The way I lean on the back rest ? I'd pull those little brackets out.
Besides they look like they would slide down, and not provide any back support.
The Surf-to-Summit and CVCA back bands are not really back rest “recliners”, they are more like lower back, keep on paddling with your arse firmly secured, don’t stick up very tall “braces”.
Being Love Handle short they don’t interfere with paddle stroke rotation, or jab rigid supports at my shoulders, and are flexible enough that they don’t chaff, but instead provide perfect lower back support when combined with oppositional force from a foot brace or pedals.
The Surf to Summit back bands are attached with two corner straps pulling forward and two centered straps pulling back; that simple arrangement of straps can be adjusted as near or far from the edge of the seat edge as desired, and can be tri-glide tightened/loosened adjusted on the fly, while keeping the back band held in place vertical, but still flexible enough for torso rotation.
PC180135 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
“Perfect” for me; I have a blown L2/L3 and would be back achy in 10 strokes without a back band. Although I know a bunch of healthier-spine canoeists who likewise swear by them, and some manufacturers include them on canoes where appropriate.
I’ve been using those Surf-to-Summit Performance Pro back bands for at least a dozen years, 2008 or before. In different canoes (OK, every canoe!), variously attached using double pop riveted pad eyes, pad eyes screwed into wood and even (single) pop riveted webbing loops as attachment points, and have not pulled an attachment out yet.
Hard to see but the swivel snaps on these examples are attached via webbing loops with a single pop rivet, or webbing loops through my favorite (already-there) machine screw ends.
P4060723 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
P1011546 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
I am again reminded of an experiment I have too long procrastinated, and in cleaning up the shop shelves found the lengths of wood, vinyl and aluminum gunwale scrap I need to get started.
This will involve sacrificing sundry pad eyes, webbing loops, grommet straps, gunwale tab D-rings and etc. Might have to make a run to Blue Mountain Outfitters and look through their lazy-Susan outfitting bins for other stuff to test.
The Experiment: Attach various connections, 3/16” pop rivets in vinyl gunwale, epoxied screws in wood, gunwale tab inserts under aluminum rail and etc, etc, etc. Hang weights from each attachment point until a rivet or screw pulls out, or a pad eye, webbing loop, grommet strap fails, or some other catastrophe occurs.
That may prove to be an outfitting irrelevant high weight-bearing number, and I expect that webbing loops, washer & nut on a machine screw shank will be all but impossible to break free, possibly deforming the gunwale first.
P5260021 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
But, now more than ever, I’m curious about how much total weight each individual attachment
would support, and about what fails where and how. Much as I’d hate to waste one, maybe even a vinyl pad D-ring glued to a scrap piece of Royalex and weighs added until something comes apart.
Thanks for the kick start Jim; I’ve never seen those numbers, or even guesstimate approximations, and this could be fun. Coming this spring,
McCrea Breaks Everything.
Goggles or full face shield for flying shrapnel not experimentally optional.