Paddling tips, tricks, news and gear reviews from an Unsponsored point of view
Friends can’t go kayaking? Don’t worry, they will still know how cool you looked. I’ve been working the past couple weeks trying to dial in an elevated mount system for my 9R. The goal being do not spend more than $20. I made this mount out a crutch and old Pyranha hardware. I took it out for a test run this weekend on my backyard run and here are the results. Getting close to dialed!
The new GoPro Hero 4 Session landed at Unsponsored HQ today. The Session is GoPro’s latest POV action camera and the first to break away from what has been a fairly standard GoPro cuboid shape.
Big rivers and first descents – Siberia looks like an awesome place to paddle. The guys from Two Blades Adventures took full advantage on this trip.
In summer 2014 we managed to get to one of the most remote rivers in Sayan Mountains in Siberia/Russia. Here is the RAW GoPro video from some of the major rapids of the river including the first descent of the 15m waterfall.
Mark Kieran takes a low water run down the Nantahala Cascades.
Parts of the run remind me of the Swale here in the UK.
Last week, Confluence Outdoor announced that as Wave Sport enters its 30th year, it is being refocused as a European brand, where it enjoys a strong, passionate and loyal following as a premium white water kayak brand.
Moving production to Europe provides greater flexibility to add depth across popular models, to support additional market segments and to provide a broader appeal to suit European requirements and tastes. This approach has already proved to be successful for Wave Sport, as showcased by the appeal of the specially tailored outfitting of the Ethos and D-Series families which was a result of the understanding and know-how gained through years of experience in Europe.
Tucked away just outside the village of Dent this Class 4/5 gorge section runs fairly regularly with significant rain although there may be occasions when there can definitely be too much! It can become a very challenging undertaking at high flows with undercut walls and ‘boiling’ eddies. At perfect, mid-level, flows it is my Yorkshire favourite. A sensible decision can be made at the put-in: if it’s floatable and navigable it’s going to be good; however, if there’s a raging torrent, it will be full-on and the gorge will almost certainly be un-runnable. The river starts road-side around 5km outside Dent and the road follows the river for most of the run. In fact it’s only the last km that feels remote. A series of small slides and boulder rapids lead to a slightly bigger slide that right-angle’s to the left. This signifies the end of your warm up.

From here the river starts to get a little tighter and steeper with some quite significant pour-overs; nothing too pushy but a confident boof is definitely required.
An escape from school, work, and the routine of everyday life was a must after a stressful spring semester in my sophomore year of college. With water seemingly low in the Pacific Northwest, the best option was the high volume creeks of Quebec, Canada.
Living out of a retro fitted sprinter van for a month and kayaking 27 days in a row was the best medicine to escape, have our minds cleared, and have the adventures of a lifetime. Enjoy some footage from the amazing creeks in Quebec. Thanks for everyone that made this trip what it was, the memories will never be forgotten.
Demshitz got on the elusive Bear Creek tributary of the Lehigh River in Northeast PA. One of the best micro creeks around! demshitz.com
Shocking piece of news from another Confluence brand – Bomber Gear.
To the Bomber Gear community,
Rick Franken started Bomber Gear in 1992 with one goal in mind, to create innovative gear that was warm, dry, and comfortable. His passion for paddling and creating the best products in the world fueled Bomber Gear for 23 years.
As a company, we’ve weathered changes and have celebrated as our global paddling community pushed the limits of paddlesports. We are mindful of that heritage, and as we reflect on Rick’s incredible legacy, we announce today the difficult decision to cease production and distribution of Bomber Gear in 2016.
To our Wave Sport family,
It has been our honor to produce the best whitewater kayaks in the world for the last 29 years. When Chan Zwanzig started Wave Sport in 1986, he was importing one kayak from the UK, the Lazer. Fast forward a few years, Wave Sport playboats were dominating world competitions, as our creek boats were used to notch the hardest first descents. Wave Sport was on the leading edge in the ‘90s and that has continued through today.
So it is with mixed emotions we announce to you that we are transitioning production and distribution of all Wave Sport kayaks to Europe, starting in 2016. Our remaining North American inventory will be sold through our loyal retailers.
[UPDATE: GoPro have released the 5 series of POV action cameras including the Hero 5 Black Edition and the Session 5.]
We’ve known about this for a short while but couldn’t say anything – Today GoPro announced the launched the new Hero4 session. We have one here at Unsponsored for review!
Here is everything you need to know about the new 2015 GoPro Hero4 Session.
The Session marks a shift from the GoPro format that we have been used to since its first arrival many years ago. The Session is a much smaller format and is not dependent on a housing for its 10m (33ft) waterproofing. Gone are the two buttons (only one now) and in is a smart dual microphone system designed for better sound pickup in even the harshest of conditions.
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