Kit Reviews, Travel and Advice
There are quite a few conflicting arguments about whether or not coffee is good for you, either way it is still one of the most popular drinks across the world and a personal favourite of mine. In the following article I’ll go over some excuses to drink even more coffee than you already do and […]
In this post I’m going to explain how to loop, going over set-up and finishing as well as body, boat and paddle position throughout the movement with some tips to improve snappiness and height throughout. I will assume that you can comfortably move about on grade 2 or 3 whitewater – by comfortable I mean […]
For those of us who do not know what an overthruster is, ever seen one of those phallic inflatable air bags a lot freestylers have jammed between their legs? It’s one of those (pictured above). I really like using them because they improve both comfort and performance while freestyling. The top section prevents your spraydeck […]
In this post I’m going to go over how I tie my kayaks to our roof rack, I had some interesting experiences trying to figure out the best way to do this and I’ve seen that there many different ways to do it with either multiple straps, bungees or even just a throw-line. I chose […]
This is one of the hardest tricks to learn but it is also one of the most impressive. A phonics is defined as a “pirouette initiated by a cross-bow stroke in a front surf position, followed by a front loop in one fluid motion,” and it is worth 140 points (190 with air) which makes […]
What do you want for Christmas? If your immediate answer isn’t a neon pink, fluffy dryrobe then read the rest of this post. If your answer was “what else do I want from life,” then I agree with your fashion choices. The first time I noticed dryrobes was at Nottingham during team tryouts. An awful […]
I have spent quite a lot of time outfitting each of my playboats; starting with my original 2016 Rockstar I then progressed to a plastic Jed and now a carbon Jed; I also have an Exo Rexy for river running. Each of these boats has come with slightly different stock outfitting and consequently I’ve had […]
I don’t know about you, but I need some caffeine in the morning. Despite the fact that for the last couple of years I’ve really been a tea person, in the last 8 months or so I’ve started to appreciate coffee and now it’s my preferred choice. It started with a cappuccino (or latte – […]
Alright. What is a blunt? A blunt is a 180 degree horizontal rotation at a vertical angle greater than 45 degrees, clear of the foam pile, where the competitor rotates around the bow of the boat. Ignoring boring definitions, the blunt is probably one of first wave moves that you will attempt to learn and […]
At one point or another, anyone who wants to edit video has sat down at their computer and realised that it’s going to take the next few hours to look through all their footage and categorise it before they then get to spend another few hours playing with it and adding music before they finally […]
Last month I received the “Vaude – Uphill 9 LW” as a present. It is supposedly a cycling backpack but would work well for anyone looking for a small bag packed with little design features to make your life easier. I really like the way that Vaude have customised various features that are available on […]
I have recently come back from a month on the Ottawa river where I was unfortunate enough to blow my eardrum on the first day. I’m going to explain how I burst my eardrum, ways to avoid doing the same thing and how I coped with the issue while minimising my days off the water; […]
Recently my Peak UK “Combi” short sleeve cag became too irritating to keep. I’ve had it for around a year and never liked it – despite having latex arm seals all the water comes in at the neck immediately, the Velcro stopped working when wet, the colour faded from bright blue to bleached sky blue […]
I got my carbon Pyranha Jed around Christmas after a 9 week wait and I love it; in this post I’m going to go through the pros and cons of owning a carbon boat, my boat’s journey from the day I ordered it to the present day and why I think you should get one […]
What to wear on your feet while kayaking is a difficult question to answer, you want something comfortable, cheap and with some grip. I have come up with 3 different combinations: Palm Descenders for river-running, Adidas Adilette Sliders for summer freestyle and Peak UK Neoprene Socks for winter freestyle. Palm Descenders I really like my […]
I got the pink Life Shorts as a present and I liked them so much I bought the Team Edition set as well. Initially you may be thinking – “Damn, £50 for some swimming trunks!” – I can tell you now that these are the best swimming trunks I have even worn, and for kayaking […]
I am going to compare four playboats – the Pyranha “Jed”, Exo/Guigui “2018 Helixir”, Jackson “2016 Rockstar” and the Jackson “4.0”. I have demoed all four of these boats at various locations including: the Ottawa river (August flows), Hurley weir (2 and 3 gates), St Pierre de Boeuf WWC, Holme Pierrepont WWC and Lee Valley […]
In this review I’m going to compare 2 freestyle paddles – the Mitchell “Nemesis” and the Werner “Sidekick.” I have tried both of these paddles on the Legacy course at Lee Valley to get a feel for them and decide each of their strengths and weaknesses (thanks to Above & Below shop). I will base […]
In this review I am going to compare four river-play kayaks – the Pyranha “Ripper”, Dagger “Axiom”, Exo “Rexy” and Jackson “Antix”. I have demoed all four of these boats at the Lee Valley whitewater course on both the Legacy (Grade 2 / 3) and the Olympic course (Grade 3 / 4) to test their […]
Patrick Kyak 