Anyone else use one of these kind of yokes?

And how does that compare to say - this? for portaging.

We'd like a dual action seat for MiniMN to be able to comfortably sit in our Boundary Waters canoe. She has been just sitting on packs for now.

the first style should be able to flip around and become a 3rd seat. the second style is just a yoke, not for sitting.

No I understand that the second yoke isn't for sitting. That's what we have now. Our daughter sits on our canoe packs right now - but when we're out fishing she has nothing to sit on - so we're thinking of investing in the first linked yolk. I've clarified (I think)my OP.

I have the Spring Creek yoke in 2 tripping canoes. Some people don't like them......they call them the "choker". They can be a little tough to get out of in a hurry if you stumble on the trail and need to dump the canoe off quick. My sons prefer them to standard yokes.....personal choice. I don't use them as 3rd seats much for a couple reasons. One, you have to slide the pads together or your butt slips through.....even with a seat strapped on (probably not a problem with smaller child). Two, I think the seat position is still a touch high and you feel top heavy. Three, because you remove the middle thwart to install them (in yoke position), you lose some bracing and a heavier person will pull the sides in on certain boats and roll the gunnels (again, probably not a problem with a child).
I've used them successfully for years for portaging.....not so much for sitting.

My son has one of these yolk/seats on his alumacraft which he has been using for years.
One thing nice about them is the quick and easy switching from seat to yolk and back again (just a spring loaded ball snaps into place). I have also portaged with it and haven't had any issues, but I have never used it as a seat. I believe a child or smaller individual wouldn't have any problems sitting on it. If the padded supports keep sliding apart, you could bungee them together or secure them some other way.

I use these in one of my canoes, a royalex Old Town Tripper XL (thanks Speckled, great canoe!). As cowdoc mentioned, the two pads must be pushed together to make a seat. The area is still small, even for little kids, so I bought a couple extra pads from Spring Creek last summer and push them all together (4 total) to make a wider spot for my kids. With really little ones, this isn't as important, but they grow quickly. I too, worry a little about stumbling while portaging and getting trapped, but with a Kevlar canoe, it's not too big of a concern, as they are easier to throw off as you fall. With the Old Town Tripper XL, though it's a different story, I wouldn't want to get stuck in the yoke and get crushed by that 105 lb beast. I will say though, that at least in my opinion, it is by far the most comfortable way to portage heavy canoes. With Kevlar canoes, the difference in comfort probably won't be as great. As a final advantage, the loss of the traditional yoke when using the Spring Creek yoke allows for easier canoe loading (if you aren't using it as a seat).

A yolk is part of an egg. A yoke is used to carry a canoe. Sitting on a yolk could leave a yellow stain. Hope this helps.

Touche, good eye.

I have the Spring Creek yoke in a Wenonah 17' Sundowner (Royalex) and an 18/5' MNII (Kevlar). They work very well as a third seat, particularly for kids. Easy to switch from seat to portage yoke, and comfortable while portaging, even on one-mile portages. A definite improvement over the second link yoke in terms of portage comfort.

Now for the downsides. While I don't fear getting trapped in the portage if I slipped and fell, the forward bar does block a portion of your view of the ground when you portage, requiring you to go slower on portages with lots of rocks, mud or roots. However, this is only a minor inconvenience.

The bigger issue is how much space it takes up in the canoe. Since it takes up the widest part of the canoe, it limits the amount of packs that can fit in the canoe, particularly if you want to give your third person any leg room. In my MNII, it pushed our packs toward the narrower front and back thwarts, making the packs harder to put in and take out, particularly the food barrel and the tent pack. You can fit tackle boxes under the seat, but this is limited to items about 8" tall. Make sure you plan your pack placement well before you hit the water.

That said, it is Still the best option I have found for a third seat, and I still use them. As our kids get older and can occupy a front seat, I expect to transition away from a third seat and use a sling-type yoke like this. Spring Creek Chosen Valley Sling Pad

I have a Spring Creek yoke, but have not installed it yet. I have used it a bunch of times as a drop-in third seat in my Champlain.

I have sat on one of these yokes that was installed on a Minn III. My partner did not want to fish that day, so I jumped in with two other guys in the Minn III. It does pull in the sides of the canoe when you sit down on the seat. I asked Chuck at Spring Creek about it and he said when they install them, they make the yoke a bit wider than the canoe, so it pushes the canoe sides out a bit to compensate.

If I install this yoke, I may install a thwart behind the yoke to support the sides of the canoe.

I like the idea of having a yoke you can remove when you are loading, and in the yoke position, you have lots more room under the yoke for packs.

You could also leave the yoke right where it is and just use this

I bought one of these this past year and used it in my Wenonah Boundary waters for my 12 year old son. It worked flawlessly. Because you don't remove the yoke to install it, it is very stable.

I had/used the Spring Creek yoke/seat for a few years when my girls were young. I thought it was incredibly comfortable on portages, and the kids liked it a lot more than sitting on packs. I would not hesitate to recommend it.

Something not mentioned yet is that you can keep your current yoke and just add a third seat to your canoe using regular hangers like this and a web seat. This works equally well for adults and children and it's what we've done with our MNII. Attach the seat to the hangers with regular bolts and rubber well washers and you have something that is easily removable when paddling with just two people and won't come loose at all when in use for the 3rd person. Just have to make sure you get the seat low enough that the third person's weight doesn't throw off the center of balance (i.e. try to make it the same height as the other seats or close to it).

It's a pretty easy modification, and in my opinion much better than the removable yoke/seats since you get a real yoke & pads for portaging and this will also keep the center of the hull more rigid.

Here's a pic, though not the greatest. I could get closer pics of the added seat itself if you think you might want to give it a try.

quote Frenchy19: "I had/used the Spring Creek yoke/seat for a few years when my girls were young. I thought it was incredibly comfortable on portages, and the kids liked it a lot more than sitting on packs. I would not hesitate to recommend it. "

How is it portaging with a pack on your back?

Portaging with a pack was pretty comfortable, actually. Although I must confess, I did that rarely as my knees ain't what they used to be!

quote Frenchy19: "I had/used the Spring Creek yoke/seat for a few years when my girls were young. I thought it was incredibly comfortable on portages, and the kids liked it a lot more than sitting on packs. I would not hesitate to recommend it. "

Where did you buy this? I see I can get it online - but is there anywhere local that sells them? I already checked with Midwest Mountaineering - with no luck.

I'm in the Cities.

Just purchased our Spring Creek Yoke/seat today! Should arrive tomorrow! Woo Hoo!!!!!

I have used one for years on a MN2. I like the versatility of a third seat. However what I really appreciate is how comfortable it is to portage. It is tight to land over your head when flipping the canoe but I have learned to take off my hat before I flip it.

quote MNLindsey80: "Just purchased our Spring Creek Yoke/seat today! Should arrive tomorrow! Woo Hoo!!!!!"

I think you'll like it.. I've had one for 20yrs. In our group we often end up w/ an odd man, so this is the only good option there. Also good, as you say to go out fishing w/ 3. IT's nice as well to be able to throw a jacket or something on it even when empty to keep off the bottom of the canoe.

Having said that, I have mine setup to replace w/ conventional thwart and nice pads. I prefer it when tripping w/ only 2. So, when you get your Spring Creek, don't throw out or sell the other thwart. Plan your holes and you may be able to switch back / forth.

Portaging, depending upon your pack style the rear bar may hit straps on the pack making the front heavy. I've thought about adding another set of holes so I could move the mount brackets back / forth, but havent' done it yet.