat and as a portage yoke with any reviews for me?

Works well for us.

I have a friend here at work that swears by his. He says it is comfortable, gets the canoe up a bit higher for better visibility, and he can move the canoe forward and back for balance.

From another message thread: Switched to Spring Creek portage seat/yoke on all my canoes several years ago. IMO these are the most comfortable portage yokes available.

I have them on both of my canoes, they work great

One problem is if your pack is tall you cant wear it at the same time. I double portage anyway so not a big deal. Comfortable on the trail and not a bad seat either.

I also use them on both of my canoes as well as the seat for a third person. They are very comfortable on portages and easy to switch from seat to portage pad. Also makes it easier to lift the canoe up since you can grab on to one of the support bars. I will never go back to the regular block pads.

i always think about a possible neck injury when i see them. ive had to throw the canoe off while falling, with the standard portage bricks your head isnt trapped. one guys opinion.

I would have to agree with Kanoes. I wear a boonie hat whilst canoeing and I'd think the yoke would fold the hat down around my ears when on my shoulders and if with the chin strap down the yoke might catch when I unload it and strangle me, I wouldn't mind dying from a heart attack on the portage but to be strangled by my canoe seems really wrong, without the hat the yoke might mess up my hair and let's face it we BWCAers have an image to uphold. FRED

I have one and really like it. Comfortable on the portages, and when my girls were younger, they certainly liked it better than plopping on the bottom of the canoe or sitting on a pack.

My friend bought one of these for his aluminum canoe last year. By the end of the trip the frame was starting to bend and crack where the bracket attaches to the canoe. His son that was using it as a seat only weights about 75lbs so it should have been fine.
I think if the mounting brackets were made to be closer to the corners it would be more durable.

When I worked for the Forest Service we had a couple canoes with them on and they are very comfortable, but if you ever slip on the rocks or trip over a tree root you'll quickly see why they aren't very safe. Personally, I prefer the style I can get my neck out of and dodge the canoe if need be.

I've been using Spring Creek Portage Seats on all my BWCA canoes for several years. I too have had the same concern that some have expressed regarding falling.

Our group just widens the seat yoke straps wide enough so your head easily and rapidly comes out in the event you trip.

If someone is using the seat as a 3rd person, it takes a second to make the straps narrow again so their butts don't fall through the gap.

To me and my group the benefits of comfort and added, visibility (the canoe rides higher than with other yokes)far outweighs the slightly possible danger of falling and get tangle up. The increased visibility also greatly minimizes the risk of falling anyway.

We have never experienced one of these failing with cracks as mentioned earlier. We've had 3rd persons using this as a seat who weighed upwards of 150 lbs. Since others haven't expressed this happening, it must be an anomaly. Perhaps you had a weak piece of aluminum in the manufacturing process?????

Just throwing another idea out there. I got the Carlisle snap-in seat for my kids. Not sure if you had tried this one before.

Downside is that it's not really snug enough to portage with it snapped in, so we just placed it under the flap of the pack when portaging.

My 7 and 5 year olds last year shared it comfortably and I expect they will for the next year or two.

quote caribouluvr: "Just throwing another idea out there. I got the Carlisle snap-in seat for my kids. Not sure if you had tried this one before.


Downside is that it's not really snug enough to portage with it snapped in, so we just placed it under the flap of the pack when portaging.


My 7 and 5 year olds last year shared it comfortably and I expect they will for the next year or two."

I've got the same snap in seat, but mine was bought many years ago under the Old Town brand.

They work great on many canoes, but they can only be used on canoes that are the same width as where you want to place the seat. There is no adjustment.

Happy that I put a Spring Creek seat/yoke on my old clunker Coleman canoe. Makes for a comfortable but heavy carry and we use the seat a lot.

I love mine. I can see the concern with a head getting stuck if you need to ditch. But overall the comfort is awesome. Good for a kid to use as a seat. I haul an old Alumacraft (yes I actually portage a heavy canoe) on my yearly trip and find it comfortable enough.

quote kanoes: "i always think about a possible neck injury when i see them. ive had to throw the canoe off while falling, with the standard portage bricks your head isnt trapped. one guys opinion."

I love the spring creek yoke, very comfy. I cannot say there is no risk, I did fall sideways while carrying one last year and had no problem with my head escaping :)

quote Craig K: "My friend bought one of these for his aluminum canoe last year. By the end of the trip the frame was starting to bend and crack where the bracket attaches to the canoe. His son that was using it as a seat only weights about 75lbs so it should have been fine.
I think if the mounting brackets were made to be closer to the corners it would be more durable."

Did he contact Spring Creek? They have pretty good customer service. But you have to contact them.

I had the same concerns as kanoes... But I learned you can escape much like rolling in a kayak.

Is the spring creek yoke/seat weight limited? Would a 200 lb man be OK sitting on it? Seems like most here using it for kids.

quote Diego: "Is the spring creek yoke/seat weight limited? Would a 200 lb man be OK sitting on it? Seems like most here using it for kids."

The vast majority of time, our Spring Creek seat/yokes are used strickly as a comfortable portage yoke when our canoes are used tandem. When the grandkids were young, they rode in the thing used as a 3rd seat too. They sometimes still do when we have 9 people and only 4 canoes, but they hate it. Who really likes being a 3rd wheel in anything?

It is rare, but on fishing excursions from camp, sometime 3 of the adults will ride in one of my SR Q18.5's. My Spring Creek seat/yokes support 200 plus pound men with no problems, but again, it's rare and they are not squirming around causing undo stress on the thing either.

quote Diego: "Is the spring creek yoke/seat weight limited? Would a 200 lb man be OK sitting on it? Seems like most here using it for kids."

I'm 220 and used it for my whole trip last year, no issues. I do put a crazy creek canoe seat with a back on top of the sling straps.

We were very satisfied with ours last year on Seagull on a Grumman. Easily supports a large load ;) up to 300# advertised, but isn't comfortable w/o an attached chair or pad.

I have had one for ten years and it is still in good shape. I had it on an Osagian aluminum canoe for the first 5 years, I sold the boat but kept the seat/portage yoke and put it on my Spirit II.Its well built.

I've used one for years and love it. It is a little different in that it bounces a little bit and at first that can throw you off, but only for a little while. To address Jan's (Kanoes) point about having to get the canoe off in a hurry, I've been in that situation when one leg sank into thigh deep muck in the Q. It feels a little like somebody boxed your ears when it's all over, but at the time the canoe will come off your shoulders easily. One thing I particularly like is the ability to shift the canoe forward or back a little bit to get it balanced on the portage. I carry a small kitchen pack with the canoe and the yoke rests on top of it, allowing me to walk at times with both arms at my sides.

We just got back from a 19 mile trip on a river with class II rapids. We have this yoke on a Wenonah sundowner 17. We portaged 3 times. I found it far more comfortable to use this yoke then the tradtional ones with the pads. The reason is you can adjust the trim fore and aft as you walk. It allowed us to leave the paddles strapped to the canoe and could still balance. We also had packs on and it did not pose any problem. Best part of it is that the canoe rides higher then a pad style yoke. Better visibility. Also allows for solo paddling when put in the seat position. Very pleased with it.

I have searched everywhere to see how exactly this installs and how you switch from yoke position to seat. It looks like you install the clamps and then you can just upload out the seat/yoke and flip to either function as a seat or yoke. Is my assumption correct? Thanks in advance for the help. $120 for me I’d a lot and I don’t want to make a purchase I regret because I didn’t do enough homework. I’m already familiar with the pads from renting a canoe for several years.

Are you looking at this for a solo or a tandem? I can only speak from the standpoint of a tandem. It appears that you would have to remove the current yoke to clamp this in, then you would have a third seat and a yoke in one. If you are just looking for a third seat, I would go with their Drop-in Seat option that you just clamp in. That way you can use it in your own canoe or in a rental, you don't have to modify your canoe, and you can place it where you need to to trim your canoe. I have their Drop-in Seat and it works great. They are having a 10% off sale right now also.

Your correct... it’s a very comfortable yoke... if you can get past the idea if you fall it feels like you’d have trouble getting out of. I used one on a trip where I always carried the canoe (Itasca). It was kinda nice... yokes and pads all have their drawbacks. Pros and cons... for me it would depend on the boat.