New to the EK Store - The Axel Pack Chart Case

Dutch paddler, instructor and expeditioner, Axel Schoevers was a visitor to these shores a few years back, running instruction sessions up & down the East Coast with his buddy Ginni Callahan.

Rob & I with Axel when he visited Sydney

He had an intriguing piece of kit that he had developed himself, a very practical & waterproof chart case. Why bother to make a chart case when there are so many around to buy? Simple, Axel had found that every map case he bought leaked when he took it sea kayaking. Tired of ruining expensive maps, he developed his own, and even Rob, notorious for picking the tiniest fault or likely fail point on any piece of kit, was well pleased when Axel was kind enough to present him with one at the end of his Sydney stay.

Axel about to launch down the reef at 'the Bower' - Sydney 2010

Fast forward to Lady Elliot Island, 80km from the mainland, and a messy but ultimately successful attempt to bust across a heavily breaking coral reef & out onto a heaving beam sea. Chris first, unscathed, then me, losing a GPS & Kayalu Light, then finally Rob copped a snorter as he went over the shallowest part of the reef, braced hard, but broke through to join us in the relative safety of the open sea. Two minutes after we set course & headed off towards our next island some 48km away, I heard a muffled sob, and turned to see a misty eyed Mercer bemoaning the idiocy of our breakout, because that last big breaking wave had cost him his Axel Pack. 'Big deal' I said, in typical empathetic tone, 'just buy another one'. 'Mark', said Rob in his best instructor voice, 'you can't buy them, Axel has to give you one!' You'd have thought he had lost a finger....

The reef at Lady Elliot Island, resting place of Rob original Axel Pack!

Anyway, Axel’s chart case is one of the only truly waterproof chart cases we've found and is a gem. It's double ended rolling closures keep water out even under extreme conditions making it one of the few variable width chart cases on the market.

The plastic tubes slide off to allow you access to your maps and also provide protection when the map is on your deck. Clips on both tubes allow you to clip the map case to your deck-lines. Something tells me Rob hadn't quite managed to get those clips in on Lady Elliot....

These chart cases are hand made by Axel in Zuid-Holland, Netherlands, and now you don't have to wait for Axel to give you one, as we have stock exclusively in Australia. We have a limited number of Axel Packs for sale for $79.95, including free freight nationally, check out our ONLINE STORE (under 'Paddling Accessories').

Justine Curgenven had this to say about her Axel Pack "I have used the same one for years and even put my passport in it on one trip. It's the best map case I know for keeping your precious maps & charts dry & safe.”