Over the last couple of months I have had lots on enquiries from smaller (than me) paddlers asking about the Wavesport 70. There is no way I could possibly shoe horn myself into a 70 and give any kind of sensible verdict. I put a few feelers out and Elaine Campbell answered the call and has compiled the following. Many Thanks.
I’ve been paddling the Wave Sport Recon 70 since September and couldn’t be happier with it’s performance. Prior to that I paddled the Diesel 70 as my creek boat for about 3 years, the Habitat for one year, and Huck for 2 years.
Yes, I do paddle for Wave Sport and of course I want you to purchase a Wave Sport boat but I also want you to buy a boat that you are going to be comfortable in. I’m just letting you know my opinion of the Wave Sport Recon 70. The best advice I have for you is to go to your local dealer or try a friends Recon or look me up and we can meet up and you can try mine. I have a Recon 70 and a Recon 83 that I’d be more than happy for you try and then you tell me how you like it. I’ll bet you will be super impressed with this boat and will more than likely go buy one. Believe me if I didn’t feel comfortable in this boat I’d still use my Diesel 70 as my creek boat but guess what I’m not! Continue reading
Jackson’s Star is designed for the smaller paddler and part of the Jackson All Star Series of kayaks.
Jackson Star – Review
From Jackson:
Our most popular playboat of all time still available to everyone!- Those who want to make their playboating game bigger, better, faster, and easier have been flocking to our highest performing and easiest paddling All-Star yet.
Short, fast, loose, and goes huge on loops, wave tricks. The Jackson 2010 Allstar dominated the Worlds as a boat that is legend in how it takes your playboating to the next level!
• Beginners enjoy the fastest learning curve of any up and coming playboaters. Your first spin, surf, loop, cartwheel or even Eskimo roll will be rewarded with an easier to perform boat.
• Intermediates really begin to set the All-Star loose with explosive pop in the wedged shape bow and stern, speedy hull, and easy to get off the water design.
• Experts have already earned the 1st-5th places in the last World Championships in Thun, Switzerland in the Men’s Pro class. Need we say more?
The boat has been used extensively as a river runner and park n play boat and it does well as both. The Star, despite being quite short tracks really well and I found it easy to attain eddies and move across the flow without a loss of speed or control. I do need to watch for the tail end getting caught in the tow back now and again but since moving the seat forward a little it is a rare occurrence.
Jackson Star – Review
The outfitting is simple yet effective and setting up the Star didn’t take very long with all the bits and bobs supplied. Adding shims to the hip pads is super easy and it only takes a short while to get everything just right. I use a Jackson Happy feet in the Star and it works well. I use the smallest Happy Feet available. I therefore feel really locked into the Star which allows me to transfer weight shifts directly into the boat. As a result I found that edging and rolling the boat was very easy. The Star provides a very stable platform from which moves can be launched. The Star spins incredibly well and feels stable when in the vertical position. I can even retain stern squirts down fairly week eddy lines. Over the years the Star design has been tweaked but I am still really happy with my Jackson Star.
Jackson Star – Review
I have paddled all over the world with my Star and have ran rivers all the way up to large volume grade IV which was a blast. For the smaller paddler I reckon that the Star is a great choice for all types of kayaking with the exception of creeking!
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