The Global Paddling Community

Independent Playak Review: Brudden Kayaks Twist.

Intro

As Brudden does not have a distribution channel outside South America yet, the Twist arrived in Switzerland per air mail. The shipping and handling cost was ridiculously high of course, but then again, the total price is still lower than that of most other boats without the shipping cost... (I think the current RRP of the Twist is USD 550).

First impressions

Right out of the plastic, the first thing you notice is that this boat is DIFFERENT. And you can take that literally: it's not like any boat you've ever seen before and you will attract many eye balls.

Design

The main thing that's really different about this boat is its hull design. It has a round hull with high rocker and.... edges! The philosophy behind this design is still not 100% clear to us, but as long as the boat performs, we won't hold that against it :-)

Round hull, high rocker, real edges.

Material

We decided to test a light version of the Twist (14 kgs) and were warned by Brudden not to use it in too rocky environments. There were indeed a couple of spots where the plastic seemed very thin and soft, but not in areas that are normally exposed to big impacts or strain. And so we did test it in shallow whitewater, did some seal launches over grass and rocks, but the boat didn't break. Still, if you plan to use it in rocky envirenments regularly, we agree with Brudden that you'd better go for the regular version, which weighs 4 kgs more.

As the round hull is not supported too well in the middle, we soon noticed some oil canning. Some people may actually regard this as an advantage though, as it sort of turns the round hull into a flat one :-) Again, we expect that the hull of the regular version will be a lot more stable.

Outfitting

Sitting in the Twist is a comfortable experience. The outfitting is very basic though and it's not possible to adjust everything without tools. A screwdriver is the very least you'll need to adjust the thigh braces and the seat. The back band can be adjusted without tools, but it's a very basic system and it doesn't offer too much support.

Comfortably padded knee braces.

The boat comes with some foam that you can use to make foot braces. Very simple, but it works and it's light.

The cockpit rim is the largest I've ever seen, so make sure you have a king-size spraydeck.

Performance

• Downriver
  • The Twist is fast is whitewater.
  • Because of its rounded hull and high rocker, the boat is wobbly, but has great secondary stability.
  • Considering its length, the Twist turns on a dime.
  • Rolling is easy.
  • The boat is very forgiving, which makes it suitable for beginners.
• Freestyle
  • Stern squiring is relatively easy, due to its slicey stern.
  • Front surfing is extremely easy.
  • The rounded hull makes wave spins difficult.
  • Spinning in holes is easy though.
  • The high rocker makes it fit very well in waves.
  • The Twist has a good volume distribution for cartwheels (the high rocker makes it difficult to initiate moves though).
  • Loops are easy to pull through (slicey ends), but not very high (not too much volume around the cockpit).
• Availability / Price
  • You can't beat the price.
  • Availability: currently in South America only. Hopefully North America next and Europe to follow soon

Some photos of the Brudden Twist in action:

Conclusion

No single aspect of the Brudden Twist (except its low price) is truely spectacular, but as a whole, it sure is very special. It's nice to see a new brand in the playboating market that follows its own rules instead of copying other brands. The Twist is a friendly, versatile kayak for beginners and intermediates.

With its extremely low pricing, this is an ideal boat for clubs. It's also a great option if you're on a budget or if kayaking is just one out of many of your hobbies and you want only one cheap boat to do it all.

We think the boat would have been even better with a flut hull, although this hybrid form may be ideal to get more traditional paddlers into modern playboating.

All in all, an interesting, promising and refreshing new kayak brand...

[Photos by Daniel Fischer and Jeroen]