The Audax is a top-spec fast touring sea kayak. It was designed and built in Australia by Rob Mercer, one of the world's leading sea kayakers. Rob combined his decades of experience, and his knowledge from having paddled and sold just about every ocean kayak made in the last 20 years, into designing the ultimate vessel. This kayak is relatively stable, excellent at catching runners, at home in big messy oceans, maneuverable on flat or bouncy water, and can be packed with heaps of gear for a few weeks of touring. Since gliding into production in 2017, it has sold widely around Australia and abroad. Together with its low-volume equivalents, the Azure and the Aurora, it is popular with paddlers who want the ultimate fast and versatile sea kayak. It retails for around $5700 and is sold through Expedition Kayaks in Sydney.
The photo on the right is proof that I have put my money where my mouth is. This stylish-looking vessel is my brand new Audax, delivered in mid-August 2021. Unfortunately, with the rest of NSW, this is a time of strict lockdown, and the biggest test my top-of-the-line sea kayak is going to get is riding the wake of powerboats on the Parramatta River. Stay tuned for how the Audax fares when I finally rejoin Rob and his Tuesday-night paddlers in some real swell and wind off the Sydney coast. I will shed light on the technicalities of the Audax design, and share my experience on how it compares to my kayak of the last six years, the ever-reliable Tiderace Pace.
Update: As a 2024 update to this post, while I haven't yet delivered on my promise of reviewing my Audax (which is a sensational kayak!) and comparing it to my Pace (very good), I can direct you to another of my posts that has information on what it is capable of, and what it can carry on a two week Bass Strait expedition: https://www.cssphysio.com.au/post/bass-strait-kayak-crossing-feb-2024
Also, you can watch an excellent review of this kayak by clicking on the button below:
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