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

Tag: rescue (Page 9 of 13)

Falls Of Falloch – Broken Back

14 April 2015 / / 1 Comment

A few weeks ago myself and a group of friends were kayaking in Scotland on our annual easter trip with Salford University. We were having a great time, kayaking some really beautiful Scottish white water.

On Easter Sunday we hatched an ambitious plan to hit 4 runs in one day and make the most of the water levels before they dropped because of sunshine. The first order of business was a 30 foot waterfall near Loch Lomond in Stirling called the Falls of Falloch. This waterfall is famous with kayakers as being a very friendly waterfall to run and practice on.

Falls Of Falloch - Broken Back
Falls Of Falloch – Broken Back

After checking it out we were all happy and we got kitted up and psyched up for what would have been the biggest drop any of us would have done. My friend dropped the falls first and did it perfectly, after seeing him do it I geared up to paddle this beautiful drop. I hit the line and tucked for the impact at the bottom, unfortunately once I plunged into the pool at the bottom I knew immediately something was wrong. My landing was slightly horizontal, my back was in agony and I couldnt move.

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NRS Co Pilot Rescue Knife

30 March 2015 / / 0 Comments

If you are using a throw line on the river I firmly believe that you need to carry a knife capable of cutting the line you are using.

NRS Co Pilot Rescue Knife

There are two schools of thought on how a knife should be carried. The first option is to have a knife stored in such a way that it does not create a snag hazard but still remains accessible. The choices on how this can be achieved is limited and really relies on using a pocket on your PFD. The second option is to carry a knife clipped onto the outside of your PFD. By doing this you are accepting that there will be an increased snag risk but the knife will be readily accessible. The other issue with knives that are mounted on the outside of your PFD is that it should remain secure until it is required to be used. Continue reading

Clean Rope

25 March 2015 / / 2 Comments

I had a bit of time today so had a go at modifying my two throw lines. I much prefer the clean rope principle where the end of the throw line that you keep hold of is a clean piece of rope i.e. has no knots or tubing.

Before:

Clean rope principle

After:

Clean rope principle

The second modification I carried out was the removal of the tubing from the bag end of the line and the reduction in the size of the loop. The idea is that the loop is big enough to clip a karabiner into but is far too small to get a hand stuck.

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Towing Options – Sling & Carabiner

22 March 2015 / / 1 Comment

First and foremost there is an appropriate time to tow and not to tow. If it can be avoided it is best to do so. However YOU may choose to use a tow system to move a boat across a piece of still water. As with all things of this type it is down to the paddlers own assessment on the day and therefore at the paddlers own risk. Choosing the right kind of towing option for the right conditions is critical.

Towing Options

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Palm Snake Sling – Review

22 March 2015 / / 1 Comment

Last year Palm Equipment launched the new Snake Sling.

Palm Snake Sling - Review

The Palm Snake Sling is a 4m length of tape with sewn ends allowing the sling to be used in various different ways when you add a carabiner into the mix. What I really like is the fact that the sewn loops have been created in such a way that it is super easy to get a karabiner in/out of without high risk of snagging. I have a number of pieces of climbing kit with this setup and know that it works really well.

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Not So Great Kayaking

21 March 2015 / / 0 Comments

Not So Great Kayaking

Believe it or not, Storey Arms Graduates are not ALWAYS great at this paddling malarkey. Sometimes it all goes abit Pete Tong, resulting in scratched helmets and comedy gold. Here are some of the best bits we’ve caught on camera.

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Astral Green Jacket Comparison

15 February 2015 / / 0 Comments

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I have been using the Astral Green Jacket as my main PFD for well over a year now and I love it. The features and its low profile make it ideal for a range of water based activities.

unsponsored_astralgj14 Continue reading

POV Cameras Possible Danger?

5 December 2014 / / 2 Comments

I am a huge GoPro user, I have owned most types and always have a couple with my kayaking kit. Being able to bring tech into my paddling offers me the perfect combination of the kind of things I am into. I also spend a great deal of time watching home grown kayak movies on Vimeo and Youtube, many of which appear here on the site so I have a pretty good feel of what is possible and the impact that POV cameras have had on the sport.

DCIM100GOPRO

Society is probably more media driven than it ever has been before and even the small section of society who kayak have been part of and are impacted upon by the rise of social media. Being able to view user driven and user published media where the end viewer has ultimately also become the media maker/publisher has many merits and has helped bring the sport to more people than it ever has done in the past. Continue reading

Yak Hallertau PFD – First Look

22 November 2014 / / 1 Comment

Hot on the heals of the Yak Chinook dry pants is the new Hallertau PFD. The Hallertau is a top spec river running PFD with QR harness and all the storage options you could ever want. Yet it remains really low profile.

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Carnage In The Rockies

30 August 2014 / / 0 Comments

A great edit of some serious mistakes/carnage from Aeon Russo!

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When your trying to charge as much Class V in three weeks as you can, shit happens. Heres to the next booty beer! Continue reading

Rescue

28 August 2014 / / 0 Comments

A truly excellent effort by the rescue team. Lots of lessons for us all to learn.

Screen Shot 2014-08-27 at 11.55.14 Continue reading

Adventure Medical Ultralight 0.5 First Aid Kit

21 August 2014 / / 0 Comments

For the last few years I have been using Adventure Medical as my main first aid kits. I stumbled upon them when I was trying to find an ultralight kit for mountain biking. Since then I have purchased several Adventure Medical First Aid Kits and they can be found in my rucksacks and now in my kayak as part of my “When it all goes wrong kit“.

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