Our local Anglesey based outdoor equipment shop, Summit to Sea, got in touch to let us know they had just got a demo P&H Volan 156 in so we stopped by to take a look. If you aren't familiar with them, the Volan's are P&H's 'do it all' composite sea kayaks for day trips, weekend camping and a bit of ocean play thrown in too.
The two models they currently have, the 158 and the 160 roughly fit medium and large paddlers. You can read more in our Buyers Guide: P&H Sea Kayaks. We knew the 156 would be smaller than its siblings but we were keen to know more. As P&H haven't released any official information yet we took some quick and rough measurements to see how this model compares to the others and to see what sort of paddler size it will suit.
Volan 156
≈ Length 473cm (15’6”) ≈ Width 53.5cm (21”) | Avg Paddler ≈ 168cm (5’6”) 65kg (143lb)
Volan 158
Length 479cm (15’9”) Width 55cm (21.7”) | Avg Paddler ≈ 173cm (5’8”) 75kg (165lb)
Volan 160
Length 488cm (16’0”) Width 58cm (23.0”) | Avg Paddler ≈ 180cm (5’11”) 85kg (185lb)
The numbers and a quick sit in the boat suggest that it will suit small to medium paddlers, rather than extra small. The main reason for this is it's width which while giving a small paddler plenty of stability, would be a bit too wide for an extra small paddler. We look forward to trying this boat on the water soon and if you would also like to, we can recommend Summit to Sea's Sea Kayak Demo Weekends where as well as having all the latest P&H sea kayaks they also have the SKUK, Valley and North Shore models for you to try.
Summit to Sea: Sea Kayak Demo Weekend - £185
By Philip Clegg
With over two decades of working in the sea kayaking industry, Phil can be found on a daily basis coaching on the sea around Anglesey. That's when he's not researching and writing on all things sea kayaking.