Support American Whitewater! Support American Whitewater!

[please login to make this ad block disappear]

Articles

Independent Kayak Review: Zelezny Igo

Kayak review: Zelezny Igo

Independent Kayak Review: Zelezny Igo.

Introduction

We wanted to write a review about the Zelezny Igo with lots of action pictures and stories about performance on big waves etc. Unfortunately, the boat arrived here in Switzerland just after the autumn water levels had finally dropped. We are not expecting the water to come back until April next year. Since we don't want to keep you waiting that long, we took it out on the little water that is left and will tell you our first impressions of this cute little boatlet.


Beat setting up for a loop

The boat was tested mostly by myself (Joempie) as well as by Beat and Toby. Since I never paddled a boat that is shorter than I am, I was a bit worried if I would fit in. This proved to be no problem at all. I could even leave the foot rest in and didn't have to move the seat backwards. Very comfortable.

We will update this review in spring 2004, when we'll take the boat out for some waveriding. We've seen some awesome wave pictures and can't wait to try it ourselves.

Metrics


Deck

Although the Igo was already introduced late 2002, it still looks very modern. It's really short (only the Dagger FX is about an inch shorter), but it still has some volume, i.e. it isn't just a girls' boat. The official metrics of the Igo are:

Length 177 cm / 5'10"
Width 66 cm / 26"
Volume 188 ltr / 50 gls
Weight 13 kg / 29 lbs

Even Corran Adisson admits that all manufacturers lie about the weight of their boats, so we double checked first. Indeed, the advertized weight was incorrect, but the big surprise was that it weighed a lot less, not more. Our scale showed 11.9 kg / 26 lbs...

Design


See ya later...

The Igo has a very distinctive design. This is not just a cheap copy of some other short boats. This is most visible in the cute pair of eyes on the front as well as the McDonalds split tail (I'm lovin' it :-). The edge between hull and deck at the tail is razor sharp (sorry, I just have to plug my favorite band of 2003 a little, The Thermals: 'Look to the flat end. You can see your shadow' :-). We expect this will help release the boat better on fast waves, but the proof of that will have to wait till next spring.


Tail (aka Mc Boat :-)

The hull is almost flat, with subtle side rails. It seemed very forgiving on WW-I as compared to some other modern boats we tried.

There is no front foam pillar in the Igo, probably because there is hardly any space left for that... But since the hull is not completely flat, but a little bit convex, it is still enough stable. The only exception occurs in warm water. In the swimming pool during winter training, whenever we stalled on the front, setting up for a loop, the hull popped inward slightly. This is probably because the water was so warm and the plastic became too soft. This was not a severe problem though: squashing a piece of foam between the feet cured it easily. The phenomenon was completely related to the warm water anyway • it never happened on the river.


Hull

The Igo is slow on the flat of course. You'd have to be out of your mind to expect anything else from such a short boat. Wheeling is absolutely easy. Just make sure to keep it at about 60-70 degrees, because such a short boat is not very stable on end of course, especially on the stern.

As for loopability, we trust the Igo will be fantastic in river features. On the flat we had two small problems:

  1. The volume in the front of the boat was not quite enough for our weight. Maybe an overthruster would help here.
  2. The front of the cockpit rim is very high and often catches the paddle during stall-pumping. This is probably because we normally paddle Riot boats, which have the cockpit lower than the deck. It just takes a little getting used to.

Overall, even on the flat we got very big grins on our faces :-)

Outfitting

The outfitting is centered around one word: efficiency. At first, we thought it all looked really cheap. Thing is, it is really cheap and it works. Plus, the simple foam-and-velcro system is exactly what makes the boat so light-weight. The hip pads and the seat are attached to the boat by velcro. Really simple to adjust, really light-weight, really cheap, really works!


Adjustable / removable hip pads

The back rest can be adjusted easily. The straps come in the same material (and even the same color :-) as the boat and go through the inside of the cockpit rim. Simple, light-weight, cheap, works.


Adjustable back rest and seat

The efficiency trend continues in the footrest: a piece of foam, attached by an elastic string. Works. Period


Removable footrest

The knee braces are very simple and have a good grip since they are foam-fitted.

For those who still want to do additional outfitting, the Igo comes with 8 pieces of spare foam in different sizes. We didn't need it yet because the boat just fits anyway, but maybe smaller paddlers will find a use for it.

Conclusion

The Igo is a great little boat that offers a lot of value for the money (the recommended retail price is 702 EUR / USD 872). We'll have to wait till spring to find out for ourselves how it performs in whitewater, but for flatwater is is a fantastic toy. Especially for clubs, an Igo or 2 will be a great choice.

Summary

Pros:

  • Price
  • Weight
  • Extremely easy to wheel
  • Comfortable
  • Forgiving

Cons:

  • Front of cockpit rim too high
  • Availability (international dealer net)

More info

Independent review by Joempie for PLAYAK.COM

See full product details in the Playak Buyers Guide

Surfrider Foundation
See the AUP for our Acceptable Use Policy and a Privacy Statement. Verein Playak is responsible for all editorial content on this site (including all graphics). No part of this site may be duplicated in any way without explicit permission from Verein Playak. Verein Playak takes great care to only publish original content, but since part of the content is user generated, we cannot always guarantee this 100%. If you notice any copyright violations, please let the editors know through the contact form and they will take appropriate action immediately. As a news and information platform, we republish small text snippets and thumbnail images, but always link to original content on other sites, and thus aim to adhere to a 'Fair Use' policy. If you believe we violate this policy in any particular case, please contact us directly and we'll take appropriate action immediately.