Gear Test

Kayak test

Details: Created on Thursday, 18 August 2011 16:54

Here you can find my opinions about the creek kayaks I tried. These opinions are free from any sponsor agreement.

The table below shows all the valuations of the features of all boats.
You can clic on the name of the kayak to read a short description about the good and bad aspects and the ranges of use.

Model	Brand	Manoeuvrability	Linear Speed	Steep creeks	Big Volume	Stability	Overall
Recon Close Recon Good Kayak easy to control and steer with precision in easy and difficult rivers. The high nose allows you to pass waves and small holes without any boof movement. The continuous rocker from bow to tail makes the nose very easy to lift and permit fast rotations. Landings from waterfalls are smooth and fast. The new "CORE" outfitting allows a fine amd simple adjustment. There are many internal points for ropes and various equipment. Bad Compared to previous wavesport versions, the boat is slightly more heavy. The stronger plastic and the more elaborate outfitting are responsible for the increase. Usage The Recon is easy and performing and suit all river kayakers for any type of river from class II to VI. Version 73 gallons for canoeists <70kg. Version 83 for paddlers from 70 to 85 Kg Version 93 for paddlers over 85 kg.	WaveSport
Karma Close Karma Good Good driving and speed performace for this new model compleately different from the past models. Bad The tail is quite low and makes the boof a bit hard. The outfitting is very minimal and the seat is not very solid. Usage Good kayak for the intermediate paddler for creeking on class IV. Available in 3 versions: small, medium, large	Jackson Kayak
Diesel Close Diesel Good Good stability and easy to direct where you like. It can move in the river like a slalom boat and the control is superb. Really good for river running and play. The new version made the boat softer in the lines and faster in linear speed. Easy to control at maximum speed. Good outfitting easy to regulate Bad Not much to say, the tail can sink if the paddler is heavy and it's not really good for steep hard creeking. Usage Advanced paddler can appreciate her in big volume rivers even more that an Habitat. Beginner and intermediate paddler can have fun and learn really easely the kayaking bases. 80 gallons version from 75 to 90 kg. 70 gallons version from 60 to 75. 60 gallons version up to 60 kg.	WaveSport
Riot Magnum Close Riot Magnum Good Quite similar to the Habitat. A good boat with high performance in any water. It's fast and easy to drive even at high speed. The nose cut the water pretty well and keep the speed when landing from boof. Bad The big version (80 gallons) has a big volume in the back. This feature make the tail a bit harder to control in big volume. However, the small version (74 gallons) feels balanced. Some times the rails could give some problems in the rocky rivers. In the last few years the production got worse and the material and outfitting are now quite bad. Usage Both steep and volume river. Good for beginners and intermediate paddlers. The 80 gallons version is good from 75 to 90 kg. The small version, a much nicer boat, is good from 60 to 75 Kg.	Riot
Habitat Close Habitat Good This boat can give you an incredible feeling of freedom when you are running a rapid. The round bottom, although makes the boat a bit less stable, allows you to use the edge for driving your kayak and increase the rotation speed. It is really fast and controlling the direction is easier at higher speed. Super nice the outfitting and very fast to adjust to any kayaker. Very good boat for waterfall and big drops. Bad The round bottom tend to let its drift in curve. A good draw stroke can solve the problem. A bit of practise is required to use the full potential of the boat . Usage Best in steep creek, but good performance in hard volume too. This boat is indicated from class 4 to 6 for intermediate and advance paddlers. The 80 gallon version is good from 75 to 100 Kg and the 74 version from 65 to 80 Kg. The smaller version has the same features but more manoeuvrability.	WaveSport
Stomper Close Stomper Good The Stomper has the same amazing boofing skill of the Jefe. This boat helps a lot to put the nose over everything. It's a very fast and easy to maneuver. Bad The only big defect of this boat is the stablity. The Stomper doesn't really help you if you are loosing the balance. The secondary stability is very low. Usage Good for steep rivers and medium volume. This model is good for intermediate and advanced paddlers who don't have stablity problems. The 80 gallons version is suitable for paddlers from 70 to 80 Kg. The 90 gallon is suitable from 75 to 90 Kg.	Liquidlogic
XT300 Close XT300 Good Very easy kayak and quite stable. Good for medium-high volume rivers. The beginners will found in this kayak stability and a good help to learn. Bad The plastic is quite flexible reducing the performace. In steep and rocky rivers the rails can give some problem to drive the boat. Usage This kayak is suitable for beginners and advaced paddlers who prefer medium-volume rivers. The XT 300 has the right volume for people from 70 to 90Kg.	Exo
Orgasmo Close Orgasmo Good This boat is basically a copy of the Habitat. Round bottom and good performance on steep creeks. Comparing to the Habitat, the tail is a bit lower and this makes the kayak a bit faster. Bad The production is just started and the plastic is really flexible and fragile. However we need to wait the serial production to judge the material. The lower tail makes the boof a bit less easy and decrease the rotation speed. Usage Steep creek. Good for intermediate and advanced kayakers from 75 to 90 Kg	ZeroAttivo
Shiva Close Shiva Good Easy kayak with a good bow shape. The high front rocker permit to easely boof waves and holes. This kayak keeps the line in a good way and it's not hard to correct if necessary. Bad Very soft plastic and the seat it's not very solid (I felt it moving sidewise). The hul is quite narrow and thus the kayak it's a bit unstable. The vertical side on the back makes some rotations harder Usage This boat cannot be considered a special boat but the beginner and the advanced kayaker can enjoy this kayak both in valume and steep creeks. The M version is good from 70 to 80 Kg.	Pyranha
Mystic Close Mystic Good Very easy boat with good performance in terms of speed and hard water. Easy to use ad very stable. Can be used in both volume and steep creek runs. Bad Very flexibe plastic with consequent reduced feeling of the water. The high stability kills the fantasy of the advanced paddler who's looking for special control performance on the edges. Usage All kind of paddler but not over 70 Kg. Good for steep creeking and volume runs.	BlissStick
Nomad Close Nomad Good Good maximun speed. The high nose helps to overtake hole and waves with little or weak strokes. She forgives a lot even in hard water. Bad Steering the boat sometimes becomes an hard work and the old design kill the fantasy of advanced paddler. The round bottom doesn't perform in big volume rivers. Usage This boat is indicated from class 4 to 6 for benginner and intermediate paddlers. 8.5 version from 70 to 90 kg.	Dagger
Force Close Force Good Good boat for beginners. Easy to direct and precise. Good outfitting. Bad Slow and low volume tail. The sides, expecially in the back, are really low and that makes the Force not good for creeking in steep rivers. Really poor material and cheap components Usage River running in class 3-4 river. Not really good for steep rivers. Indicated for beginners and intermediate paddlers. Big version from 70 to 80 kg, little version from 60 to 70 kg.	Big Dog
Raptor Close Raptor Good Good feelings in big water and good speed in waves thanks to the flat bottom and the low profile tail. The weight is nicely about 1-2 kg below the average. Bad The rails make the boat a bit harder to control in rocky creeks. The outfitting is not very comfortable especially for the legs. The boof in drops with an entry slope are much harder because of the low tail profile. Usage This boat is good for beginners, intermediate and advanced paddler who likes big volume rivers. Good for paddler between 70 and 90 kg, while the little sister 'veloc' could be good from 60 to 70-75 kg.	ZET
Burn Close Burn Good Good stability and easy to direct where you like when is flat. It has a good boof and keep a lot of speed in landing because of the flat bottom. It doesn't drift much in curve and permit easy draw stroke. Good outfitting easy to regulate. Bad It is a slow boat and suffers on rocks because of the edges along all the boat lenght. You don't want to go really fast with this boat because becomes really hard to control. Usage Volume river. Beginner and intermediate paddlers. L version from 70 to 90 kg.	Pyranha
Jefe Grande Close Jefe Grande Good It has a nice rocker that permits to boof easely and gives good landing. It's a fast boat like the habitat and the magnum. Bad The round bottom tends to let it drifts in curve. With speed it's really hard to keep in line. This behaviour is really bad for an advanced paddler. The stability is also really bad beacuse of the super rounded bottom. Usage Best in steep creek, bad performance in volume. This boat is indicated from class 4 to 6 for intermediate paddlers. Not good for racing. The big version is good up to 85 - 90 kg.	Liquidlogic
Critical Mass Close Critical Mass Good This boat is a special one. After lot of time spent looking for a good feature I found one in very hard creek. This boat can run big shit (steep drops with a lot water ) only. Bad It's slow in terms of liner speed and to direct. It is hard to drive in pushy water because of the big volume. The lenght, over 2.70 m can give problem in steep creek. The outfitting is completly not trustable and really hard to fit. Usage For big drops only. Good for people over 80 kg to 100 kg.	Dragorossi
Solo Close Solo Good It floats a lot and tends to overtake difficulties easly. It's really good if you are lazy. The boat appears really solid. It's quite stable. Bad It's not fast and the volume in the back is too big. Because of the big rocker it's hard to drive into eddies and to control when high speed are reached. It's a really heavy boat. Usage Steep creek. Version L from 70 to 85 kg. The version S appears really good for light paddlers, much more than the other versions.	Fluid