Paddling tips, tricks, news and gear reviews from an Unsponsored point of view

Month: January 2012 (Page 1 of 2)

Dragorossi Mafia

Dan Heyworth (DanH), Ian (Newcastle Uni) and I went out for a splash down the Upper Tees (High Force -> Low Force). Partly just cos there was little other water about and party because I wanted to try the new DragoRossi Mafia out on some rocks and drops. Levels were a good middle-ish (covering the pin rock on the ‘Dog Leg’ but low enough for evil scraping on the boney bits).

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Liquid Logic Pocket Rocket – Review

At 6ft 2in I can’t fit into the pocket rocket! So this review comes from thoughts gleened from AG. The Pocket Rocket has that now very familiar Liquid Logic look and is the smallest of the new range that incudes the Air Head and Space Cadet.

Liquid Logic Pocket Rocket - Review
Liquid Logic Pocket Rocket – Review
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Nikwax TX

Technical waterproof fabrics like those used in dry cags and trousers only do their job effectively (keeping you warm and dry) when water doesn’t soak into them. Through wear and tear this ability to shed water begins to fail leaving you with kit that soaks up water. This often means that your kit takes on extra weight, and takes longer to dry.

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NRS Bill’s Bag 3.8 – Review

I have tried a number of kit bags over the years and although they have all done a pretty good job, I have always moved on looking for something that will fully fit my needs. In short I wanted a bag that was:

– big enough to take a weekends worth of wet kayak kit and keep the inside of the car dry
– tough enough to withstand the care and attention that baggage handlers give to luggage
– easy to carry
– waterproof so that it could also be used strapped to a raft on multi day trips (you never know it might happen one day)
– not Über expensive

I had been looking at the Bill’s Bag from NRS for a number of years and never really got around to ordering one from the US. At just over £55 the 3.8 bag seemed (on paper) to meet my needs.

NRS Bill's Bag 3.8 - Review
NRS Bill’s Bag 3.8 – Review
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River Tees – High to Low Force

Today has a number of firsts. My first time in my Liquid Logic Stomper, my first time paddling with a Uni club (many thanks Teesside Uni) and my first swim on the Tees!

When I left home this morning Rainchasers.com was indicating that the level was a low 0.71 on the gauge. In reality this is probably a medium level.

Here are a few images from the day.

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Paddling in Ecuador – Part III

Paddling in Ecuador - Part III

7th Jan

Nath took a chill as he wasnt feeling good, I safety boated the Jatunyacu with Diego and Armin, Armin rocked up without a helmet but cracked on anyway as it was deep. Diego left me with the raft and gear to sort. I wish I had a photo of the put in which was basically a stream bed at 45 degrees, I had to move the 12ft raft down it on my own which was class given the amount of rum I had drunk the night before. I also learnt a valuable lesson, don’t trust a fart in Ecuador, enough said. It rained so hard that all the customers went blue and we had no spare gear, Diego found some matches at the lunch spot and made a fire which was a welcome site for everyone. We headed down and pulled in at a side canyon where everyone got brown war paint or mud.

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New Gear

A number of bits of new kit should be landing in the next couple of days.

Immersion Research Double D dry suit
Immersion Research Special K deck
NRS Bill’s dry bag
Five Ten Water Tennies

Reviews to follow.

Current Kit – Jan 2012

The old current kit topics on the forum were always popular, so I thought I’d give you all an update of my current kit.

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Tees Barrage International WW Course – Today We Built A Monster

It was -3 deg C when I left home at 9am to head down to the Tees Barrage International Whitewater Course, as today was the second chance to move around some of the blocks on the short course. After three hours of work the resulting block structure was a bit of a monster!

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Spraydeck/Sprayskirt size guide

A superb resource that is well worth bookmarking.

http://www.skirtfit.com/

Pyranha Shiva Promo by Sam Ellis

New Pyranha Shiva Promo Uk Style from sam ellis on Vimeo.

Kayak Columbia

Great blog from Lowri Davies, Fran Kohn, Niamh Stack, and Dave Hollins.

http://kayakcolombia.wordpress.com/

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