Playak News Flash 2010-01-30

Playak News Flash - January 30, 2010

News Watch Headlines

Nantahala Outdoor Center: Jackson Villain Prototype - Round 2 I was surprised that the hull wasn't a little flatter. I was a little concerned about the initial stability of the boat. Of course the guys I was paddling with could paddle an inflatable gorilla down the Cascades, others might not have the same experience.

Nick Troutman: New River Dries I have never been to the Dries of the New, though they have been high on my list pretty much since I started kayaking. Though being that they only run when the river is at flood, and the fact that the river seldom gets to the good surfing levels, and the fact that I am usually several hours away, all adds up to the fact that I haven't been able to surf these amazing waves.

Eric Jackson: Villain Proto 2 Gets Big Thumbs up in Mexico! Dane and i had good protos, very close to the plug shape, which is hard to do out of a glass mold. A nice slightly crowned out semi-planing hull, perfect rocker profile, forgiving sidewalls, and great ergonomics.

Kayak Hot Dogs: The Tena River The Tena River flows right through the center of Tena Ecuador starting as a small volume jungle creek and ending in the Missualli River and then on the the huge Napo River, one of the main tributaries of the Amazon. The Alto Tena at higher water levels is a class IV-IV+ creeking blast with amazing scenery and some substantial rapids.

Adrian Tregoning: Upper Batang Liki – Continuous Heaven (PART 1) The walk wasn't entirely pleasant and my right shoulder, which had gotten nicely sun burnt the previous day was not enjoying the abuse, but getting up there was well worth it. The river was low volume, very technical, and the first bit quite steep. It was a little piece of heaven. It was also the first time we were all paddling something a lot more difficult to the previous day so it was going to be interesting.

Jackson Kayak: Nile in the New Year In between the education sessions, working on the coloring book and painting the clinic, we have also been able to squeeze in kayaking.

Adrian Tregoning: Upper Batang Liki – Continuous Heaven (PART 2) Not long after this the river started to become a lot larger. The jungle walls closed in and became more vertical and in places over a hundred metres high. Portaging didn't look possible and I began to get nervous.

Kokatat Blog: Hayley Shephard is South Georgia Island Bound The time has arrived. I am about to depart Alert Bay, Canada and begin my journey down to South America. It has been a whirlwind as the final weeks were jam-packed with training, gear preparation, technical systems established, filming already started for the documentary, and 'bon voyage' dinners with friends.

Rene van der Zwan: Technical views on the Cetus The decklines are not very thick, but thick enough. They start and end close to the cockpit: also aside of the day-compartment, which is rather remarkable as most modern kayaks have the decklines never aside of the hatch.

Playak: Mini Interview: Adrian Tregoning A mini interview with Adrian Tregoning, whom most Playak readers probably already know as a member of the Playak core team.

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