Although not available in Europe I managed to get hold of the new Astral YTV PFD for review.
As yet it hasn’t been used in anger but first impressions are pretty good. Super light and super slim (unlike the model).
Tag: Review (Page 15 of 19)
The NRS Hydroskin Socks will protect your feet and keep them warm in the water without the bulk of a heavy neoprene sock. NRS HydroSkin Socks are the ultimate wetshoe liner and they work great with sandals too.The 0.5-mm neoprene core insulates and protects.
This is the top freestyle vest from US manufacturer Lotus. Lotus is one of the U.S’s top buoyancy aid or as they say PFD (personal flotation device) manufacturers, and at current they aren’t available in the UK, neither are they CE approved, however they do rock!
I obtained my ‘Lowrider’ via mail order from www.boatwerks.net a Canadian company with shops on the banks of the Ottawa, but most shops in the US and Canada stock them, so if your planning a trip, or don’t mind paying the shipping, its well worth it.
At first glance the ‘Lowrider’ is a sweet looking bit of kit, super low profile as the name suggests, and ultimate freedom of movement. It has straps on the shoulders and 2 on the sides to adjust and tighten the fit of the pfd including a unique internal harness that gives a good tight fit with out constricting breathing. It’s constructed of a solid cordura shell, and an Airtex type foam. Continue reading
I must admit that I own a few pairs of elbow pads but as yet have never used them whilst kayaking. They have been worn and fully tested on many occasions whilst I’ve been biking/flying through the air.
As “creeking” has become more and more popular you now see more and more people wearing elbow pads whilst on the water and I can can see why. Banging your elbow usually hurts pretty badly, but banging your elbow whilst running white water could mean that you are unable to continue paddling on, fail a roll or put a nice big hole in your dry top/ dry suit.
The UK distributers of Contour products (Ultra Sport Europe) kindly agreed to send me one of the new Contour + 2 cameras for test.
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 readingTake a Zet Raptor and make it a little bit smaller and then give it a little tweak and you have the Zet Veloc!
From Zet:
The new VELOC is inspired by the ground breaking design of the Raptor, but it comes with several important changes. The Veloc is perfectly suited for mid-sized and small whitewater paddlers, who are looking for a boat that can take them to their limits.
This kayak is balanced and easy to control on difficult whitewater. The high volume distribution in the bow, combined with the advanced rocker design make the boat fast and stable when paddling through holes and waves. As a result of the Veloc’s volume distribution the boat is highly responsive and resurfaces rapidly. Combined with the stable flat hull, this makes the Veloc a force to be reckoned with on both steep/technical and high volume rivers.
The outfitting has been redesigned making it more adjustable, robust, and comfortable than ever before.
This 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
The Dagger GT is a classic river kayak. It is both stable and forgiving but at the same time can be pushed a little and will happily surf (and spin) all day long. The GT has great forward speed which allows the paddler to punch through waves/stoppers and across chewy eddy lines.
The Pyranha takes a massive departure away from the cookie cutter playboat shape that we have all seen developing over the last few years with the new Loki. Designs such as the Jed, Project X, and Jitsu have all to some extent developed in one particular direction – to allow paddlers to pull off some of the more modern aerial moves.
The Loki on the other hand has been designed to allow paddlers to return to a time when cartwheels, stern squirts, stern stalls, flat spins and blunts were the moves of the day. In essence Pyranha have set out to capture the feel and performance of old school playboats.
This months edition is out now with 160+ pages of paddling goodness!
Check out my thoughts on the new school/old school Pyranha Loki.
I’ve been paddling the Axiom 8.5 for some time now and, being at the top of its weight range (I’m 185lb dry weight) and at the limit of its internal dimensions (6’4″ with size 15 feet), I wondered how the 9.0 would feel for me. After paddling both for a few months, I can share my impressions, in case someone else would be trying to make a similar choice.
Pure Land Expeditions
Northshore Watersports
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