Super September Sluicefest - The Movie

Here it is, the one you've been waiting for, in association with Ger O'Reilly Productions - Sluicefest - The Movie.

The LAST Canadian Magnum

I-Canoe currently have in their possession the Last Riot Magnum built in Canada to enter the Emerald Isle.

This is truly a piece of history with Riot moving production to China will the boats ever be the same again?

This Boat is Brand new and needs a new home with someone who will love cherish and huck this beast off of any drop worthy of enjoyment!

Get it here

Kanumesse 2009, Part Deux

Ty Warp have a new foam core paddle "The Fire". Finish is nice and looks a lot better than before. Production facility has changed so that has something to do with it and assembly technique is more normal than in the past. They have also lost the destinctive "nose" on the tip of the blade and the graphics have matured (slightly).

The new Native Mariner comes with either the pedal-drive or electro-drive and judging by the size of it, it'll need more than a paddle to power it. Also available for either the Mariner or Ultimate is the new sailing rig so it looks like they're attempting to give Hobie a run for their money. As usual, all the bells and whistles are available to add on - deck covers, deck bags, cooler bags, etc... Bi-Hull should give extreme stability while fishing.

New Commander from Wilderness Systems (another of the new boat style Sit On Tops) with tracks to bolt on as many accessories as you can shake a stick at and a rather funky style sliding seat to allow a low paddling position and a high angling position.

Possibly THE most comfortable sea kayak in the world - the New Native Inuit with Bad Ass Outfitting (yes it is comfier than it looks and sounds!).

Liquid Logic are re-entering the sit on top market with the Coupe which features a similar hull and lines to the Remix but in an easy to use sit on top design. Optional drop-skeg, hatch and Bad-Ass style seating round out a package that could finally bridge the gap between sit-in and sit-on-top whitewater. Also available in a 2 person version.

Das Neuer Robson Funky Paddels mit ein Super Cool Grafix. Made in four standard prints but the limits are endless. Blade material is similar to laminate sandwich (Mmmm) found in snowboard industry).

The Pyranha Fusion series with new Small Size in hot pink colour in Angling(?) spec! Also includes detachable bow pod.

Folding canoe anyone? Great idea, shame about the 3000 euro price tag!

New brand Duemstuff - bringing the street to da river. Yes these guys have more attitude than sense but you have to admit they're probably THE most original thing in kayaking-wear at the moment. Pornstar imagery and marketing mixed with some innovative ideas and a non conformist attitude - or something like that.

Kanumesse 2009

Well Kanumesse 2009 kicked off last Thursday (18th Sept) to showcase what's new and innovative in the world of paddlesports. As it turned out there were few major, big name product launches although there were a few unexpected surprises (a new Jackson Fun anyone?), stand up paddleboards coming out of every angle, pedal-drives and electric engines, kayaks that look more like a small boat, and folding or sectional or 2-piece surfboards, sit on tops and sea kayaks.

Composite is IN for 2009 (especially from some notable experts):

From left, Prijon Pure Creekboat (prototype), Pyranha "PDX" (rumoured to be going to production in composite), the Lettmann "?" (prototype) and lastly new kid on the block, Titan Kayaks "?" in close to production spec and rumoured to be available in both composite and plastic in time for next summer - along with more sizes, more models, incl. a creekboat.

Riot came back out of the woodwork after a year in hiding showcasing their "new" range of Chinese produced kayaks - well as far as whitewater is concerned, it was just the Astro, Magnum and Thunder (and no sign of the elusive composite playboat - as you can see from above, they were one of the few company's without a composite kayak on display). They had a full line of sea kayaks and sit on tops on show too which are now embraced under the Riot brand as they had previously been marketed under Azul in the past.

PFD's were also hot to trot with new offerings from Stohlquist, Sandiline and NRS.

It's been a while since Stohlquist have released a new WW PFD on the market (esp. a rescue equipped one - think X-Tract circa 2000) so now they have a replacement which is available as a river-runner/playvest and a rescue jacket (i.e. with or without QR belt). They have also developed possibly THE most complicated adjustment system in the world with 6!, yes 6 webbed adjustments on EACH side - so that's a whopping 12 in total! It's a zip entry so once you get the fit initially dialled in it shouldn't be a problem but it still leaves a lot of webbing tails flapping around.

Sandiline came up with a reasonably well looking PFD but I can't help but feel if the basic cut and shape has been borrowed from someone else - any suggestions???

And last, but by no means least we had NRS's new Ninja PFD which should give the Astral Willis/Bella and Kokatat Orbit a good run for their money in the river-runner/freestyle section. It's a side entry style with good adjustment webbing where needed and an unrestrictive fit. It has a dual front plate (similar to Newton, Willis, Green, etc...) which doubles as a hand warmer and a front lash-tab. Tiny, tiny pocket and lack of reflective striping let down what is otherwise one of the best looking PFDs of this year. All NRS PFD's will be CE approved for 2010 which means these babies will be readily available on this side of the pond from March/April onwards.

More to follow in the sit on, stand up and sea kayak ranges later...

World Champs, Thun

Thun, Switzerland was the location of the World Freestyle Kayak Championships 2009. The Irish Freestyle Team has just returned from the event, unfortunately without medals, but with memories of, a fantastic competition, brilliant craic with paddlers from all over the world and of an overall amazing experience.

Adrian, Siobhan and myself were flying the flag for i-canoe. Enjoy the below pictures of the beautiful town and a great wave.

Above, Bowsie in his competition ride and below Siobhan paddling for a great 23rd place.

Irish ladies preparing to take to the water

The junior lads proved to be pros at the big air ramp. Both Corin (above) and Rory (below) threw big air screws to progress to the Big Air Ramp Final, which was held under flood lights. The two lads also enjoyed the fame of appearing on the big screen.



Adrian and Niall were paddling in the squirt competition. Below is Ad getting vertical. I hope the toes have recovered Adrian!!


Being so close to the mountains in Thun, we managed to get spin on a local creek. It was a lovely park and huck, followed by a 20 minute class 4 run. Unfortunately, with creek boats a scarce resource at the freestyle champs, i was only able to huck the falls and left the others to enjoy the rest of the river

Ad styling above, and bowsie boofing below.

The whole team enjoyed the competition and celebrated with fun nights out with the rest of the competitors. Above, Team Ireland after dinner and below Tanya celebrating her bronze medal.

Adrain, Niamh and Sinead work on their balancing act.

A big thanks goes to

Simon Hirter and his team for putting on such an amazing and enjoyable event.

ICU and freestyle committee for their help funding the Irish team an organising.

Jenny for organising stuff and managing the team

Fellow team members for the unbelievable craic that we had

And to

i-canoe, Sandiline and Jackson Kayaks for their support in providing gear.

Roll on Plattling 2011

Bowsie

ps. more pics to follow

Termonbarry Wave

Termonbarry Wave is in at the moment and is running at a sweet level.

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.

Sluice - August Bank Holiday Monday

Ger and myself hit Sluice on the August bank holiday Monday for a wee bit of a session. Check it out...

Team Jackson Boats!!

Here they are at last!

Irish team Jackson boats brand new 2010 models

lots of boats on the roof in transit!

and here it is irish coloured 2010 model against the 2007 model!

and heres some pics of some new allstars at nottingham!