Jackson Kayak have two new whitewater kayaks being showcased next week at the Outdoor Retailer show, the Nirvana and the Antix. The Antix has much in common with the slicey river running playboats from a few years ago. From what I see across the industry I think this year marks a significant refocus of designers away from the super short bouncy playboats of recent years. I think 2017 will see a focus on super fun river running, cartwheeling, blunting, and carving designs. Think Pyranha Loki, Lettmann Plan B, Riot Disco, Soul Gonzo etc.
Jackson Kayak’s Antix is our first ever playable creeking/river-running kayak. Designed as a river-runner first, the length, volume, and edges are optimized to squirt, be lightweight compared to creek boats, and extremely maneuverable. Paddlers will love this boat on their local runs, replacing the need for a creek boat for many and increasing the fun factor with its playable features.
River-runners of all levels will appreciate these Antix features:
Short, slicey ends allow for squirting, splatting, and down-river fun
Planing hull for great surfing, spinning and stability
Uni-shock bulkhead system and U-Channel track for quick adjustment and to protect paddler and kayak
Available in two sizes – small/medium and medium/large.
The Antix delivers a great experience for beginners, intermediate and advanced kayakers who want to take advantage of river features; technical rapids, downstream play moves and easy paddling.
“This is a boat we have been missing from our lineup since we started in 2004. Like the Hero, it gives people a short, easy to paddle kayak for their local runs, but the Antix adds in some vertical play with the squirt, splat, etc… Fun times ahead,” explained Eric Jackson, Kayak Co-Designer with David Knight and Jackson Kayak President.
WEIGHT: 45 LBS
WIDTH: 25”
LENGTH: 7’4”
Looks great. Though I am left wondering what the difference is between this and, say, the Fun? Are we seeing a return to boats like the Centrifuge? And if so, what will this do for our feet?!
I don’t think we’ll be seeing above as far as the super slicey boats with zero foot room like the centrifuge. Probably somewhere close but not as far.
I think that it is great we are seeing a return to such boats, and the idea of fun river running. I think that the publicity and marketing focus has been far too much towards steep creeking and huge waterfalls, which most people do not run. More focus on the fun side of boating, and larking about doing stern pivots, splats, cartwheels etc, will hopefully give a wider appeal to the sport. The only problem is that it doesn’t help my bank account!
I completely agree. We’ve had the move to short poppy boats, creek boats, displacement and semi displacement, 9ft river runners so there isn’t many obvious areas left. I look forward to what will be arriving on the water in 2017.