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

Month: August 2012 (Page 2 of 3)

North Alps Trip Log – Austria & Switzerland

Mark Mulrain along with a few friends spent a couple of weeks out paddling in the North Alps. Mark has kindly agreed to his North Alps trip log being published on Unsponsored.

The log details the runs and overall costs incurred during the trip. This should prove to be a useful guide for anyone thinking about paddling out in the Alps. Prices are correct for July 2012 and exchange rates are based upon the published rates on the 23/07/12.

Austria 2012 – 4 Groups of 1 from Mark Mulrain on Vimeo.

Continue reading

Unsponsored 2012 Q&A Series – John Weld

John and Kara Weld are the founders of Immersion Research. I have owned and worn IR kit since around 2000. I firmly believe that IR make some of the best kayaking kit available. Having used the kit for so long it was fantastic to hear that John Weld had agreed to take part in the Unsponsored 2012 Q&A Series.

Tell us a little a bit about you accomplishments in the kayaking world

A brief bio: Started kayaking at age 11 in 1979. Went on to kayak through high school and college, and taught kayaking during the summers. Upon college graduation (English major, of course) I went to a split year of building composite slalom kayaks during the fall and winter (including the C2 that won gold at the Barcelona Olympics) and teaching kayaking during the summer. During that time I was stepping things up with expeditions, and was 2 time Gore Tex Shipton -Tilman Grant winner – once with a trip that crossed Baffin Island by whitewater kayak, and once for crossing Borneo by whitewater kayak. I started IR in my basement on a home sewing machine in 1997. I was making shorts for friends of mine. Within a year it was clear IR was a full time business, and the rest is history.

Continue reading

Unsponsored Q&A Series – Eli Helbert

The Canoe Guru, Eli Helbert, is a 3rd generation canoeist who spends his freetime canoeing into the most pristine and spectacular valleys of the world. Eli has taken top honours at two World Championships, a World Cup and a World Extreme Race as well as numerous National and Regional Canoeing Titles. Eli is also the first OC1 paddler to take part in the Unsponsored Q&A series. It is a great honour to have Eli take part in the Unsponsored 2012 Q&A series.

Tell us a little a bit about your accomplishments in the canoeing/kayaking world.

I won my first World Championship title in whitewater freestyle rodeo in 1999. I defended this title in 2001. I won the World Extreme Race in Tavascan, Spain that same year. I also won the World Cup of Whitewater Freestyle in 2006. I have won numerous US National titles in Open Canoe Slalom and Whitewater Freestyle Rodeo over the past 15 years. I now really enjoy canoeing with my 9 year old daughter, Sage. We will be competing for the US National Open Canoe Jr./Sr. Slalom Title in October.

Continue reading

Bomb Flow TV Episode 11 ‘MERICA

Bomb Flow TV Episode 11 ‘MERICA from BombFlowTV on Vimeo.

Enjoy!

Outdoor Retailer Images

A few images from OR courtesy of Barry over on Mountainbuzz.

Dagger Jitsu

Wavesports New Outfitting

Continue reading

Unsponsored 2012 Q&A Series

It looks like this series of Q&As will really build upon those of the 2011 series.

Interviews with some of the worlds top professional boaters, boat designers and kit designers are flooding in. Responses to the Q&A are being collated/formatted and will be ready to post shortly.

The first Q&A for 2012 with Billy Harris is now online.

Q&As with Eli Helbert and John Weld will be published over the next few days. I have several other people lined up to take part in the series. More names will be released over the next week or so.

Jackson Kayak New Boats – Karma & Allstar

Another video from the Rapid Media guys.

Unsponsored 2012 Q&A Series – Billy Harris

In July 2012 Billy Harris agreed to take part in the third Unsponsored Q&A series. Billy is a professional kayaker with numerous freestyle wins under his belt, a quick search on Youtube will show the kind of moves that Billy is able to pull off with confidence and ease.

Billy runs his own kayak school and describes himself as “Just a guy who likes to kayak”. Having followed Billy’s paddling exploits over the years it is a great pleasure to have Billy take part in and be the first paddler in the 2012 series.

Continue reading

Removing Outfitting

Sometimes you find yourself in the position of having to remove outfitting. If the outfitting has been put in well you need a few tricks of the trade to make the job that little bit easier.

Last week I picked up an Eskimo Topo Duo that had a seat pad and hip pads fitted. The foam used had its own layer of re-enforced sticky tape so was stuck on pretty hard.

Step one was to remove the foam by ripping it off the seat. There was no way that the foam was going to come off cleanly so it was simply ripped away leaving the layer of glue.

Removing Outfitting

Continue reading

Daggers New Outfitting

From the guys at Rapid Media

Carbon Pyranha Jed

I have had my plastic Jed for a few months and it is a superb boat. Pyranha has posted this image of the carbon version of the Jed at the OR show.

Astral Brewer

I have a pair of the new Astral Brewer shoes on there way to me as I type. I’m looking forward to trying these out. They will have to be pretty good to beat the Five Ten Water Tennies.

The Astral Brewers were born on the banks of the Green River Narrows giving the people a versatile shoe from a kayaker’s point of view. The upper is built to last with many of the same durable and fast-drying materials as our lifevests including Cordura® and AirMesh fabrics. Our Natural Balanceâ„¢ midsole securely cradles your foot, providing stable navigation through unpredictable rocky terrain. For the bottom we use state of the art Stealth® Rubber for unsurpassed traction on wet rocks. Technical performance and classic style are blended perfectly to bring you the shoe whitewater kayakers have been waiting for.

Brewer Features:

Lightweight, Minimalist
Construction (avg. 214 grams)
Durable Cordura® Upper
Breathable Airmesh vamp & tongue
Natural Balanceâ„¢ Midsole (zero drop)
Drainage at front sidewall and Silt Dump at heel
Stealth® Outsole
Step-Down Heel
Alternate lace color provided

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024 Unsponsored

Theme by Anders NorénUp ↑