Paddling tips, tricks, news and gear reviews from an Unsponsored point of view
We first made a post about Kokatat releasing a new throw bag way back in 2019. It has only been quite recently that the Huck began to appear in stores.
The Huck is a compact, mantis green coloured throw bag packed with 50 feet (15m) of ¼-inch floating polyethylene core rope with a maximum strength of 1,450 pounds. A 70 feet (21m) bag is also available.
Continue readingThe Palm Side swing HMS Karabiner looks like a fairly conventional karabiner that has had some weight shaved off and a trick anodised colour applied. I thought exactly this when it landed here at Unsponsored HQ.
I didn’t even look at the name, as it was obscured by the paperwork, before removing the karabiner from its display card and checking out the gate action.
When you pick up a karabiner it is compulsory to test out the gate action. That is the point that I realised the Palm side swing karabiner was a little bit different.
Continue readingThe Hiko Guardian 3.D PFD is the latest fully featured PFD from Hiko. It is an anatomically shaped rescue PFD with a tonne of features. This one was supplied by the guys at Good 2 Go Paddlesport.
Carson Lindsay runs through is 3:2:1:1 rescue equipment carry and how he loads it in two different PFDs.
Hot on the heals of the Kokatat Hustle R is the Palm Equipment Nevis PFD. We now have one of the very first at Unsponsored HQ for review.
The Nevis is an over the head slab PFD with a number of features I have not seen before in a PFD.
Continue readingThe Nevis PFD is the culmination of research from UCLan, design by Barney Caulfield and testing worldwide by Bren Orton. At its core is the Delta Fit adjustment system. Two wings that wrap your ribs, reducing pressure on your abdomen, helping you to breathe and increasing mobility. Set-up to go in five fluid steps, with fewer buckles (including new load tested aircraft grade aluminium hardware). The Nevis has the world’s first Piggyback adjustable quick release chest harness, improving upon the latest research, so that releasing your harness doesn’t affect the fit of your PFD. The Nevis sets a new standard in fit and safety.
Palm Equipment
Level Six have released a brand new throw line that uses 20m of static Dyneema rope that glows in the dark.
The 3/8” 20 M rope features an 11% stretch threshold and boasts a 1700KG breaking strength. The mesh panels allow quick draining and drying, and the gusseted zipped opening system is designed to make re-packing your throw bag quick and easy.
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Continue readingLast Spring we were running the South Yuba in California, when things went a little sideways. Luckily it didn’t go worse because I was able to rope Evan out before he had to swim some gnarly rapids. In this video I decided to breakdown a few steps I took to allow me to be able to successfully get Evan out, and hopefully they will help you whenever you need to help someone out!
Dane Jackson
At the end of last week I purchased a Palm Equipment APC Ring. The APC Ring is a fat anodised aluminium O-ring for your PFD chest harness providing an easy to recognise attachment point.
At the time of ordering there wasn’t any detail on the how strong this ring actually was. But it seems that either the Palm website has been updated with more detail or I missed it in the first place.
We have a Whetman Equipment Bait Ring winging its way to Unsponsored HQ.
This 12mm aluminium ring has an internal diameter of 45mm and a minimum breaking strength of 25kN.
It is also UK made.
Continue readingIntroducing the new Nevis PFD from Palm Equipment. Featuring the world’s first Piggyback harness and the brand new Delta Fit system, this award-winning PFD raises the bar for whitewater safety.
The Nevis is the culmination of over three years of development, based on research by University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). Designed by Barney Caulfield and tested worldwide by leading whitewater kayakers including Palm athlete Bren Orton.
Continue readingChest harnesses are a familiar part of all whitewater rescue PFDs these days, allowing you to enter the water attached to a tether, or to help with bank belays.
Research by Loel Colins and Chris Onions at the University of Central Lancashire found that 25% of chest harness releases failed to release properly under low load.
Continue readingThe HF Weasel is HF’s smallest and most compact throw bag with a decent length of line. If space within your boat is at a premium then this bag may be the one for you. The Weasel fits even in the smallest kayak or can be fixed and carried on a waist belt (HF Swifty Belt).
If a throw bag is needed in a emergency you probably won’t have any time for a second go! Therefore the most important factors when using a throwbag is how well it throws, and how easy it is to get the bag to land on target. In both cases the HF Weasel fits the bill. I found the bag easy to throw both under and over arm. The rope pays out nicely during a throw and is also easy to repack if you do need (or have time) to have a second go.
The Weasel has been available for a number of years in both red and black. For 2020 we have a new colour option.
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