Unsponsored

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

Tag: pfd (Page 7 of 9)

CRKT – The Bear Claw

24 November 2013 / / 4 Comments

Made by CRKT and designed by knife maker Russ Kommer the Bear Claw is a rescue knife like no other.

Specs –

Full tang taper ground AUS 6M stainless steel blade with a fine bead blast finish.
Finger hole and friction grooves located on blade spine, choil and near tip for maximum blade control and safety.
The handle is contoured black Zytel.
Includes a injection molded black Zytel sheath that has seven lanyard holes and belting slots with lanyard and black stainless steel Teflon plated pocket clip.
AUS 6M stainless steel blade hardened to 55-57HRC, Blade length: 2″.

The Bear Claw

I picked up one of these knives from a climbing shop in Hailey, Idaho. I had been after a decent knife for kayaking for some time and was probably going to pick up a Gerber on my return to the UK. However after checking the Bear Claw out for a few minutes I decided it was going to be a better choice.

Continue reading

Pin Kit – Rescue PFD

14 October 2013 / / 0 Comments

Your Personal Flotation Device (PFD) is probably along with your helmet your prime piece of protection whilst on the water. Your PFD not only helps to keep you afloat it also offers vital padded protection for your body.

The Rescue PFD is something as yet I have not covered as part of the Pin Kit series. So here it is.

Continue reading

Fox 40 Whistle

12 October 2013 / / 0 Comments

Whistles are small, lightweight, and can be a lifesaver in an emergency. I probably own half a dozen or so Fox 40 whistles. I’ve used a number of Fox 40s for years, for both work and on the river and they can be found on my PFD, rucksacks and keys. In fact it is one of the few things that I am prepared to have hanging on my PFD.

In an emergency situation on a river it may not be possible to hear people shout clearly as the sound of the water can drown out the quality of the sound. However a good whistle can punch through that. The Fox whistle is highly regarded and is probably one of the loudest and compact whistles on the market. My orignal one must be well over 20 years old and has taken a beating (it’s the whistle in the image) but is still absolutely as loud and functional as the day I bought it.

There are no moving parts and nothing that could actually fail. The Fox 40 delivers optimum performance and sound power (115db) in a surprisingly small, compact and functional package. Given how good it is you’d expect the Fox 40 to be quite expensive. In reality you can pick them up for around £7 or less.

Palm Equipment FXr PFD

5 October 2013 / / 1 Comment

BA191_FXr_Sherbet_Front

The NEW FXr buoyancy aid from Palm. from James Bebbington on Vimeo.

The same great cut of the FX but with a bunch of safety features! Barney our designer shows you this beauty!
Follow all the updates at the show: facebook.com/palmequipment
or for more information on products see: palmequipmenteurope.com/

Palm FX On Steriods – FXr

17 September 2013 / / 0 Comments

How do you improve one of the best selling PFDs on the market? How about adding a chest harness and additional knife storage.

BA191_FXr_Sherbet_Front

Check out the new FXr from Palm. Presumably the R must stand for rescue or may be “really good”.

On Your Person

16 August 2013 / / 0 Comments

It’s always interesting to see what other paddlers carry with them. What do you carry with you?

1005789_10151786520467505_1709218086_n-1

Astral athlete Gareth Tate sends in a photo showing what he carries in his Greenjacket and says…

“I could not be more stoked on the convenience and capacity of the new clamshell pocket on the Greenjacket, check out what I am able to carry with room to spare.”

-1-2 prussiks
-2 locking carabiners
-1 small pulley
-15-20ft of webbing (half inch)
-Rescue whistle
-Rescue knife
-Snack bar
-SPOT device

What do you carry in your Greenjacket?

Astral YTV PFD – First Look

16 August 2013 / / 1 Comment

Firstly the Astral YTV PFD is not available in Europe but thanks to the Internet it is super easy to get hold of one.

unsponsored_ 7

I have had mine for a number of weeks and was able to put it through its paces on whitewater for the first time this week. A full review will be published in a couple of months, so in the meantime here is a little detail on the YTV Continue reading

Astral YTV PFD – First Look

9 July 2013 / / 0 Comments

Although not available in Europe I managed to get hold of the new Astral YTV PFD for review.

unsponsored_ytv 6

As yet it hasn’t been used in anger but first impressions are pretty good. Super light and super slim (unlike the model).

unsponsored_ytv 1 Continue reading

Astral Green Jacket 2013 – Review

3 July 2013 / / 8 Comments

It’s been a long time since I have had a new Astral PFD.

unsponsored_greenjacket 6

There was something that I really didn’t like about the previous version. For me the fit was just not quite right, I know that lots of people really liked them but the design was not right for me. Roll on a few years and we have the 2013 Greenjacket.

unsponsored_greenjacket 3

Continue reading

Prototype Palm FX PFD?

24 June 2013 / / 1 Comment

Below are a few shots of what must be a prototype Palm FX PFD. The front of the PFD looks the same as the production models with the exception of the zip pull running in the opposite direction.

unsponsored_FX_PFD_Proto 1

The straps (other than colour) look just the same as the production models. Continue reading

Palm Harlequin Extrem RV PFD

23 June 2013 / / 0 Comments

How about this for a colour scheme?

unsponsored_palm_big (8) Continue reading

Palm FX PFD – Review

22 June 2013 / / 0 Comments

The FX PFD from Palm Equipment has been around in one form or another for years and has been one of Palm’s top sellers throughout its lifetime. The new 2013 FX has really ramped up the design in terms of its looks, but how does it perform? Read on…

unsponsored_palm_fx 8 Continue reading

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2025 Unsponsored

Theme by Anders Norén — Up ↑