Paddling tips, tricks, news and gear reviews from an Unsponsored point of view
Having a good kit bag is pretty important to me. It keeps my wet and often dirty kit safe and secure and helps prevent kit (or the inside of my car) being damaged.
A while back I bought an NRS Bills bag, which is an awesome bit of kit. Absolutley cavernous and very well put together. However if out for a quick paddle it is probably too big.
I found this within the Unsponsored archives and thought it might be of interest. Before the changes to the Tees Barrage Whitewater course this is what the course was like. It was so long ago I had forgotten that there even was an island river left at the top of the course! Enjoy.
Inlet gate – Easy Rider
After a long wait, the Wavesport promotional DVD dropped through my letter box the other day and since then I have watched it several times! It is the first offering from Wavesport for a while and all I can say it was worth the wait!
As soon as the title menu comes up on your tv you are hit by some truly amazing music that suits the paddling clips down to the bone. The first introduction chapter hits you straight away with Jimi Blakeney going huge and this theme lives through out the dvd. There are clips of Freestyle on many of the worlds best playspots and features, The Buseater Wave in Canada and the infamous Skook, there are some great creeking runs, waterfall drops and river running clips aswell to get away from a pure freestyle dvd. Continue reading
Remember Nurpu and Vahalla? Well Wehyakin is the third kayaking video from Teton Gravity as is produced, directed, edited and filmed by Arden Orsanen and Trask McFarland.
The Nez Perce (a Native American tribe in Idaho) look to their Wehyakin for guidance through known lands and over uncertain horizons. So this is where the Teton Gravity get the name for there newest kayaking DVD.
After a short introduction the action kicks off straight away with a trip to what must be Europes new kayaking mecca – Norway. Continue reading
Sessions is the newest DVD offering from Wave Sport and on the whole this is a great little freebie, but at only 22 mins it will leave you wanting more. There is a great mix between creeking and playboating, with most of the time being given to creeking or river running. There is also a 5 minute montage which highlighted some of the better spots around North America, including Canada.
For a number of years I have used a hydration system rather than a water bottle for both hiking and mountain biking. It could be anything from a simple water bottle with a tube to a backpack bladder system like those made by camelbak, nalgene and many other manufacturers.
Recently I have also started to use a hydration system carried within my PFD for flat water paddling sessions. Many of the newer designs of PFDs have this capability with dedicated pouches for a hydration bladder system.
My personal preference is the system made by Nalgene. Nalgene make this system under their own name and also supply Dakine and Osprey.
A few shots of the new Pyranha Nano. Initial thoughts on how it paddles coming soon.
Check out my review of the Pyranha Nano.
I remember some years back that quite of lot of paddlers were wearing large PFD’s with multiple pockets for this and that, back pockets for 30m throw bags and more straps/buckles than you could shake a stick at. One of the must have add on features for any self respecting river runner would be a large knife fastened (usually to the shoulder) on the PFD.
If you carry out quick search on most kayak forums for topics around knives for river use and you will also find topics turning into heated debates about where to wear the knife, entrapment/entanglement issues etc etc….. The rule however is very simple – if you carry a rope/sling you should also be carrying a knife.
Personally I prefer the PFD to be as clean and as uncluttered as possible. This really comes from years of WW rafting and having to climb back into a raft after a flip. The more cluttered the PFD the harder it was to climb back in.
I currently have two PFDs 1) Astral 200 and 2) Palm Extrem RV. So I need a knife that is compact, super sharp, very reliable and can be swapped between the PFDs easily. I am a big fan of Spyderco knives and have started to acrrue quite a collection, so I turned to Spyderco to source my river knife. I have for the moment settled on the Spyderco Delica 4.
“Searching” is Corran Addison’s 1st attempt (I think) at making an instructional freestyle video. All of the major moves are covered and broke down into easy to follow instructions; narration is backed up by seeing the move for real and through the use of animation.
Whether you’ve just started your tour into the world of whitewater, or you’re an experienced paddler looking to brush up on your technique, this video is well worth checking out.
World Champion kayaker and renowned kayak instructor Ken Whiting has teamed up again with acclaimed videographer Chris Emerick to produce – Liquid Skills. Continue reading
I thought I’d do a quick round up of how my main kit is holding up.
The Palm Spark suit has now become my go to piece of kit and my Immersion Research Double D drysuit now has a new home. I absolutely love the zip position on the Spark and can open and close the zip without anyone else’s assistance which is a great plus. My Spark doesn’t have any built in socks so I tend to wear a pair of Sandiline socks which have been a great purchase. If I can manage without the suit for a few days I will send it back to Palm to have some socks retro fitted. You can read my views on the Palm Spark in ThePaddler. Continue reading
Seasons: Fall. Kayaking the White Salmon River with Kate Wagner from The Banks Mag on Vimeo.
The rest of the Seasons series can be seen here.
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