This year (2001) Prijon launched the Delirious as a design for play paddlers/top rodeo competitors and billed it as the master of spin. I had seen the Delirious on one previous occasion and its image had lodged in my head. With a number of impressive European freestyle wins under its belt I thought I'd better give the Delirious a try.

As with all Prijon kayaks the Delirious is constructed using High Density Thermoplastic (HTP) and as a result has an impressive 5-year warranty. HTP has a number of distinct advantages over other plastics including stiffness, rigidity and durability. Using HTP means that the Delirious is repairable, recyclable (free return to Prijon), lightweight and strong. Unlike many other boats on the market the Delirious does not have central buoyancy pillars. This is not an oversight by the production team but a testament to the strength of the moulding process, which over the years has become a trademark of all Prijon Kayaks.

The Delirious comes supplied with a full outfitting kit as standard, which includes a rear airbag, foam footrest blocks, neoprene padding for the seat and thigh braces as well as some well designed hip pads/shims and an adjustable seat pod. With such an awesome outfitting kit the addition of an adjustable rodeo seat meant I was able to get a snug and comfortable fit within a few minutes. Prijon describes the thigh braces as snug-fit and this is certainly true. Some may find the snug fit disconcerting but the Delirious is a high performance boat that the paddler must fit and as such I was personally reassured by the good fit and control the thighbraces offered me. Being over 6ft tall with size 10 feet I expected that comfort was something I should forget while I was in the boat, but despite its thin slicey ends the Delirious was still reasonably comfortable, although wearing soled wetsuit boots was out of the question. If I were any taller or had larger feet the standard delirious would be simply far too small. To cope with paddler size differences Prijon do produce a "foot-bump" model to cater for the larger footed, with a marginal increase in volume.

At 238cm in length it is 2cm shorter than its predecessor the Alien and has a volume of 190ltrs, which is comparable to the Inazone 232. On first impression the Delirious looks wide but this is quite deceptive due to the majority of the volume being distributed around the cockpit area. The fine low volume ends make it possible for the paddler to cartwheel on flat water with ease, with little need for forward/reverse speed or a double pump. It's central volume distribution makes the Delirious manageable whilst vertical giving a good level of control as you get ready to throw down the next end. Being symmetrical about the cockpit means the Delirious has similar surfing characteristics both forwards and back. The raised edge on the hull gives it good speed across the wave for carving moves, and the hull release lip has been designed to allow fast spins on even the greenest of waves. Blunts, spins, cleans, grinds and most other wave moves can be initiated and followed through without any trouble and getting aerial is easy because the boat is so light (15kg).

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