{"id":16861,"date":"2015-04-25T20:56:34","date_gmt":"2015-04-25T19:56:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unsponsored.co.uk\/press\/?p=16861"},"modified":"2015-04-25T20:56:34","modified_gmt":"2015-04-25T19:56:34","slug":"fluid-bazooka-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unsponsored.co.uk\/press\/fluid-bazooka-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Fluid Bazooka – Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently I purchased a fluid bazooka because after a few beaterings it became apparent that to run the bigger rivers in wales I\u2019d need a bigger boat!<\/p>\n

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The Bazooka is one of the smaller white water boats on the market coming in a just over 2 and a half metres but has shed loads of volume. It\u2019s a boat designed for steep technical rivers but will still look after you on bigger rivers.<\/p>\n

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The Bazooka is sporting a semi displacement hull and rounded edges, this means a few things:<\/p>\n

The semi displacement hull and short length makes for a boat that\u2019s quite slow compared to a lot of others around, however given the beans it will still fly over even the biggest features.<\/p>\n

Its soft edges means it does not carve into eddies like yaks with harder edges (eg a Burn) so a bit of input is required to get it across the messier eddy lines.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s extremely responsive in the flow, turns on the spot; nimble is probably the best way of explaining it!
\nThanks to the high volume the bow pops through features with ease.<\/p>\n

It boofs with ease, however may take a bit more power through the strokes than longer\/faster\/lighter boats, as a bit of speed is necessary (as found out on the Gamlan first time out!).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a lot heavier than many other yaks, you will notice this on portages and loading on the roof! However this does mean it will take more of a battering!<\/p>\n

The handles\/ safety bars are big and well placed for swimmers!<\/p>\n

The MOD5 outfitting is bomber, easy to set up and adjust as well as being supper comfortable.<\/p>\n

The seat can be easily adjusted forwards and backwards; I have mine set one from the back. It\u2019s quite a short bow so to start you feel sat to far forward but it\u2019s more of a mind thing than a performance thing.<\/p>\n

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As a student I needed a boat that wouldn\u2019t cost the world and would do everything I need it too as storage space is not something I have in abundance!<\/p>\n

A new fluid can be bought for the same price as a second hand white water boat from other makes, and the reason escapes me, the performance and quality are all there! To go with that it\u2019s not a boat that\u2019s going to need welding after every trip like some, or ever. The outfitting won\u2019t be falling apart on the river, both of which will save hassle and money!<\/p>\n

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As for use I\u2019ve used it on rivers from the Tryweryn to the Mawddach and never had a problem (that wasn\u2019t my paddling). I work out of it as well and it provides comfort and stability, you can happily have two kids hanging of the back and empty a double kayak on the front, on the subject of double kayaks, these can build up a bit of speed so I was worried about group management due to the speed of the bazooka, but I\u2019ve not had a problem rounding them up!<\/p>\n