From the Astral design lab comes the 7th installment of our Limited Edition series, the LE7: Hawkeye.

Co-designed by Astral athlete Pat Keller, the LE7 is a tribute to art and craft of Class V+ exploratory kayaking, where map interpretation and solid navigation skills are the foundations of a successful mission.

At the heart of the design is a topo map screen printed over the front clamshell pocket, which gives us a bird’s eye view of a place that Keller selected for the LE7 design. “Its somewhere in the Olympic Peninsula, and a really steep run that I’ve been looking at for a long time now” is all that Pat would really divulge about the exact location on the map, adding “It’s the ‘Hot Pursuit’ that we are going for….looking at all the ins and outs of a zone, a true pioneer’s perspective.”

According to Pat, “The back represents mountains and memories,” with a radiant Astral sun sending out waves to melt the snow into water. It’s an incredibly steep scene depicted in the artwork, and a place where we as kayakers feel right at home.

As the icon for this design, Pat chose a red-tailed hawk. “This animal has always been a powerful affirmation and omen for me on the river,” he added. “Putting him on the shoulder of this vest, he’s my right hand man.”

Pat’s insight into the color scheme is of particular interest in regards to safety. “I’ve always been a big fan of blue and orange since I was a kid”, Keller noted, “You always want to have your best option up to effect a rescue. That’s why we put the orange up top.”

About the LE Program: Astral LEs are ‘Limited Edition’ products. The goal of the program is to allow us to have more fun with design, to express ourselves according to seasonal creative influences. The LEs are built with the same meticulous details and supreme materials as our regular lifevests, but they are made in small batches, each having a unique artistic style.