Northern Explorer Supply

Northern Explorer Supply A VIP customer experience. RESHAPE YOUR ESCAPE. www.northernexplorersupply.com

The BEST paddlesports, camping, hiking, fishing, beach, dog, and activities gear plus outdoorsy souvenirs and more for rent, to try, or buy at the entrance to ALL of Maine.

Kayaking excursions along the York River--from its harbor to the upper reaches of the Smelt Brook and Rachel Carson pres...
06/19/2025

Kayaking excursions along the York River--from its harbor to the upper reaches of the Smelt Brook and Rachel Carson preserves--have been growing in popularity as the word gets out and warmer weather sets in! Here are a few pics of a couple of different groups that went out in recent days.

Booking online is easy, the equipment is as user friendly as it gets, and the service makes you feel like a VIP! See a working lobstering harbor with historic architecture, or watch a wide array of wildlife making the most of their undisturbed habitat.

Family and corporate events are welcome! Happy summer.

Congratulations to Brett on his new Honu Byron 10'6 inflatable paddleboard purchase! Brett called in from his home in Te...
06/18/2025

Congratulations to Brett on his new Honu Byron 10'6 inflatable paddleboard purchase! Brett called in from his home in Tennessee to talk about getting a new SUP. He was disappointed after his Isle board immediately blew a seam. He went back to the drawing board looking for a new vessel with superior quality and performance.

After a few phone conversations and a number of text message exchanges, he agreed that the HONU Boards Byron 10'6 would be the right fit for his size, ability, and adventuring goals. He loved that the board is a slim 4.7" and made using heat welded double and trip layer PVC, drop stitched in place along with an x-woven membrane to ensure the deck and hull do not shift in opposite directions. There's a reason Honu SUPs are gaining so much popularity--they are in a league all their own!

His first trip was a 6 mile stretch of river that leads to a riverside pub. Sounds like a great time!

Meet Pete. What an interesting and kind fellow. Really enjoyed his stories about the 14 years of yearly wedding annivers...
06/13/2025

Meet Pete. What an interesting and kind fellow. Really enjoyed his stories about the 14 years of yearly wedding anniversary visits to the Reid State Park area of Maine, tenting on oceanside wooden platforms at a since-retired campground. Fast forward to today, in these times of electric vehicles and innovative kayaks like this here Crescent UltraLite! Pete ordered this kayak online and had NES deliver via our courier system straight to the back of his truck at a meetup spot in Gardner, MA. Simple, quick, affordable, and smooth! He wanted to "downsize" from his Wilderness Systems SOT to shave weight and improve ease of transport and paddling response. Seems like a great buy to us! Thank you again, Pete. Wishing you many years of calm waters and tight lines.

Congratulations to Chris, today’s lucky new Crescent Kayaks Smallie owner! After nearly purchasing the ever popular 49 l...
06/12/2025

Congratulations to Chris, today’s lucky new Crescent Kayaks Smallie owner! After nearly purchasing the ever popular 49 lbs UltraLite on our e-commerce site for her partner's birthday, Paget gave a call to ask a few logistics questions first. Before we got into those details, we wanted to verify whether the UL was going to be the right size for Chris since it tends to skew toward paddlers under 180 lbs for ideal performance. We asked about his height, weight, and payload. We talked about his fly fishing pursuits within hard to get places, the importance of rod and tackle management, and more about the benefits of a kayak that is properly sized for its respective paddler--especially when looking for low draft and high stability while standing. And then there's all kinds of other details to consider, including comfort, ergonomics, interior layout, durability, and "throw-and-go" functionality.

So after a couple of phone calls, Page trustingly made the pivot to the new Smallie. She chose a carbon-nylon paddle and YakAttack accessories as a starting setup. She had us deliver it to her house in central, NH for the big reveal (locally made pasteries in-tow as part of the surprise). Well, needless to say it was a huge hit. Congratulations guys!

Bonus photos: the freshly repaved front and rear of our store! Woo-hoo!

Karen and her family spent four hours paddling the York River past its many lobster piers, historic architecture, the Wi...
06/12/2025

Karen and her family spent four hours paddling the York River past its many lobster piers, historic architecture, the Wiggly and Sewall bridges, into salt marshes, and among nesting eagles. Her group of 11 flew in from Arizona and Louisiana as part of a family reunion here in town. They all had a blast with one member of the group saying, "this was our favorite activity by far!"

The private kayak and paddleboard rental experiences we faciliate include the finest rental equipment anywhere, brought to the water's edge, set up, fitted, instructed, and pushed off as part of a turnkey 'VIP' customer experience. Solo, tandem, and group paddlers can set their own pace and connect in ways often not feasible when on a guided tour.

Choose from one of several launch points along the York River or elsewhere within the area! Our included informational session covers safety, skills, navigation, and site seeing tips. Book for a daytime outing, for mutiple days, or for a week--discounted rates for longer term and group rentals available. We deliver to vacation homes, too!

Book online: https://www.northernexplorerrent.com

The Crescent Kayaks CK1 Venture is the swiss army knife of the kayaking world. Designed for adventuring in flat to chopp...
06/10/2025

The Crescent Kayaks CK1 Venture is the swiss army knife of the kayaking world. Designed for adventuring in flat to choppy waters inland or within protected ocean waters, it accommodates virtually any adult sized paddler, has ample interior space with enough room for standing. It is spacious for stacking camping gear--even a cooler--or for bringing along a furry friend or child.

With its incredible chair style seating, upswept and flaired bow, loads of secondary stability (as opposed to only primary stability which means the hull will drag and not track well), the CK1 impressed Heather and Clive. They spent months of research trying to find the very best pair of kayaks for their lakeside retreat on Newfound Lake in NH.

After a few phonecalls, a showroom visit, and an on the water demo, they confidently landed on their pick! They were able to try various life jackets and paddles, too. We installed two rack systems and loaded them up with a kit of fine accessories for a whole new world of adventuring! Thank you for your parntership, guys!

Meet Alex of Manhattan Beach, CA and his new HONU Boards Bondi 9'5 inflatable surfing paddleboard. Wow, what to say?! He...
06/08/2025

Meet Alex of Manhattan Beach, CA and his new HONU Boards Bondi 9'5 inflatable surfing paddleboard. Wow, what to say?! He emailed us these photos with the subject line "Super Stoked". It sure looks like it! How awesome to see. He insisted that we share his positive experience with our small group of followers to say how appreciative he is of the service and products we provided him when deciding which board to get. Mark at Honu weighed in as well in support of the direction we were headed in the purchasing process.

Alex reached out to NES via phone about a month ago to talk board options; we covered a lot of ground in that first 45 minute conversation mainly around how the various board shapes, contours, and lengths would respond in varying surfing conditions given his anatomy, abilities, and the geography of his local beach's sea floor (which affects wave shape, amplitude, and more). There's so much nuance when it comes to surfing, let alone paddleboard surfing! Details aside, we had several more conversations via phone and email since that first call and developed a wonderful relationship as a result.

It just goes to show that despite being all the way across the country, NES and our partners are here to deliver only exceptional service to help our shared customers reach confident decisions. Thank you so much, Alex, for being such a big support of what we're collectively doing to advance the sport and the nature-connected community.

Here's a little bit about Bryan. He stopped by the shop yesterday knowing he was all-in on Crescent Kayaks after seeing ...
06/03/2025

Here's a little bit about Bryan. He stopped by the shop yesterday knowing he was all-in on Crescent Kayaks after seeing some of our ads. He wasn't sure which model at first, but after comparing the Shoalie and its smaller sibling, the Smallie, he adamently said "I'll take it!". He snagged an Angler Classic Versa-Lok paddle (can pole with it, can stand up paddle with it; great for snagging line from a tree, too!) and loaded it into his truck, destined for a big reservoir in Dover, NH. He said he'll be paddling every evening after work.

In fact, he has become increasingly interested in getting out into nature given how hectic work has become. He sees nature as a way to detox so to speak. I hear you, Bryan! That's part of why NES was started. To shape the world around us with a different, if not wider set of priorities. As our motto goes, "Reshape Your Escape".

Remember Brian who stopped by last week with his wife to pick up an UltraLite after turning down a multitude of other, l...
05/31/2025

Remember Brian who stopped by last week with his wife to pick up an UltraLite after turning down a multitude of other, lesser quality options during their kayak shopping saga? Welp, they loved the UL so much that they opted to buy a second identical kayak, paddle, and accessories. What a testament! Cheers, friends!

May has been especially rainy, but the windows of sun and comfortable temperatures are becoming more and more frequent. The summer heat will be upon us before we know it. Check out the York Harbor rainbow shot taken on Memorial Day!

Note: for those of you who are waiting things out, please keep in my that our shop is running low on most Crescent kayak models and colors. Please take that into account when making your plans. If you have your heart set on something we are sold out of, please give us a call and we can try adding it to a future factory shipment.

Chris and family decided to go all-out with a Crescent Kayaks Crew 2+1 Tandem / Solo sit-on-top kayak for their future o...
05/30/2025

Chris and family decided to go all-out with a Crescent Kayaks Crew 2+1 Tandem / Solo sit-on-top kayak for their future of many outdoor trips to places around New England. They made the purchase online, opting to add a GearTracs system along with YakAttack paddle holders, a Suspenz Storage and Transportation EZ Roller V Rack (the best for Crescent roofracking!) and a few other items to ensure many years of optimal experiences.

Today's tip: many cars now-a-days have a "shark fin" antenna, which usually interferes with (un)loading a kayak from the vehicle's rear. To overcome this, ensure your rack height combined with its rack attachment is high enough to clear the fin when the kayak is tilted during (un)loading. Alternatively, you can use a jumbo sized foam pool noodle or roll up a towel so it is thick enough to protect the shark fin while being compressed; place it at the base of the shark fin and voila!

The Kittery Water District trails are the perfect place to learn how to bike (or XC ski!) with the assistance of your do...
05/29/2025

The Kittery Water District trails are the perfect place to learn how to bike (or XC ski!) with the assistance of your dog(s)! This growing sport called 'Bikejoring' is similar to dogsledding. A dog is fitted with an ergonomically correct pulling harness that is connected via bungee leash through an "antenna" (which helps prevent the leash from getting caught around the bike's front wheel) that is attached to the head tube of a bike. The dog can then pull the rider down a path or otherwise run or walk without pulling as a wonderful form of exercise and exhileration for both the dog(s) and its owner!

If you wish to learn more about this incredibly fun and meaningful activity (or canicross or other such activities), please get in touch with us. The shop's owner has been bikejoring, skijoring, hiking and running with his dog (pictured) for years!

Northern Explorer Supply has dog gear from Non-stop Dogwear that can be demo'd or rented to help you with your buying decisions. Bonus: we provide a complimentary hands-on introduction with all of our product Demo appointments!

Congratuations Shayne! After years of searching for, analyzing, and thinking about what he wanted in his next kayak, Sha...
05/28/2025

Congratuations Shayne! After years of searching for, analyzing, and thinking about what he wanted in his next kayak, Shayne got in contact with us to learn more about the LiteTackle II for paddling and fishing throughout the many intercoastal waters of the Rhode Island seacoast. He didn't want to scimp on a single aspect; the kayak design, construction, and outfitting had to be superior enough for him to feel good about spending the money. A purchase he considers to be "his last kayak he'll ever need to buy".

We did what we could to make the decision and process easy for him. As someone with a busy family life, he found that emailing and texting worked best for him along with the ease of online ordering. Last weekend Shayne and his family made a daytrip of it; they spent hours of fun at Long Sands beach before loading up at our shop. Super happy to have Shayne among the newest owners of a Crescent LT2--considered their flagship among us here in coastal New England. Cheers!

Address

26 Brickyard Court Ste 5
York, ME
03909

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+12073371356

Website

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