Support American Whitewater! Support American Whitewater!

[please login to make this ad block disappear]

Review Detail

 
Super Star
Boats & Boards
Overall rating 
 
4.5
Design 
 
4.0
Perfomance 
 
5.0
Quality 
 
4.0
Value / Money 
 
5.0

If you can get one for $300 or less and good shape I'd throw down those cash monies! Hopefully all of this has been useful. Good paddling;-)

Review

Affiliated
No
About Me
Hey there. I've been paddling for a solid season and an eighth. This may not sound long but considering I've been in the water from march to december and have well over a hundred(honestly have no idea!) days in the water this past season, I'd say I have enough lol. I was 240 lbs. season before last and was 200 lbs. when I stepped out of it at the end of the season. I'm 5'9". I try to paddle only class three but I ran two IVs. I ruled one and got trashed by the other. In terms of playboats I've paddled a about four different stars, a molan, and a riot inferno(Steve Fisher's throwback).
Pros / The Good
Considering the style of boat most people are into these days, this is a good one still! When I first saw this thing, I thought it was from the previous year. At first when I sat in it, I thought the bow was about a million miles long, but I enjoyed the leg room and how comfy the thigh pads were. I wasn't a huge fan of the inflated happy feet because of the play, but when I deflated it and cranked the backband I couldn't feel more comfortable and tight at the same time. The rails on this thing can make you carve than most skiers on mountains, yet the rounded side walls make the boat forgiving in most cases. The rounded sides add to pretty good secondary stability which is awesome for those beginners learning how to double pump and skulling braces. There is a shallow channel that runs down the center of the kyle that jackson discontinued that helped tracking a little bit, but not a enough to make a factor in the choice of this boat. This thing has a really slicey bow and stern compared to most boats of today. Just recently I've gotten decently regular at doing flatwater cartwheels. This thing is CRAZY durable. This past year there wasn't anything for water anywhere so It's been crawling about rocks all summer long. I also got it run over by a truck back and forth! It bent in quite a bit but popped out and didn't look like anything happened to it. The foam inside the stern was a little deformed for a little while, but STILL!
Cons / The Bad
It's mildly annoying that I have to pull my shorts over my hips because the ropes on the backband give me really bad rope burn(which is a strange thing not to change even in the rockstars these days). I'm a beginner to playboating but my spins are suffering and I want to attribute it to the rails(doesn't have a stepdown prior to rail like new boats). The boat doesn't quite have the centralized volume for super stability but still very stallable. This thing definitely takes a bit more to throw around like those medium sized boats, but technique still gets you there. This thing is made out of crosslinked plastic which doesn't weld... or at least easily. I've heard that you may be able to weld it with a precision temperatured tool that can keep the plastic between 405-425. I hear it curls and burns otherwise. Despite the disadvantages, this is a pretty darned solid boat.
Recommend
Yes
Was this review helpful to you? 

Comments

 
 
Ordering 
 
Already have an account? or Create an account
 
 
 

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.