Paddling tips, tricks, news and gear reviews from an Unsponsored point of view
Shorter is better.
Following on from my Topo Duo post, check out this action with a Jackson Dynamic Duo.
When the Jackson All Star made its debut at the Teva Games it stormed onto the podium with paddlers Stephen Wright with record high freestyle score of 1310 points, followed by Nick Troutman on 1295, and Dustin Urban on 1040.
The All Star range from Jackson Kayaks has probably been the most popular design of park and play kayaks over the last couple of years. 2013 has seen a major update in the design but plenty of pre-2013 boats can still be found.
Continue readingThis is the 800th post on Unsponsored and to celebrate another milestone I thought I would gather all my recent creek boat reviews in one place.
Liquid Logic Stomper
Wavesport Recon
Pyranha Shiva
Dagger Mamba
Jackson Karma
Pyranha Burn
Over the last month or so I have had around 30 emails asking if I could do I little comparison between these boats.
Having paddled the Liquid Logic Stomper, Wavesport Recon, Dagger Mamba and Jackson Karma over recent months I thought it would be quite good to gather a few statistics and thoughts in one place.
Today I spend a few hours in the new Jackson Karma. Now today was quite unusual as once I was in the Karma and on the water I took an instant dislike to it!
Karma (Large)
Length: 270cm
Width: 71cm
Weight: 22.7kg
Volume: 390L
Paddler Weight: Range 83-136kg
The large Karma was supplied by Northshore Watersports here in the UK. On picking up the boat I noticed it was pretty light. This was a surprise given the fact that it looks really really big. I was expecting something more akin to the Dagger Mamba and Wavesport Recon but the Karma was noticeably lighter. Continue reading
Jackson’s Star is designed for the smaller paddler and part of the Jackson All Star Series of kayaks.
From Jackson:
Our most popular playboat of all time still available to everyone!- Those who want to make their playboating game bigger, better, faster, and easier have been flocking to our highest performing and easiest paddling All-Star yet.
Short, fast, loose, and goes huge on loops, wave tricks. The Jackson 2010 Allstar dominated the Worlds as a boat that is legend in how it takes your playboating to the next level!
• Beginners enjoy the fastest learning curve of any up and coming playboaters. Your first spin, surf, loop, cartwheel or even Eskimo roll will be rewarded with an easier to perform boat.
• Intermediates really begin to set the All-Star loose with explosive pop in the wedged shape bow and stern, speedy hull, and easy to get off the water design.
• Experts have already earned the 1st-5th places in the last World Championships in Thun, Switzerland in the Men’s Pro class. Need we say more?
Specs:
Weight: 28 lbs
Length: 5’6″
Width: 24-1/4″
Height: 13″
Volume: 47 gallons
Cockpit Dimensions: 19″ x 32-1/2″
Ideal Weight Range: 90-160 lbs.
The boat has been used extensively as a river runner and park n play boat and it does well as both. The Star, despite being quite short tracks really well and I found it easy to attain eddies and move across the flow without a loss of speed or control. I do need to watch for the tail end getting caught in the tow back now and again but since moving the seat forward a little it is a rare occurrence.
The outfitting is simple yet effective and setting up the Star didn’t take very long with all the bits and bobs supplied. Adding shims to the hip pads is super easy and it only takes a short while to get everything just right. I use a Jackson Happy feet in the Star and it works well. I use the smallest Happy Feet available. I therefore feel really locked into the Star which allows me to transfer weight shifts directly into the boat. As a result I found that edging and rolling the boat was very easy. The Star provides a very stable platform from which moves can be launched. The Star spins incredibly well and feels stable when in the vertical position. I can even retain stern squirts down fairly week eddy lines. Over the years the Star design has been tweaked but I am still really happy with my Jackson Star.
I have paddled all over the world with my Star and have ran rivers all the way up to large volume grade IV which was a blast. For the smaller paddler I reckon that the Star is a great choice for all types of kayaking with the exception of creeking!
The new Jackson Karma are beginning to find there way to kayak stores. North Shore Watersports have both a large in Fire & Ice (Red/Yellow/White) and a Medium in Limon (Green/Yellow).
I’ll have more on the Karma over the next couple of days. In the meantime here are a few images to check out. Continue reading
Canadian Nick Troutman grew up near the Ottawa river in what is know at the White Water region. A move onto the water seemed a natural progression. At age 13 Nick did exactly that. Nick joined the Canadian National Team at the age of 14, won the North American Championships at the age of 18, and won the World Championships at the age of 20.
Part of the Jackson Kayak team Nick spends a great deal of his time travelling the world and paddling. I am therefore very grateful that Nick was able to take a little time out to take part in the Unsponsored 2013 Q&A series.
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