Die Neu Salto Evolution Ist Ein Super Boof-machine!

Up until last Sunday (23 Aug 09), I had only paddled the new Eskimo Salto Evolution on a couple of rivers, typically in low flows. It felt light and responsive on the water but it was hard to judge how good it could be (due to the lack of testing water).

That (thankfully) changed last Sunday when myself and Paddy made a day trip to the Clare Glens near Limerick. This could be described as Ireland's most photogenic river featuring multiple clean drops and slides. When we got to the takeout, the level was at 40cm (just runnable) but rising all the time.

After my low water experiences, I had noticed that the of any contact between the seat and hull lead to considerable hull flex (especially on those boney rivers). I took a 2 inch sheet of foam and wedged it in the gap and this seems to have stiffened the whole hull considerably. Apart from that I had the standard foot-plate footrest, KISS thigh-braces and seat pad and some crude hip-pads fashioned on the day from an old block of foam, duct tape and my river knife.

After the short walk in to Top Drop we took it in turns to run the drop/take photos. As I was on photo duty to start, I was last to run it and knew the line I wanted in my head, but didn't know how the boat would react. I seal launched in, took the couple of strokes to the lip and then the Salto took off, gliding flat in control and landing assuredly at the bottom. I barely got my hair wet and my confidence was boosted for the rest of the trip.

We continued on down, nailing Sidewinder and cruising through constriction (the one rapid I was most nervous about). For the rest of the trip to Big Eas, the Salto handled perfectly - carving into eddies, boofing and flaring rocks and holes and resurfacing quickly and predictably from small drops.

At Big Eas, I ran a little too far left (fearing the curler would push right towards the chimney) and clipped the stern on a ledge halfway down. Luckily there was no damage to boat or body (although I did feel a little tender for the rest of the day).

Once we regrouped in the eddy below, we cruised down Little Eas and then on to the take-out.

Overall the new Salto Evo paddled very well and over the next two runs we got on Sunday, it handled better each time. It is a creekboat that is reliable, predictable and easy to paddle. It has subtle rails which allow for carvey turns and eddying without being grabby or trippy. The Salto has always been renowned as a boat that boofs easily and the Evo has the auto-boof switch cranked up to the max. There wasn't one occasion on the 3 runs we did where the bow nose dived under water and thankfully all the bigger drops have aerated pools to land in. The only downside to the Salto package is its outfitting (or lack thereof). While Eskimo do have the KISS outfitting system, it still is an optional extra and does still leave a lot to be desired especially when compared to all the other WW kayak manufacturers (the backrest, while function wasn't as supportive or reassuring as I would have liked). The other suggestion I would have would be some sort of step-out pillar between footrest and cockpit rim to ease exit in a pinning situation.