I have a Pescador Pro 100 kayak.  When I purchased it, it came with a stadium type seat that is very comfortable, at least for the first hour or two.  For some reason, for any longer periods than that, My upper left leg starts cramping up.  Making it very uncomfortable.  Once I get out of the kayak, and stand up, the pain goes away.  SO I have narrowed down the issue to the seat being the problem.  I have bought one of those really thick seat cushions that are memory foam.  That does nothing.  After an hour or two, I'm back to cramping.   I have lowered the seat, as well as sitting in it while in the highest position.  Nothing is working.  I have even gone as far as making a pvc frame / rack that would raise the seat up a few inches higher than the highest position.  Again, no relief.

 

I am at a loss on what else I can do.  I don;t know if another stadium seat would help.

 

I did have an Ascend kayak before this one.  I never had an issue sitting in that stadium seat.....so it's definitely this kayak.

 

Anyone else have these type of issues with their kayak stadium seat?

Before you spend the money on a new seat, have you tried changing the angle of the backrest? You might be sitting a little too far back, and that raises your thigh level.

 

I would either shorten up on the straps and make the seat more upright or find a way to raise the height of the back of the seat while keeping the front the same.

 

I have a Seastream Angler 120 PD with the same type of seat and have no problems. Then again, I'm also pedaling all day and keeping my circulation moving.

I have adjusted it, but slightly.  It's almost in a 90 degree position.  I have slightly reclined the back but the little movement made me feel like i was too far back.  I'll definitely play with the back rest position, I didn't think of that possibly effecting anything.  but it certainly makes sense

6 minutes ago, crankbait2009 said:

I have adjusted it, but slightly.  It's almost in a 90 degree position.  I have slightly reclined the back but the little movement made me feel like i was too far back.  I'll definitely play with the back rest position, I didn't think of that possibly effecting anything.  but it certainly makes sense

Your question led me to doing some more research. Here's an article that talks about posture when kayaking:

 

https://www.mensjournal.com/adventure/htposture/

 

 

Upper left leg... like your quadricep?  If it's cramping, that probably means you're tensioning it, lightly.  Or it's not getting proper circulation, likely from not being used at all.  Perhaps consider changing the foot-rest position.  Maybe move it in a bit, or move it out, depending on where you have it now.  Also, it's a good idea to occasionally move and flex your legs and back while out on a kayak.  Cramps often happen from too much inactivity.  

 

It's also a good idea to stretch your muscles before you go out.  And eat more bananas and drink more water or sports drinks.  An ion imbalance can cause cramps as well.  And here in America, we get plenty of negative ions through our salty diets (unless you're sweating like crazy), so it's usually more potassium that we need.  

Cramps or sciatica?   If nerves, it sometimes takes pretty small adjustments.  I had it bad with my Compass seat.  A 1/2 inch thick cushion eliminated it.  

  Even if I thin my wallet way down, I can put it in my left rear jeans pocket and have throbbing pain in less than ten minutes...without even sitting on it....just standing.

the discomfort is definitely in the upper left part of the leg, and into the buttox area.

 

i'll definitely make some adjustments this year.  I never have anything in my pockets.  knees are always bent.  gotta be a small adjustment that i need to make. 

I kind of have the same problem, it never happens in my canoe with flat metal seat ironically . My spine always feels better after sleeping on the ground or floor also 

Yep, you guys are getting old. ?

2 hours ago, crankbait2009 said:

the discomfort is definitely in the upper left part of the leg, and into the buttox area.

 

i'll definitely make some adjustments this year.  I never have anything in my pockets.  knees are always bent.  gotta be a small adjustment that i need to make. 

Okay.  So upper leg means near your hips and away from you knee.  I get you now.  I thought you were meaning the top of your leg while sitting down with your legs out in front of you, not the top of your leg while standing.  

In that case, it might be the seat.  Is the bottom of the seat adjustable?  On my kayak, there are some straps on the bottom that can adjust the tension and amount of sag in the seat.  I have to keep it really tight to make it comfortable in the long term.  And my butt would bounce on the rear support brace in that seat, which would wear me out after a day of fishing.  So I wrapped that brace in a pool noodle, and it's much more comfortable now.  

The bottom seat support is fixed to the frame.  the fabric is wrapped around the frame, so no room for adjustment.  the back is the only part that has adjustable straps

but adding a really thick pad to the seat isn't helping either.  i'll keep adjusting though