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

Category: Dry Tops & Suits (Page 6 of 9)

Peak UK Custom Drysuit – Review

13 March 2015 / / 0 Comments

I have now been using a Peak UK Custom drysuit for about 6 months on rivers and for playboating and I have been very pleased with it. Not only is the drysuit really good quality but the ability to have your own customised design incorporated really well into it makes for a winning combination.

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One of the key features about this drysuit is that it is made out of their X3 material not the X4 that some of Peak’s other kit is made out of. Now this comes with a selection of pros and cons that will depend really on what the individual paddler would want from their suit. Trying on the Peak whitewater one piece in the shop, the X4 material felt quite heavy to wear although I don’t imagine this would greatly affect movement on the water too much. The custom suit with the X3 however feels much lighter.

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Dry Suit – Zipper Repair

11 February 2015 / / 0 Comments

A great little edit from Kokatat that will be useful to any paddler who owns a dry suit.

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Kokatat dry suit care and maintenance. For more information go to kokatat.com/customer-service. Continue reading

Chris Gragtmans Explains – IR 2015 Arch Rival Drysuit

23 December 2014 / / 0 Comments

Chris Gragtmans gives us a run down of the new Immersion Research (2015) Arch Rival Drysuit. It’s also worth keeping an eye out for the new 9ft boat from Dagger currently named the Phantom.

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Immersion Research – New Website

17 December 2014 / / 0 Comments

The new IR website is looking rather good. As is their new range of gear. Looking forward to having a chance to test some of the gear out.

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Yak Riwaka Dry Top – First Look

7 December 2014 / / 3 Comments

The Yak Riwaka in a very loud GREEN has arrived at Unsponsored HQ. Now this is the third bit of gear from Yak that has landed here the HQ in as many weeks and once again Yak have made a really good impression (I need to find out who is designing this stuff!) – here’s why.

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Reader’s Rides 2014 – Aaron Kendall

23 November 2014 / / 0 Comments

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Name: Aaron Kendall

Location: Loggerheads, Mold, North wales

I’m currently a outdoor instructor for Kingswood, based at the Colomendy outdoor centre. What seems to be the perfect location, although I seem to of missed most of the rain due to other commitments. Still getting plenty of low water runs in and the odd bit of water too.

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Reader’s Rides 2014 – Eddy Mead

21 November 2014 / / 0 Comments

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Name: Eddy Mead

Location: Cardiff, South Wales

Boat: Liquidlogic Remix 79

I’ve paddled the Remix for a year now and have loved every minute. It’s super long with a narrow hull so it accelerates quickly and maintains speed. It’s got soft edges so it’s really forgiving but at the same time carves into tight eddy’s and into strong currents with ease. The Remix doesn’t have masses of rocker so boofing can require a little more effort but if the boat is being driven it cruises over everything. What’s unique and cool about it is the scoop on the tail, if dipped in the green whilst punching a big hole, it will give you a boost and accelerate away from the feature. Also the LL Badass outfitting if fantastic, super easy to adjust and super comfy without adding too much weight.

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Reader’s Rides 2014 – Ben Hawthorne

19 November 2014 / / 0 Comments

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Name: Ben Hawthorne

About me: Been paddling for a while now, maybe 24 years?? Christ I’m old!!! I have however been fortunate to take my passion all over the world and paddle in a whole lot of places including New Zealand, Nepal, Chile and Canada. For the last 2 summers and next I have been running the Sjoa Kayak Camp in Norway along with my beautiful wife and the Gene 17 boys. I’m lucky enough to be supported by Colorado Kayak Supply in the US, super cool guys, check em out.

Location: Currently, Chamonix for the winter. Stoked.

Boat: ZET Raptor. Now when these came out I thought they looked a bit industrial, rough around the edges and wasn’t that keen. Then I ended up paddling one for a bit, and after a couple of runs was completely converted. It does everything a creek boat should do. Fast (for a creek boat), boofs and rolls easy, light, comfortable and most importantly, bomb proof. I do think its not really a great beginners boat, it definitely needs to be driven around the river and will kick your arse pretty fast if youre not a pro-active paddler but I love it. It really suits my paddling style. I’m pretty excited to see the new boat they’ve got lined up, details boys details!!! Also a Bliss-stick Smoothy for my play boat, like a project in my size, love it.

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Winter Paddling Essentials

14 November 2014 / / 1 Comment

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1. A good dry top/trouser combo or dry suit. Keeping dry inside makes keeping warm that much easier. Even some of the two piece systems (dry top and dry trousers) available are getting close to being as good as a dry suit. Price is some much better as is the flexibility of the system.

2. Solid footwear. Wet river banks and slippery rocks are not a great combination if you have dodgy footwear. A good pair of river shoes or boots are worth there weight in gold. Currently using Five Ten Water Tennies or the new Astral Rassler.

3. Good socks. Conventional socks only really work if you have a dry suit with built in dry socks. However various manufacturers make thin 3 and 4mm thick neoprene socks that can help keep your feet warm even when wet.

4. Base layers. I love merino kit – it’s warm when wet and doesn’t smell! But any good, thin base layer will do the job. Colder = more layers. Polartec fleece also works really wet in cold/wet conditions.

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Yak Chinook Dry Pants – First Look

5 November 2014 / / 0 Comments

Yak are the kayaking/canoeing side of the Crewsaver company. In the past Yak have catered for the middle to lower end of the market with some fantastic hardwearing kit for centre and club use. Although functional and hardwearing they didn’t have the same appeal as some of the more well known brands. However I think that this is about to change. Having seen quite a lot of the new Yak range over the last couple of weeks I can safely say that I think they have come up with some great looking designs that appear to be very well thought out.

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Palm Equipment – Touring Jackets

1 October 2014 / / 0 Comments

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The new line of touring jackets for 2015 from Palm Equipment. Palm’s product designer Barney Caulfield explains it all at Paddle Expo 2014. Continue reading

Palm Equipment Atom Jacket

29 September 2014 / / 0 Comments

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Palm Equipment’s product designer Barney Caulfield shows us the new Atom jacket at Paddle Expo 2014. A top of the range men’s and women’s paddle jacket in our new nanopourous XP3 Aero fabric. Available spring 2015. Continue reading

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