My buddy Ken got a C Tug and that was my first awareness of the cart. He was having trouble getting his Trident 13 to fit on one of the traditional aluminum style folding kayak carts. What attracted him to the C Tug were the large adjustable pads. When I first saw it I could see why the pads would accommodate a wide array of kayak bottoms. They function similarly to rack pads like the one’s Thule offers on their roof racks. Joey spoke with the company and I was sent one to review. The first thing you can’t help notice is the cart is predominantly plastic.  The coolest feature is it breaks down fast and assembles just as easily. On their website they say “Assembles in seconds” and they’re right. If it takes you a minute to either assemble or break down this cart you’re doing something very wrong. It will easily store in a front hatch and there’s nothing to rust which is another great feature.

Most of my trips at this time of year require surf launches and the cart has to be good in sand. Aired down pneumatic tires work OK but theyu're not ideal. I happen to be taking a trip to a spot where an all terrain wheel was perfect so I brought the cart along. Our trip was over by the Statue of Liberty. I was the first to arrive and while I was putting my kayak on the cart a guy offered to help me carry it to the water. I thanked him but said I needed to test the cart. Almost any cart will work in a paved parking lot but once off the pavement there were some holes and uneven terrain. Enough to give the cart a bit of a workout. The cart performed great. Next spring I’ll get a chance to use it on some trails as there are a couple spots on a local river I like to fish that require about a half mile hike down a trail.

I had heard the company was coming out with a sand wheel so I gave them a call. Most people I know have need of a cart that'll function in sand. I had a nice chat with Peter, who’s in charge of North America for the company. They have a sand wheel that will be available by the end of 2010 and is pictured below. Initially it will be offered as an accessory but by late 2011 early 2012 you’ll be able to get a cart with the sand wheels instead. As you can see it's a solid wheel. The company went this route to keep the size down while still providing a lot of surface area for floatation. They’re going to send me a set when they’re available and I hope to use them at Kiptopeke this winter and give an addendum to this report. The cost of the sand wheels is $48 for the pair. Both the sand and pneumatic wheels are made in New Zealand. The company went this route because the original pneumatic wheels they were getting overseas wasn’t up to the high standard they had set for the product. So now the wheels are made in New Zealand.

So if you’re looking for a great cart that makes a lot of sense check out the C Tug. It's a very smart addition any kayak fisherman's accessories. I touched base with Ken to let him know about the sand wheels and he said when available he was putting in an order. He's very pleased with his C Tug too.