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

Month: May 2012 (Page 4 of 4)

Morriston River Race (MRR) 2012

So Friday afternoon came and it was time for my latest adventure to Scotland. I met up with Phil at Newcastle and we then piled into the back of Francis’ van along with Lee and Rory. This was the weekend of the Morriston river race and it would prove to be a good one!

Having never even seen the Morriston before apart from in some dubious looking wet west videos I was slightly unsure as to what to expect. Was this going to be some big scary river ready to dish out punishments to anyone who wasn’t ready or were we all in for an easy ride. As it turns out it was a great river for this race although unknown to me as we sat in the back of the van discussing various lines and tactics this river was also ready to hand out some punishments only 2 days from now.

I woke up Saturday morning after a very cold sleep, I didn’t realise it could get so cold in May! This was Scotland though I guess and in true fashion the sky was cloudy, the ground was damp and the rivers were empty. This left us with a few unexciting options but in the end I found myself sat in my kayak at the top of the end of the world rapid on the Leven. At these low levels it was more of a butlins water park than a gnarly grade 5 but the sun had come out and we were keen to do some boating so we scraped onwards and in the end it turned out to be an enjoyable paddle.

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Old School Series – Bombergear “The Bomb” Drytop

Their chat: “This jacket is a necessity for the serious whitewater enthusiast. It is ergonomically designed and form fitted to perfection, and has a cut that maximizes mobility and reduces the amount of seams in construction. The Bomb incorporates both the Volcanic Gasket Protector System ™ and Vault Water Lock Waist Band™ to maximize comfort and minimize bulk. This year the front pocket includes an improved Dry Pocket™ that is removable and works much like a zip-lock sandwich bag. The base front pocket has been increased in size and provides a secure area for one’s belongings.”

The first thing that struck me when I first tried it on was how different it felt to other cags. Usually to give first-rate protection from the elements, the material used weighs about the same as a suit of armour, and is just as flexible. This thing was super light. The cut was well fitting and ergonomic, and didn’t ride up much at all when I swung around my arms like some tops do. To be honest, I didn’t know if the material was heavy enough, but my doubts were soon put aside when I tried it out. It handled admirably. Continue reading

Hawaii Sur Rhone

Why this wave has been kept quiet for so long I do not know. Only in the last few months have artciles on the web and in magazines started to appear in any real detail. Kayak Session in particular have provided excellent coverage of the wave that lies near their home town of Lyon, France.

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Old School Series – Eskimo Xeno

I have been considering a Xeno as my next river runner and is competing with the Pyranha I3 and Necky Mission for a space in my boat collection for the next year.

I caught a glimpse of a Xeno around two months ago and it has taken some time to track one down so I could give it a go.

As with the Nano and other Eskimo boats the outfitting isn’t radical and is even reminiscent of some of the boats I used to paddle years back. For me this isn’t an issue. Outfitting can easily be adapted, hull performance etc cannot. Many paddlers forget this! Foot room is quite low for my size 10’s but its not uncomfortable.

The Xeno has taken the Nano to the next level. Loose, fast etc… It has better volume distribution, seat padding and the newer versions have moulded in graphics. Because of the better volume distribution, it has no problem with staying horizontal in a hole.

The Xeno handles well in a range of environments, and because of its softer chines, it is less likely to catch you unaware and power flip.

After trying out the Xeno, its going to be hard decide which river runner to go for as the design meets my criteria well. We’ll wait and see.

Riot Techno – Review

The Techno comes with Riot’s new outfitting. Which is comfortable, and highly adjustable. The adjustability of the backrest and thigh braces comes form a ratchet system that seems highly effective and is becoming a standard feature of most new boats. I was sceptical at first but the thigh braces worked really well for me, I always like Riot’s earlier minimalist design, and this felt similar, but far more secure and highly adjustable. The boat still remained easy to get out of which is always a plus!

Riot Techno - Review
Riot Techno – Review
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I picked a good one!

After writing my post about SD/SDHC cards I decided to check out how fast my cards actually are. It turns out that my 32GB 7dayshop professional SDHC card is superb.

7dayshop Professional SDHC 32GB/Class 10

Just ordered one of these to try out

SanDisk 32GB Extreme SDHC Card

Liquid Logic Stomper Review

I have owned the Stomper 90 for over 6 months and now seems like a good time for an initial review.

Having been in small play boats for so long meant that getting into the stomper felt like I had bought the Ark Royal and not a kayak. That said, on the water it does not have the bad characteristics of a big boat, for example slow to turn, slow to paddle etc. It is infact very manoeuvrable.

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Hotel Charley – No Big Names 4

In the Autumn of 2005 Ben Stookesberry convinced Jessie Coombs to journey to Columbia and the Rio Buey to try and attempt a successful run of the 25 mile grade V canyon. No big names 4 charts the pairs progress on what must be one of the hardest stretches of whitewater in the world. The music on this part of the movie is provided by some coffee grower who helped the pair on their quest. Not really me cup of tea, but it didn’t last to long. So the question is, did they do it? Well…I’m not going to spoil it for you!

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The Mothership Connection

The Mothership Connection is one of the videos in the TEVA tour series. It takes you on a 55 minute whirlwind trip to many grade IV and V rivers in Corsica, Italy, and Norway. It is largely filmed by top playboater, designer (Riot Techno), extreme paddler and video boater, Arnd Shaeftlein.

Like the other tours in the series the cast is world famous and features the paddling talents of Buffy Bailey, Johnny Kern, Willy Kern, Mark Eames, Brennan Guth, Mark Hayden, Francesco Salvato, Brad Ludden, Flemming Shmidt, Erik Martinsen, Stephan Luetz, Lara Tipper, Horst Fuersattel, Arnd Shaeftlein, Ortwin Dellevoet and others!

The rivers and scenery are simply amazing, well shot and well run by the boaters. Running large drops dominates but one or two play waves are featured.

In my opinion the soundtrack is the only thing that lets the video down, however musical tastes are quite individual and that should not detract from the fact that there is some awesome boating throughout the 55 minutes. It’s worth watching at least a couple of times.

To sum up – Big names, big water, and big drops.

Palm Helix Freeride Buoyancy Aid (PFD)

The Palm Helix is billed as the ultimate play vest. RRP is around £80, but a search of a few UK Kayak stores will reveal that a brand new Helix can be had for less than £45!

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GoPro Battery BacPac

Just ordered a GoPro Battery BacPac from Amazon, 41% off. It will happily work with both the 1080p HD and HD2 cameras.

– Attaches to the back of the 1080p HD HERO camera
– 2X (approx) extended recording time
– Plugs into any USB charging source to charge your spare HD HERO batteries
– Charges 960p and 1080p HD HERO camera batteries
– Built in LED lights indicate battery power status


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