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Reviews written by sparx
| 4 results - showing 1 - 4 |
Boats & Boards
I'll keep this short as it is perfect!
Review
Affiliated
No
About Me
Paddling 10 years. raft guide. paddle grade V creeks. 6'2". 13.5 stone.
Pros / The Good
Best creeker I have ever paddled. Very good displacement hull. Boofs easily. Re-emerges quickly. Sheds water fast. I feel very on top of the boat whereas in other creekers i feel very sunken and not as in control. Spins into eddys well. quite fast. All round creeking machine. Very good outfitting. Prefere the new ratchet system. Plenty of foot room. Good safety points.
Cons / The Bad
Very little wrong with this boat. My legs go numb occasionally but thats part of kayaking. Maybe a slightly softer seat would be an improvement. Sometimes feels a bit long going for micro eddys but any shorter and backlooping in a stopper becomes more of a problem. Other than that it is absolutely perfect! Not a better one out there!
Recommend
Yes
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11
Boats & Boards
The list of cons may look big but they are only very minor cons and the pros far outweigh the cons. I have not paddled this boat on any big waves yet but I have blunted it in very small ones so I think it will be a sick wave boat!
IMO the best boat on the market at the moment for a plastic freestyle boat.
If you are tall and light like I used to be (now tall and a bit heavier) I would get the large not the medium because you will be able to do so much more in a well balanced large boat than sitting right at the back of a smaller boat.
Example. a kid that I paddle with paddles the rockstar small and weighs much below the "recommended" weight and he throws it about all over the place. He gets the biggest loops out of all of us!
4 people I work with have bought one and I will be next on the list!
Review
Affiliated
No
About Me
Paddling for 10 years, freestyle 2 years, level 4 coach. 6'2", 13.5stone. ridiculously long legs.
Demoed at Cardiff International White Water Center.
Demoed at Cardiff International White Water Center.
Pros / The Good
Best playboat I have ever paddled so far. I'v never really got on with playboats as I am very tall and used to be a lot lighter so I would always have to have medium boats and have the seat all the way back. I have since put on a stone and a half and this boat is perfect. I am sitting one notch from the front (but could put it all the way forwards) I can wear any booties i like as long as they are not too chunky and still have room to spare.
It is very balanced and makes cartwheeling on the flat very easy compared to the new superstar. They have increased the stern volume but shortened it so the stern goes down easily as well as the bow. So good on the flat.
In a hole it comes into its own. So much pop! even if you dont try very hard it will still loop properly and easily. I actually accidentally looped it a couple of times without trying.
Cartwheeling seems easier in this boat as it more balanced but im not an authority on cartwheeling as I can only get 2 or 3 ends in a hole.
I have been learning a few new moves and it makes it very easy to learn. Tried back looping and had one within 5 or so goes. McNasties, fonics monkeys are all coming along a lot faster then in my previous few boats. The balance of the boat really does matter, and the extra hight in the seat really aids the moves.
The outfitting really holds you in tight but i might think about replacing the string with some thin prussik cord as I have seen quite a few JK's with the string going or gone.
It is very balanced and makes cartwheeling on the flat very easy compared to the new superstar. They have increased the stern volume but shortened it so the stern goes down easily as well as the bow. So good on the flat.
In a hole it comes into its own. So much pop! even if you dont try very hard it will still loop properly and easily. I actually accidentally looped it a couple of times without trying.
Cartwheeling seems easier in this boat as it more balanced but im not an authority on cartwheeling as I can only get 2 or 3 ends in a hole.
I have been learning a few new moves and it makes it very easy to learn. Tried back looping and had one within 5 or so goes. McNasties, fonics monkeys are all coming along a lot faster then in my previous few boats. The balance of the boat really does matter, and the extra hight in the seat really aids the moves.
The outfitting really holds you in tight but i might think about replacing the string with some thin prussik cord as I have seen quite a few JK's with the string going or gone.
Cons / The Bad
There are a few minor glitches with the boat. The back rest sits too high up on your back and digs into your sides. either lower it or put sweet cheeks in to raise you up even more.
rolling is a bit more difficult. Because of the raised seat and shortness of this boat I find I have to come up on the front deck. So screw or back deck roll work but I have to finish forwards which is a bit annoying. This is only the case on the flat when you get flushed, its fine in the hole.
I have spoken to a lot of people about this boat and they seem to find it very twitchy but I have no problems with this. I think it is definitely an advanced playboat for intermediate paddlers looking to do all the big moves. perhaps not the best for a beginner.
Lastly because it is such a playboating machine it sacrifices river running ability. Personally I find it better than the superstar because i'm more balanced. Not great at running anything more than grade 3. Can be done but not ideal.
lastly it is a bit short to surf very small waves and stay on them for a long time but this is only on very small waves.
rolling is a bit more difficult. Because of the raised seat and shortness of this boat I find I have to come up on the front deck. So screw or back deck roll work but I have to finish forwards which is a bit annoying. This is only the case on the flat when you get flushed, its fine in the hole.
I have spoken to a lot of people about this boat and they seem to find it very twitchy but I have no problems with this. I think it is definitely an advanced playboat for intermediate paddlers looking to do all the big moves. perhaps not the best for a beginner.
Lastly because it is such a playboating machine it sacrifices river running ability. Personally I find it better than the superstar because i'm more balanced. Not great at running anything more than grade 3. Can be done but not ideal.
lastly it is a bit short to surf very small waves and stay on them for a long time but this is only on very small waves.
Recommend
Yes
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10
Boats & Boards
great river runner too. Id paddle this all day on grade 4 with a decent deck. very balanced on both ends.
Review
Affiliated
Yes
About Me
Kayak and raft guide 5 years. playboating 3 years.
test environment. the bitches, CIWW, flat water, surf, tiefi river west wales. south welsh rivers.
test environment. the bitches, CIWW, flat water, surf, tiefi river west wales. south welsh rivers.
Pros / The Good
Very good boat! stable, pretty fast, very loose and can accomodate my legs! 36"! and the seat isnt all the way back! im a little off centre making ploughing the front back in on cartwheels hard but possible. if my legs were 2" shorter itd be perfect! Made from good quality plastic. you can abuse it all day long and itl keep asking for more. outfitting is great. direct thigh to boat contact. loads of foot room. even more if your shorter than me. great sized deck. I can put any deck i want on it and somehow they all fit! best thing about it tho is how high it bounches! it may not pop like a jackson but wow does it bounce! biggest bouncing boat iv ever been in. if you wanna arial blunt the highest then this is the boat for you! I slammed it down on a wave and the boat was nearly vertical!
Cons / The Bad
ratchets are on the bottom of the boat which is good ig=f your not using an overthruster but gets in the way if you do. I cant really think of much wrong with it really?
Recommend
Yes
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00
Boats & Boards
one hell of a boat!
About the reviewer
iv been paddling for about 2 years now and have been demoing lots of boats latetly so i have good comparisons.Test environment
i paddled it at holme pierre point in nottinghamduring the paddlefest. there were lots of companies there to test all their boats. the coarse had just been re-opened after being remodelled. some very nice waves on there. nice shallow looping waves and big steep fast ones.Review
I love this boat! i have to congradulate bliss stick on creating a boat for such a diversity of people. even the RAD range goes from 5'9" up to 6'4" so there is a boat for everyone. anyway back to the 185. i was suprised that i fitted into it a i have 36" legs and struggle to get into most small boats, i was even more supprised that i fitted in it with their thigh braces. i fitted in with the seating position about halfway to two thirds of the way back. plenty of foot room. nice set up with the outfitting. i was dmoing an old one so it looked a bit worse for ware but was still operational.flat water. i found it very big at the front so cartwheels were hard but with practice i think you would get these going no problem.
on the wave. i got on the wave and it carves very nicely on the wave. nice front rocker on it. as for tail rocker i think slightly more is needed. backsurfing requires a fair bit of concentration. if your not concentrating then you may just get back looped, just keep that weight forward.
LOOPING! well one things for sure, they got the name right! i stuck it in for a loop and i swear the people on the banks looked like ants! i was arial for sure! i went for a pop out and my girl friend who was watching told me it was the biggest air she'd seen all day. i cannot say enough about how big this boat goes.
it was heavier than i'd expected so you really have to boss it around on the wave for bigger stuff. im not the best at arial moves to cant comment on any of the other stuff (arial blunts etc).
as for rolling. well its one of the easiest boats iv ever paddled. i could have rolled it with my mind, its that easy!
because of my height and weight my choice of boat is very small and i think i have found a boat that i can really get into. i previously paddled a jackson allstar and i found i was sitting right back so backsurfing was extremely hard but bliss stick have created in my opinion the first tall and skinny mans boat that isnt over 6'2". well done bliss stick.
Conclusion
freakin awsum! spend alot of time getting the ourfitting perfect itl make all the difference.cant wait to demo the smoothy which has more tail rocker.
Review
Affiliated
No
About Me
Location: Holme pierre point, nottingham
Age: 19
Weight: 78 kgs
Age: 19
Weight: 78 kgs
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