Welcome to Floating Authority
Floating Authority is a site created by Outdoor Enthusiasts who feel most at home when they are on the water. Our purpose is to create high quality information, reviews and guides that use lessons from real life experiences in the Great Outdoors. Topics we cover include Kayaking, Paddle Boarding, Fishing,as well as activties for the more causal watersports enthusiasts such Floatie Fans,and other related forms of Expertise.
They say the best de-stresser is nature and I could not agree more! From the casual water loving enthusiast to the more extreme and dedicated enthusiasts. Our aim is to give you the best up-to-date information authorized and citated by our outdoor experiences and true outdoor authoratative sources and governing bodies. We pledge to never give you infromation that can put you at personal risk. Every piece published has been well researched and citated to insure your saftey.
What’s in it for You?
We pride ourselves in going the extra mile to make sure the products and advice we reccomend are the right products for the job. Unfortunetly there are a lot of reviewers out there who just want to make a quick buck and choose the most popular product without taking into consideration if the product is safe for it’s condition. Heck I have even seen reviewers reccomend $70 inflatable kayaks for ocean conditions which I know first hand can be dangerous. I can tell you it’s darn near impossible to paddle against the tide when it goes against you are in a cheap inflatable dinghy. While it is physcially impossible to test every kayak on the market without having won the lottery, we do put my due diligence in research and editing which I will get to below.
The internet has become a blessing and a curse at the same time when it comes to information. There are so many options out there when it comes to finding the ideal solution. Many people get discouraged and put off by the whole process that they end up missing something that could turn into a wonderful hobby or possibly more! Our main goal is to help You (The Information Seeker) find the most compatible information that fits your aim, your area and your lifestyle.
Your Aim: What would you like to accomplish? Are you looking for a casual escape to the outdoors or will it be part of a regular routine.
Your Area: Where do you live and what bodies of water surround you? An example of this is if you have a Recreational Kayak, you will be paddling in sheltered areas like bays or lakes but if you had say a Touring Kayak you would be a more prominent paddler paddling along the Coasts with greater speed and and tougher conditions.
Your Lifestyle: Combines the first two conditions and kind of jumbles it into one. How often are you going out there? Whats the Prevelant information that you need to know?
Our Team
At Floating Authority we have a growing staff who love the oudoors as much as you do. As of now our team consists of..
Derek Lenze
Hello my name is Derek and I am the face behind Floating Authority. I am one of those people who finds the most peace and tranquility in the outdoors sitting on a kayak or paddle board in the middle of the lake then going to yoga retreat. I use my 20 years real life experiences in fishing, kayaking, paddle boarding and more to relay to you the best advice I have found while out doing my thing on the water. I have been a floating enthusiast since I was 5 years old enjoying riding shotgun in my parents canoe in Ontario’s Provincial parks or getting up at the crack of dawn to head out in our canoe and go fishing for northern pike. Many great stories can be told (like the time we unexpectedly caught a Pike canoeing in Quebec all while a lightning storm was about to hit the lake!) and I owe a great deal of them to floating on the calm lakes of Quebec and Ontario.
Since then I have enjoyed a variety of other watercraft’s such as Kayak’s and Paddle boards which has opted me to create guides to make it easier for you to make an informed choices that works for you, your area and your lifestyle. I have over 20 years experience in paddling canoes, kayaks, paddle boards and really anything else that goes into the water. I use my first hand knowledge and experience to rate and choose what will best suit your needs or educate you in as much depth and detail as possible using cited sources when needed. I have since been transplanted to the west coast of Vancouver so what applies to the lakes in Ontario doesn’t necessarily apply to the ocean surrounding Vancouver. I feel this experience has really given me some valuable lessons on just how important having the right gear and equipment really is.
I also write for my newer projects Inflatable SUP Authority and Inflatable Kayak Authority.
Zia
Zia is one of our writers and Publishers who is a massive outdoors enthusiast located in Toronto Ontario. He works at Live Wild, A company that offers adventures to people who want to leave the city and experience all the benefits that the outdoors can offer. Zia offers a wide array of expertise in his years of kayaking, paddle boarding, snorkeling and his newest favorite past time, rock climbing. Derek has known Zia for 3/4’s of his life and have embarked on many countless adventures together. In the past they have travelled down the Okanagan and gone on a multi day kayaking trip from Penticton to Vernon on Okanagan lake. When not enjoying the day rock climbing or kayaking he primarily works on his business Goliath Marketing. and keeps amazing content flowing on our site.
How We Create Content
There are two ways in which we create the content on this site, We write the content ourselves or we get knowledgeable niche specific writers to write for Floating Authority. Everything We post is read and edited by Derek or Zia to insure that everything is as acurate as possible. Anything cited and sourced will be given due credit.
We try to test as much of the products and experiences as humanly possible but with more expensive items such as kayaks and paddle boards, it is not possible to try them all without mortgaging your house. Products that have not be tried by us are graded based on customer experience through reviews and forums. We feel that the best way to really represent how a product fares is to see what different customers say, both the good and the bad aspects of it.
For more information or questions you may have feel free to Contact us
Until then enjoy my website and get out there and explore all of what nature has to offer!