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Ronin 49

 
4.3 (1)
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Short Facts

Brand
Liquid Logic

1437 Dana Rd.
Hendersonville
NC 28792
USA

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· Show all Liquid Logic products.
Model Year
Intended Paddling Environment
Designer
Shane Benedict
Type
Available Colors
Yellow, Blue, Orange, and our new color for 2006 is Green

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A Ronin (Japanese: rōnin 浪人: literally, wave man - one who is tossed about, like a wave in the sea) was a rogue or masterless samurai.



Don't get fooled by the definition of the name though, this thing rocks in the hole.

The Ronin is a boat that the big wave boys and girls are really going to dig as well as the park and play junkies. On a wave it generates more speed and power than anything we have done before, which creates huge bounces and helps the boat skip into the new combination moves on a wave. We also worked hard to make this boat excel in small features. Because of its super compact volume the Ronin loops huge even for larger paddlers yet is narrow enough to boss around for the newer linked hole moves.

The Ronins are the most comfortable series of playboats we have ever made with higher knee placement, and larger footbumps.They are also sized to compliment the Vision series. Essentially creating a series of 4 boats to cover a range of paddlers from 100 to 210 pounds. The Ronin 49 is sized to fit well between the Vision 44 and 56 so that paddlers that didn't seem to fit either of these designs will enjoy the comfort and volume of the 49. The Ronin 59 is a larger boat than the Vision 56.

User reviews

1 reviews

Overall rating 
 
4.3
Design 
 
4.0  (1)
Perfomance 
 
4.0  (1)
Quality 
 
5.0  (1)
Value / Money 
 
4.0  (1)
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(Updated: July 31, 2007)
Overall rating 
 
4.3
Design 
 
4.0
Perfomance 
 
4.0
Quality 
 
5.0
Value / Money 
 
4.0

Ronin 49: pros and cons

I paddled the Ronin 49 when i was taking a novice kayaking clinic at Zoar Outdoor. Being new to kayaking i hadnt really had a perception of the wide variety of boats- i already own an old Wavesport Evo, a river running boat, and the differences showed up pretty quickly.

My most enjoyable run was on Fife Brook on the Deerfield. My group put in at the Fife Brook put in, a couple hundred yards away from the dam. We took out right above the Zoar Gap, and had fun with little rapids and holes in between on a section of the river called Pinball- thats is were i really got a feel for the Ronin.

The Ronin is a cool playboat- and thats about it. The pros:
It is wide and the high knee position is very comfortable. In the 5 hours a day i spent in the Ronin, not once did i had to get out and stretch, and my feet never fell asleep.
It performs fabulously in holes and waves, surfing was very fun and easy in this boat. I found learining intermediate moves like stern squirts fairly easy, but that leads me into the cons.
Rolling the Ronin was hard for a beginner like me- its wide hull and high sides are not choice for rolling. the hull sits low in the water, making ferrying across tough jets of water also not and easy feat. The Ronin was not built for speed, because i found it an incredible challenge to go anywhere fast, compared to my Wavesport Evo. Going upstream wasnt even an option for me.

If you want a dedicated playboat, then the Ronin is a good buy, but not being patricularly fast and manuverable upstream has it's disadvantages. The Ronin 49 performs well in a hole and surf great on a wave- but dont expect to be anywhere upstream.




Review

Affiliated
No
About Me
Location: Deerfield River
Age: 13
Weight: 58 kgs
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