Paddling tips, tricks, news and gear reviews from an Unsponsored point of view
A great deal of outdoor equipment passes through the halls of Unsponsored HQ. Some great, some good and some not so good. As we get closer to the 25th of December it has now become a little bit of tradition (and to save me answering loads of “What should I get ….. for Christmas, they have just got into kayaking/canoeing/SUP?” type questions via email) to put together a list of gear that paddlers and general outdoors type folk might appreciate as presents at Christmas time.
So here it is.
Guigui Prod have been around for some time producing some of the best custom playboats available. Guigui Prod has released a new composite creek boat named the Shinobi. The design of the hull has come about through the collaboration of Guigui Prod and the Easy Kayak Team.
Clearly the April Fool post from Pyranha this year has gained some traction. They announced the production of a 12R long boat seven months ago as a bit of a joke but it seems that they are actually going to put it into production if they get enough preorders.
Before 2014, I’d only seen a Pyranha Spanish Fly and a Big Dog OC1 on the rivers around Scotland. They looked weird and I didn’t like the idea of swamping and kneeling when I could have a comfy kayak seat and a spraydeck. After stumbling across a group of OC1ers in Glen Etive one New Year’s Eve, I really had my eyes opened to the C-boat world, albeit a rather mad one! After enjoying open canoeing for the past few years and becoming impartial to the single blade, I’ve recently decided to take the plunge with a Silverbirch Covert 9.3.
This is what I think of it so far…
Why they are called thighhooks not kneehooks
The concept is that when rolling, riverrunning, or playboating (cartwheels, stern squirts, etc.) The upper body leads and rotates the lower at the hips.
Is having a throw line on a belt a good idea?
Many years ago PFDs were produced with rear pockets to accommodate a throw bag. Many of those original bags were a flat envelope type and were pretty compact meaning they would fit in the PFD easily. Unfortunately they didn’t throw that well compared to cylindrical bags, had relatively short lengths of thin rope and repacking could be a nightmare. That said it was better to have one than not at all.
Continue readingFancy a slicey river running play machine? Her is quick run down of the specifications of a number of the slicey kayaks out there. Dagger Axiom Vs Jackson AntiX Vs Liquidlogic Braap Vs Pyranha Ripper Vs Soul Gonzo Vs …..
Liquidlogic Party Braap
Length 271.8cm
Width 62.2cm
Weight 20kg
Volume 253.6l
Paddler Weight 45 – 100kg
By request here is a quick run down of the specifications of the sub 9ft category whitewater race kayaks – Pyranha 9R Vs Zet FIVE Vs Dagger Phantom Vs Waka Gangsta Vs Jackson Kayak Nirvana vs Titan Rival.
Length 271cm
Width 68cm
Height 37cm
Weight 23kg
Paddler Wt Range 66-116kg
Is it time to upgrade from the GoPro Hero5 Black Edition to the GoPro Hero6 Black Edition?
The GoPro Hero6 Black edition was released earlier this month and many of you out there are probably wondering whether or not it is worth upgrading from the GoPro Hero5 Black.
There are now three cameras on the current GoPro line up, the Hero6, the Hero5 and the Hero5 Session with the fourth 360 enabled Fusion camera landing shortly.
As you might expect the new Hero6 has the most and best features of the three currently available GoPro cameras.
Having just been discussing the lack of new boats from ZET over the last few days it looks like they do have a new kayak for 2018. From the specifications it looks like the Five is designed to address the challenges from the new crop of short (sub 9ft) whitewater kayaks.
ZET kayaks introduces the FIVE, the fifth boat in its lineup. Developed together with top paddlers and the ZET team, this new kayak brings all the components a kayaker can wish for in a boat for active moves on whitewater. FIVE is an aggressive whitewater boat, gliding nicely over waves and holes, accelerating like a demon and holding its line without any reduction in speed.
Team Pyranha kayaker Mark Mulrain takes a closer look at the 9R and Machno from Pyranha.
So the latest and greatest Pyranha Kayak has been released and been around for a while now, The Machno. This boat is Pyranha’s take on the latest generation of creekers. It’s faster, has a bit more edge and a more developed rocker profile than the big, round, safe-but-boring creekers of old. I think you’d see the same kind of trends in most of today’s designs.
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