support unicef Support American Whitewater!

[please login to make this ad block disappear]

Review Detail

 
Flirt Large
Boats & Boards
(Updated: July 05, 2006)
Overall rating 
 
5.0
Design 
 
5.0
Perfomance 
 
5.0
Quality 
 
5.0
Value / Money 
 
5.0

Great boat for tall paddlers

About myself


I'm fairly new to paddling but I have got into playboating, I can't do anything fancy but I can surf in waves and holes and have fun. I'm 6'6" and have only been able to paddle an old dagger animas before I got the Flirt.

About the test environment


Golden Playpark: A series of 5 or 6 holes and waves some big, some small. Levels ranged from super high to pretty low.

Review


I love this boat. The other Playboats that I have tried either felt like I was paddling a bath tub, Jackson super fun, or the stern sunk, Jackson super star. The flirt does neither and it also seems faster than those others. The boat is so responsive that even a beginner like me can stay on a wave and eddy hopping down the park is great fun. It carves great and as far as I can test it it has performed superbly.

This boat is also super stable and I can hold it on edge all day. It is wide and so rolling it is quite hard work but having said that it is the boat I leaned to back deck and offside roll in. The back deck is very stable too, I feel like I could fall asleep back there and stay dry but this does make hand rolling hard.

The outfitting is unusual, the thigh braces seem really aggressive, but once I got used to it I have not found any problems. The ratchets for the backband sometimes stick but that is hardly a major problem as 10 seconds of jiggling loosens them up again.

The plastic also feels bomber and I think it would take a big hit to seriously damage it. For what it's worth, a friend who works at a kayak store recommended it to me even though that store doesn't stock fluid kayaks, he's not the greatest salesman but he's pretty honest.

Conclusion


I haven't yet had to get out to streatch whilst I have been paddling this boat and I even have room to build footrests from the foam that came with the boat. That is the main point for me. It is comfortable for very tall paddlers but it still feels as though it will perform anything my skills will allow it to. I love it and would advise anyone to try one if they have trouble fitting in other boats.

Review

Affiliated
No
About Me
Location: Golden Playpark Co
Age: 20
Weight: 90.7 kgs
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.