Tuilik

Traditional West Greenland sealskin akuilisaq (left) and tuilik (right), ~1893 drawing.
A kayaker wearing a tuiliusaq (modern neoprene tuilik), in the starting position for a siukkut tunusummillugu rolling exercise.

A tuilik is an Inuit watertight jacket, used when paddling a kayak. It is sealed at the face, at the wrists and around the cockpit coaming. In this way the paddler can capsize and come back upright (using an Eskimo Rescue or kayak roll) without getting wet, and without getting any water into the kayak.

The air trapped in a tuilik makes rolling easier. If the paddler comes out of their kayak, a tuilik provides considerable initial buoyancy, and the legs may be drawn up into the air pocket.[1] PFDs may be worn over or under a tuilik or tuiliusaq.[2]

In summer months an akuilisaq (a spray skirt or spray deck) may be used instead.[1]

Many kayakers do not use a tuilik, but instead a separate spray skirt and kayaking top (often a drytop, something like a drysuit jacket), which usually seals around the waist, arms, and neck.[3] A tuilik integrates the skirt and top into one piece of clothing, with a hood-edge seal rather than a neck seal. Tuiliks are generally less restrictive of motion,[2] but the fit is finnickier.[4]

  1. ^ a b Tuiliks (tuillit) and Kayak Clothing
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Baker was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference kayarchy_clothing was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference brooks_reed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).