Kayaking is often a solo sport, at least for me it is. I head off in the morning and take my gear, load it into and onto the car. I decide where I am off to and then unload my gear when I arrive. I like to take photos. That is abundantly clear on my blog The BenSpark. And I take a ton of photos while I am kayaking, but I don’t have many photos of myself when I go.

That won’t be the case anymore because now I have an XShot to take with me. I’ve been using my XShot for a few months now unfortunately not anytime while I have been paddling but it goes with me on my next trip. The XShot is an essential piece of equipment to have if you want to capture photos of yourself or yourself and your friends when you do not have someone to take the picture for you.

The XShot is a telescoping extension of your arm that you can use to take photos of yourself as well as others and the background. The XShot extends to 37 inches. That means that 37 inches beyond your furthest reach can be achieved to capture photos as if they were taken by someone who was standing there with your camera. Sure you could ask someone to take a photo of you and your friends, but I have found that one of two things happen. You have to explain to the person how to use the camera and they still don’t do it right or the person knows how to use the camera but they can’t take a photo to save their life. And you could run into the third scenario the person you ask to take the photo could take your camera and run.

With the XShot you are in control as well as in the photo. You can be part of the action. For example if you were out kayaking and wanted to get a photo of yourself in your kayak you could attach your camera to your XShot and take a photo anytime anywhere. The XShot works with all compact cameras. You use the Quick Spin Knob to attach the XShot to your camera and make it secure. Then set your camera’s self timer. Extend the XShot 37 inches, push the shutter release button and aim and shoot. You will finally be able to be in the action.