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

Month: July 2012 (Page 2 of 3)

GoPro Storage Case

Picked up one of these today – SP POV Carry Case for GoPro HD. It looks pretty good and fairly compact.

Riot Trickster – Review

After paddling a glide and disco for a number of years I looked forward to trying out the new trickster. I guess to some extent the trickster has taken the best from both of these boats to produce an all-round river running/play machine. Continue reading

Riot Disco – Review

I owned a Riot Disco for over two years and used it in virually all water conditions. I was quite fortunate because my particular boat came with the Surf Seat as opposed to any of the earlier devices seats which tended to make the kayak far too heavy.

The Disco has to be one of the all time classic kayaks. A kayak that has changed the way in which the industry designs new kayaks. The Disco was probably the first short PnP kayak that could actually perform.

Riot Disco

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Tight Fit – Kayak Footrests

We all know that feeling – The deep pain/numbness associated with being packed tightly into a plastic container and thrown around for an hour or two. Continue reading

The Washburn

The Washburn is a dam controlled river just north of Leeds near the Thurscross reservoir on the A59 from Harrogate to Skipton. The river itself is both narrow and shallow but does provide ample scope for freestyle paddling. The Washburn has received a massive amount of changes and now provides one of the best freestyle sites in the UK as well a being a really good (but short) river run.

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Stanley Embankment

Stanley embankment is a wave feature formed in a tunnel through an embankment joining The Isle of Anglesey and Holy Island, a great surfing wave appears at the exit of the Stanley Embankment Tunnel the Inland Sea Side (south side), as seen on the PeakUK “id10tic” series of videos. Most moves can be performed here in either direction.

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River Thames – Shepperton Weir

Shepperton Weir is another one of the famous Thames Weirs. The weir forms a large wave/hole. The weir is at its best when the Thames is in spate. A good indication of this is the level at Hurley further upstream. When Hurley is on a large 3 gates or 4 gates then Shepperton will be in play.

Depending on which and how many gates are open Shepperton provides a range of wave types from large stoppers to green waves. The water is very fast and bouncy so aerial moves are more than just possible. Shepperton for a weir is pretty safe but watch the conditions carefully and avoid the tell tail signs of stoppers that won’t let go!

The area around the weir can be accessed by the public, so gaining access to the water is very easy. In addition the footpath over the weir bridge can also be accessed and used as a photograph platform.

River Trent – Newark Weir

Newark is a weir on the River Trent and lies just North of Nottingham in the small town of Newark (Click here for map). The wave is at its best at high water levels. A good indiaction for this is whether or not Holme Pierrepont is flooded out (Holme Pierrepont is flooded out at 2.70m). Newark Weir works at between 2.18m and 2.82m. This weir is extremely steep and as such riding the wave is quite strange as a bank of water 10-12ft hide cascades down the weir towards you.

To get to the weir head for Newark and the town centre. From there follow the B6166 towards Farndon (SW) and the A46. Look out for the marina on your right and turn right towards the river on to Mill Gate. Keep a look out for a small hump backed bridge on your left hand side. Turn left over the bridge and you’ll find a small area to park the car. This area is used alot by fishermen, local residents, and dog walkers so it could be quite and will only really take a couple of cars anyway.

A couple of minutes walk and you’re at the weir.

Old School Series – Lotus Lowrider PFD

This is the top freestyle vest from US manufacturer Lotus. Lotus is one of the U.S’s top buoyancy aid or as they say PFD (personal flotation device) manufacturers, and at current they aren’t available in the UK, neither are they CE approved, however they do rock!

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Pyranha Molan – Review

The Molan has been out for a while and I have been lucky enough to try one out over the last few months.

Pyranha Molan - Review
Pyranha Molan – Review
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New Stickers

GoPro LCD BacPac

I have been able to try a GoPro LCD BacPac for the last few weeks and it certainly has its advantages in certain conditions. If you are on the bank and filming then I think the LCD is a pretty good accessory to own. Or if the camera is used as a digital stills camera then I can also see that LCD BacPac has its place for framing pictures etc. However, if your GoPro spends most of its time on top of your lid then I don’t think that it would be a wise investment.

I have recently bought the wifi BacPac which promises to be able to stream live action from the camera directly to an iPhone or iPad. If the app is released soon I can’t personally see the need for the LCD BacPac.

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