About myself

First off, I am tall and skinny, so it is difficult for me to find boats that fit both my hight and weight requirements. I am a green, but solid, class IV boater. I have been boating for about 4 months and this was the bargain that got me into the sport.

About the test environment

I have run this boat down the Black Rive in New York, and the Ottawa River in Canada. They are both class III, IV. The Black is pretty tame with a few sticky holes to avoid and one 15' drop. The Ottawa is really, really, really big water with lots of play-waves, but often has minimal consiquences. It does have a number of munchy holes, but they are pretty easy to avoid...though, I often didn't. But I had only been boating for three weeks when I was there. I have also surfed at the Rt. 3 wave on the Black River.

Review

First off, I fit in it. At 6'3" and 155 lbs., that is feat in and of itself. It is long enough that my lanky legs are comfortable and the theigh braces are solid. The outfitting is minimal, but bomb-proof. No back band, no center post in the front, minimal padding, very customizable. I like it. I padded out the hips and theighs with foam and called it good. I am solidly in there.

Conclusion

This is a great boat to learn on. It is increadibly easy to roll and is very versitile. It turns easy and is increadibly fast, which was great when I ran the Ottawa my third week into boating. I wasn't very good at avoiding hazards, but I was able to punch through alot of big munchy holes. It is also extremely capable when eddy hopping and farrying in fast water. I got to run some big drops on the black and it boofs very well. I think it is a good fit for big play rivers. Because it has a planing hull, it surf pretty well (obviously not a serious play boat, but come on...). It front surfs and flat spins. I have seen people cartwheele in it, but thats beyond my surfing ability. While I am now drulling for a creeker and a playboat, I think am very happy to have learned on this. Learning to spin in it made spinning in a playboat effortless and its speed got me out of more than a few sticky holes.