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

Tag: rope (Page 1 of 3)

Pin Kit/Rescue Gear

A pin kit is the collection of equipment that you carry to aid in a whitewater rescue that may or may not involve a pinned kayak or canoe. Within my paddling group there will be several variations of this kit, it is important that the group is not reliant on one persons kit as it may be that person or that persons boat that is in need of assistance.

The areas in which you paddle may also dictate the type and amount of kit you carry.

Pin Kit/Rescue Gear
Pin Kit/Rescue Gear
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Kokatat Rescue Life Vests – Carson Lindsay

Carson Lindsay runs through is 3:2:1:1 rescue equipment carry and how he loads it in two different PFDs.

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Nookie Hornet Throwline – Review

A throwline is a must have piece of equipment for all kayakers and canoeists. We have had a Nookie Hornet 18m Rescue Throwline 8mm (9kN) in for review at Unsponsored for quite a few months. We are pretty familiar with Nookie’s Throwlines having owned and used quite a few over the last 30+ years of paddling.

Nookie Hornet Throwline - Review
Nookie Hornet Throwline – Review
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Level Six Quick Throw Pro

A new throwline has just showed up in my news feed from Level Six.

It has glow in the dark rope!

What do you think?

Nookie Hornet 18m Rescue Throwline – First Look

We have a Nookie Hornet 18m Rescue Throwline 8mm (9kN) in for review at Unsponsored. At 18m the Nookie Hornet’s 8mm floating line is the sweet spot length for most applications.

Nookie Hornet 18m Rescue Throwline
Nookie Hornet 18m Rescue Throwline
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HF Little Fish Throwbag – First Look

We bought this HF Little Fish Throwbag a week or so ago and reckon it is about time we posted a first look.

The HF Little Fish throwbag is small. You would expect it to be given that it contains only 9m of 7.5mm floating rope. This puts it in the position of being longer than a bought rescue tape but shorter than most throw bags currently on the market.

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Peak UK Throwline – Review

The PEAKUK throwline comes in 15m, 20m or 25m lengths.  The one we have here is the smallest 15m version.

Peak UK Throwline - Review

The throwline comes equipped with 15m of 9.5mm floating rope. Compared to the 18m of 7.5mm rope used in the HF weasel and 18m of 8mm line used within the Palm Equipment Lightning throw bags. So although it is very slightly shorter the thicker rope means that the system is much easier to handle when under load.

Peak UK Throwline - Review
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Never Lose Your GoPro (Maybe)

Never lose your GoPro, maybe*.

unsponsored-gopro-tether-leash-4

Losing a GoPro because the sticky mount has failed is not a nice experience. I have been there. Using a leash or tethering system has become a key part of using a GoPro, especially when attached to a kayak, paddle or helmet. Since the release of the  GoPro Hero 4 the usual place to add a leash to tether the camera has gone.

GoPro have removed access to the metal bar that acts as part of the hinge, this was used by many to attach a thin piece of cord although some housings have failed due to this. The frame that is supplied with the 5, 6 and now 7 do have the metal bar, however it is super difficult to get some cord around it so I have continued using the method described here.

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Peak UK Throwline 15m – First Look

The PEAKUK throwline comes in 15m, 20m or 25m lengths.  The one we have here is the smallest 15m version.

Peak UK Throwline 15m - First Look

The throwline comes equipped with 15m of 9.5mm floating rope. Compared to the 18m of 7.5mm rope used in the HF weasel and 18m of 8mm line used within the Palm Equipment Lightning throw bags.

Peak UK Throwline 15m - First Look
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Replacing The Rope System In Your EXO Kayak

Adrian Mattern shows us how to replace the rope backhand system in an EXO kayak.

Replacing The Rope System In Your EXO Kayak

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Palm Equipment Bolt Throwline – Review

I’ve been using the small Palm Equipment Lightning throwline as my small carry on a belt throwline. The compact size of the bag makes it ideal for this purpose. To achieve this size, it only uses 18m of 8mm rope with a 8KN breaking strain.

In addition to a small bag I also like to have a larger burlier throwline in the boat. This is where the new Bolt throwline comes into to play. The Bolt takes many of the features of the Lightning and scales thing up. As a result it includes 20m of 11mm rope with a breaking strain of 10KN. This is strong enough to use as a haul line, but is still light enough for person to person rescues. The rope is really nice to handle even when under considerable load. A nice touch is that the two ends of the rope have been shrink wrapped.

Palm Equipment Bolt Throwline - First Look

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Rappelling Into Beautiful Waterfalls

Rappelling Into Beautiful Waterfalls – A short video from a day out at the Truchas waterfalls, we had to rappel in to this set of drops which is one of the things I am most scared of. I am useless with ropes and knots and terrified of climbing.

Rappelling into beautiful waterfalls

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