The great thing about whitewater kayaking, though, is that once you get the gear it’s basically a free sport except for the gas to get to the river.

Here are some whitewater kayaking gear buying tips based on my experience so far.  Keep in mind that a lot of it boils down to personal preference (except for the parts where I’m just completely right ) so ultimately, choose what you think will work best for the way you paddle.  Buying boats is such a huge topic that I’m not going to talk about it here – I did do some reviews on the Jackson 2Fun and the Wavesport Fuse 48 a while ago though.

Whitewater Kayaking Drysuit:

I recommend getting a drysuit that has the booties built into the suit, not a suit with ankle gaskets (you’ll see the booties listed as “dry socks”).  You’ll also want one that has a sprayskirt tunnel.  Some people wear bib style drypants with a drytop, but after reading a big Professor Paddle thread about the relative safety of that style versus a drysuit I’d say it’s better to go with the drysuit.

I like the Kokatat Goretex drysuits, and they make a Tropos line that is significantly lower in price than the regular.  My first drysuit was a Tropos, I got it for like $480-something at Kayak Academy and it worked great to get me out on the water in the middle of winter.

I’m not a big fan of drysuits that zip across the back shoulders – unless you’re a regular performer at Cirque du Soleil you pretty much always need someone else to help you with those.  That being said, a lot of good boaters use those.

Women’s Drysuits:

A lot of women like the drysuits with the drop bottom that opens with a zipper in the back.  I’d say definitely sit in a boat with one of those on before getting one, they’re really popular but when I wore one in a boat the zipper was getting crushed into my hips - it was actually painful enough I would not have been able to paddle with it.  My drysuit has a front zipper which I’ve never used and hope I never have to, but at least it’s there and I’m not sitting on it.

When In Doubt, Go Big:

Whether it’s a drysuit or a drytop, remember that at some times during the year you might be piling on seven layers of clothing underneath it (especially if it’s a drysuit – you probably wouldn’t use just a drytop if it were that cold out), so I recommend going up rather than down a size when in doubt.  I am regular size but use a large women’s Kokatat drytop and a medium women’s Kokatat drysuit (both with small neck gaskets) – it’s just no fun having to fight your way in and out of gear, and I’ve never felt like they were too bulky.  It also gives me the freedom to boat on really cold days, when I seriously do put on seven layers.  (Shortly after the photo above was taken I felt compelled to test my seven-layer theory by swimming most of The Wall on Tumwater.  Happy to report I stayed warm. )

Whitewater Kayaking Paddle:

Two big things to consider when buying a paddle are length and degree of feather.  You can get charts online that tell you about how long your paddle should be for your height.  For example, I’m 5’4″ and I think my paddle is around 189 cm, which is on the short side - but again, a lot of that boils down to personal preference.  Here’s the Werner paddle sizing chart for reference (on the left side of the linked-to page).

Paddle feather is something I see a lot of people give themselves trouble with, in my opinion.  Just to be clear, paddle feather is the degree to which the individual blades are angled away from each other.  A paddle with zero degrees of feather has blades that are exactly parallel to each other, whereas one with 45 degrees of feather has the blades offset by 45 degrees.  (I know, it’s not rocket science. :))  Feathered paddles are supposed to relieve stress on the wrists while paddling.  The paddle below has 90 degrees of feather, to give you an idea.

A moment of quiet contemplation in Boulder Drop. Photo courtesy of Jeff Dwyer and Renee Paradis.

Beginner kayakers often end up with paddles that have 45 degree feather, but I recommend getting one that has 30 degrees of feather or less - my paddle right now has 15 degrees of feather and I love it.  Not having much feather makes it easier to do moves on both sides, for example, with my paddle I’m able to do an offside back deck roll, which a lot of boaters who are way better than I am can’t do.

I should mention that “beginner” kayaker Charlie Matlock, who I paddled with at Wet Planet’s creekboating clinic this weekend, does an offside back deck roll with a 30 degree paddle, I guess just because he doesn’t know it’s supposed to be virtually impossible.  (When we had to list our “Three most difficult runs” for Wet Planet’s skills evaluation sheet he was like, “Well, I’ve only ever done three runs.”  And they were all Class III’s with IV sections – too funny.)

Anyway, there are some world-class playboaters, like Ken Whiting, who use a paddle with almost no feather, and some of my friends have switched to zero or very low feather in order to be able to do moves on both sides more easily, so while I’m sure some people will disagree with me, I’m a huge fan of the 15 degree paddle feather.  My first paddle had 30 degree feather, which was fine too.  I really think 45 degree would have made offside stuff more complicated for me though.  However, for the record, there are some incredibly good boaters using paddles with a high degree of feather too.

I stopped in at the Friendly Foam Shop in Bellevue today to pick up some kayak outfitting stuff and thought I’d give it a shout out for our local kayakers.  They have a good selection of kayak outfitting type foam, ranging from thin pieces to 4-inch blocks.  Prices are reasonable, and Emy, the manager, was nice enough to give me some 8-foot long strips of 2-inch foam from the odds and ends pile for just $5 each – if you’ve shopped for foam recently you know that’s a great deal.

They’re right off of 520 in Bellevue, and also in the University district in Seattle – the Friendly Foam website has directions and hours.

I just helped AquaSports Kayak Shop in Redmond upload a bunch of used and discounted new kayaks for sale onto their website, and since a) I think it looks pretty nice, and b) Libby is prominently featured in a few shots (looking more and more jaded as you go down the page, you’ll notice) I thought I’d give a shout out for it here.  Here’s the link to the used and discounted kayaks page at AquaSports, or you can just click the photo above.

(There are more boats than the ones on this page, including some sea kayaks and rec boats that we haven’t put on there yet, so give them a call at 425-869-7067 if you are looking for something you don’t see.)

Many nice photos like this one on the River Gypsies Burn review post.

Leland posted a link on Professor Paddle to his nice review of the 2010 Pyranha Burn, here’s a link to his blog post with the entire Pyranha Burn review on the River Gypsies website.  There are a lot of good photos and he goes into quite a bit of depth about the various paces he put the boat through.

To my unschooled eye it’s hard to tell much difference between the old and the new version, but he and some commenters on the Professor Paddle thread definitely seem to be able notice them.  I think it’s pretty hard to go wrong with the Burn overall, Charles from AquaSports in Redmond says it’s the one boat that in 15 years he’s had only one person return because they didn’t like it, and everyone seems to rave about it as a creekboat.

After doing Tumwater the last two weekends I can definitely say I learned to fall in love with my previous-version Burn, even though I’m still portaging POW and man is it a pain to lug around!  Yesterday I was definitely weighing the disadvantages of possibly losing a tooth on that rapid versus the hassle of dragging the Burn up and over boulders on the river right portage – which is actually even easier than the perilous scramble down to the river if you do that portage on river left.  The tooth won out, but it was a close call….

Anyway, in the past I’ve gotten a little resentful taking the Burn out on the Skykomish to get used to it because I love to do that upper run in a playboat, but as soon as I got on the Tumwater run I loved it.  Mike Peele, who did Tumwater for the first time with me the previous weekend had the exact same reaction about his Burn – we kind of looked at each other at the same time and said, “I love this boat!”.  Although, a lot of people do that run in playboats (and Rob McKibbin of course makes bobbing blithefully down Class V+ Exit rapid look easy in his Dagger Kingpin).  But he’s around to keep the rest of us humble.

For size comparison, here’s the Wavesport Fuse sandwiched in between my Necky Jive and a Jackson Star (which is smaller than the 2Fun) that I ended up demo-ing as well:

I can see how people develop a quiver of whitewater kayaks.

I took the Fuse mainly on the Skykomish River, on the Class III-IV Cabledrop to Split Rock run that includes Boulder Drop.  Here’s my take on it.

Forgiveness

The Wavesport Fuse is an extremely forgiving boat, which is why I think it would be a great beginner boat – mainly because it’s also short enough to let you surf as well, so you get the benefit of a solid river runner without missing out on learning how to play.

People talk about the ‘secondary stability’ of the Fuse, meaning a kind of second chance you get to not flip over.

I don’t know if I noticed that in particular, I just found myself going through stuff that I was amazed to be upright at the end of.  I had been using the Jackson 2Fun (see my review of the 2Fun here), which initially I found very stable, but after messing around with the outfitting I think I threw it off kilter and began flipping around all over the place, so the Fuse ended up being a big relief after that.  (Probably not the Jackson’s fault, I think it was me tweaking the footpads and seat position.)

The Fuse does have a slightly higher and bigger volume stern than the 2Fun, which adds to stability:

The Wavesport Fuse stern (right) compared to the Jackson 2Fun

Comfort

I LOVE Wavesport outfitting!  Some people say they either fit you or they don’t, but I know someone who’s built very differently than I am, tall and leggy (her, not me) and she loves the Fuse outfitting too.  The knee pads are on runners and really adjustable, and the seat is just plain comfortable.

Surfing

I’m not an expert surfer, but I did also take the Fuse on the Wenatchee and spent some time at Turkey Shoot with it.  I feel like between the two, the Jackson 2Fun is a bit easier to surf because the edges seem to release a little more easily, and I’ve heard that from some other people as well.  However, I got some really nice surfs in on the Fuse and I know some good paddlers who love the Fuse as a surf boat.

Tricks

Are you kidding?  I really can’t do tricks at this point.  Overall the 2Fun will offer more options in this area because the stern is slightly shorter and has less volume, however I’ve seen videos of good playboaters doing all kinds of crazy stuff in the Wavesport Fuse.  I do know that when I first got the 2Fun I did stern squirts on the first day and I was not able to do them in the Fuse, but again I think that’s partly because I got worse at doing stern squirts for some reason.

Rollability

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give the Wavesport Fuse an 8 or 8.5 for rollability, and the Jackson 2Fun a 9.  (The 2Fun is so easy to roll I’d give it a 10, but someday they might make a boat that rolls itself and I’m saving the 10 for that.)  The secondary stability of the Fuse that I talked about appears to also provide just a tad bit more resistance on the way up, but it’s really negligible, and I’d classify both boats as very easy to roll.

(To be fair, I’ve swum in both boats, which just goes to show you can mess up a roll in any boat if you pull your head up too early, and I’ve also rolled up no problem in the middle of Boulder Drop in the Fuse.)

The Important Stuff

On to Libby’s review of the Wavesport Fuse.  Libby’s OK with the Wavesport Fuse, although for some reason she seemed more at ease overall in the Jackson 2Fun.

Libby demonstrates the admirable stability of the Wavesport Fuse.

She does find it pretty easy to maintain the correct moderately aggressive kayaking posture in the Fuse.

Ooo, big hole on river right!

And size-wize, another great thing about the Fuse as compared to a 40 lb river runner like my first boat, the Necky Jive, is that it’s easy to carry and there’s plenty of room to stick it in the car.

Must... stand... on.... everything....

Overall, I really like the Wavesport Fuse 48.  When I was flipping all over the place in the 2Fun (again, after I messed up the outfitting) I had a lot of people tell me I should stick with the 2Fun because it was the more challenging boat and would make me grow faster.  I tend to think along those lines anyway, but then I thought, what if just for once I chose to not do something the hardest way possible?

For me, the key was that when I switched back to the Fuse I ended up having more fun, and gained confidence and skill because I tried more things.  I never would have tried Boulder Drop for the very first time at 2400 cfs in the 2Fun, but I felt OK giving it a shot in the Fuse, and it also made me a better roller, since after swimming twice in Boulder Drop I learned to REALLY keep my head down at the end of a roll.

(Plus, the last 3 times I’ve done Boulder Drop have been in the Jackson Star, which is more squirrelly than the 2Fun – which goes to show that starting out in a slightly easier boat doesn’t necessarily hold you back.)  I love the Star, by the way, just haven’t written a review on it yet.

So ultimately, I’d say the Wavesport Fuse 48 and the Jackson 2Fun are both great boats – pretty comparable and good potentials for beginner boats, but the Fuse is probably an easier boat for some people starting out and leaves plenty of room to have fun and grow – I don’t see it as just a beginner boat at all, simply one that works well for beginner kayakers as well as intermediates.  And it really does open up the door for kayakers with more experience to use it in more difficult whitewater, like Class IVs.  Overall, a great boat – I give it two thumbs up.

Libby yawns a lot in the Fuse. Not sure what that means.

In celebration of me having completed their new website AquaSports is giving 10% off of any in stock boat and 15% off all accessories through July 4, 2009 (they will be open July 4) to anyone who can name the brand of boat Libby kayaks in.

(Just look up and to the right – Libby’s the gorgeous blonde demonstrating excellent kayaking posture.)

Here’s the link to the new AquaSports site, and here are the directions to get there.

If you’re in the market for a Daffy Head Trip kayaking helmet you might want to know about this site I found (because, as I mentioned before, I am a gearhead and spend WAY too much time online looking for stuff.)  It’s called Deranged Choppers, and yes, it just figures I would end up on a site called that.

They mostly sell motorcycle helmets, but they have the Daffy Head Trip helmet for sale for $135, whereas most other places retail it at around $190.  They also have some pretty interesting color choices (scroll about 1/3 down the page.)

I’ve never ordered from here so I have no idea of what kind of experience you might have, but they have some testimonials on their site, and while there’s no Google Page Rank that I can see the WayBackMachine says they’ve been around for about two years.  Kayakers being pretty risk-tolerant in general, it doesn’t seem like it would be a big deal to order from here.  If you do, I’m curious to hear how it goes.

I haven’t ordered from here yet but it looks legit – it’s apparently a family-owned business that sells only helmets, including bike, climbing and skate helmets (plus helmet cams and, um, helmet mohawks).  I noticed they had good prices on some of the Shred Ready colors, plus they sell Predator and Pro-Tec helmets.

Here’s the link: www.AllSportHelmets.com.

The Jive is a much longer, heavier type of river runner boat that’s a great beginner boat and supposed to be excellent for ocean surfing, but on shorter river waves I was always getting the nose whipped around.  From the photo below comparing the two you can easily see why:

I took the Jackson 2Fun on the Lower Gorge and the Headworks sections of the Green River – here’s my take on it:

Forgiveness

From what I heard about moving from the Necky Jive to more of a playboat style like the 2Fun I expected to be getting flipped over every time a wave hit me sideways.  (I’ve got a really good roll but am more or less not so great at bracing.)

Instead, I could not believe how forgiving this boat was.  The stern is a litle bit more grabby, but overall once I got used to the edges I was able to get away with pretty much what I can do easily in the Jive.  This was totally not what I expected (and a huge relief.)

I also sit a bit lower in this boat, which made river reading a bit more difficult, but bracing easier.

Comfort

I didn’t use the optional soft seat because I wanted to not sit too high – it would probably be fine, but I was comfortable without it.  I know I didn’t adjust the inflatable footbags as carefully as the Jackson people explain how to, but I felt like I had decent foot support without it.

The back band is really adjustable and I felt like between that and the shape of the boat I was able to use a much more forward stance than in the Jive.

Photo by Chris Peele

Surfing

The 2Fun was a blast to surf in – in fact, after paddling like crazy to surf with the Necky Jive (and burying the nose and getting whipped around constantly), it was amazing to actually get onto a wave and, well, just surf!  The edges were easy to use once I started trying.

Tricks

Let’s just say I was able to do 2 or 3 actual vertical stern squirts, my first ever.  I only got one out of every 10 or 15 attempts, but that’s not the boat’s fault.

Rollability

The Jackson is super easy to roll, so much so that I actually flipped all the way over coming up from a roll.

Carryability

After lugging around my 40 lb Necky Jive for a year, the Jackson 2Fun is like picking up a purse - amazingly light.

Maneuverability

I felt like it was easier to get a good line with the 2Fun because it’s lighter and easier for me to move sideways across the water, plus it’s a bit slower than the Jive so I had more time.

Libby’s Review of the 2Fun

Now down to the important stuff.  Libby’s not wild about kayaks in general (because a paddle usually means she has to stay home) but she gives the 2Fun two paws up due to it taking up much less room in the back of the car:

It also fits her pretty well, although I can definitely see she’s going to have trouble getting the skirt over that tail.

(Yes, I have a very patient dog.)

Overall…

I was seriously shocked at how easy and versatile the Jackson 2Fun was.  It’s so forgiving that I think it would be a fine boat for a beginner, although I should mention that I really haven’t tried many of different boats.  I do know that I didn’t notice a huge difference in stability between the 2Fun and the Necky Jive, which is supposed to be a very good beginner’s boat.

So overall, two thumbs up for the Jackson 2Fun – I can’t wait to get one!

P.S.  A big thanks to Aquasports in Redmond for handing over a new boat to demo when they couldn’t find their old one, and also for not caring that I took a picture of Libby in it.