Choosing Kayak Length
Help me choose a kayak?
I’m interested in buying a kayak/playboat suitable for freestyle as well as the river (up to the magic grade 5) – it must be versatile enough to be efficient in both. If I had to choose, I’d probably prefer the river – so that’s where it’s primary strengths must lie.
I’m about 5″ 11′ and weight about 75kg.
What brand, length, shape boat should I go for. Price is not really an issue.
I’ve tried Pyranha, Dagger & Necky but can’t recall specific models.
Thanks.
You’ll have a hard time finding a kayak that’s both a great playboat and a Grade 5 creekboat. Playboats are specifically designed to get stuck in Grade 2-3 holes so you can throw ends. Creek boats are specifically designed NOT to get stuck in holes. You can’t have both in one boat.
You could look at either river-running playboats or pure river-runners. The river-running playboats work well enough for beginners and can easily run Grade 3 rivers and some 4 depending on your skills and ambitions. The Fuse and Fun mentioned are examples, as are a Pyranha Z.One/Inazone.
River runners have enough volume to handle Grade 4 and 5 (again, depending on your skills). But beyond some surfing and spinning, they won’t pull off many playboating moves. I recently retired my river-running playboat for a Pyranha Burn as I move to harder 4’s. I’m happy with it, but it certainly isn’t a playboat (which is why I have another boat for the 2’s and 3’s).
Also, I really wouldn’t recommend a polo boat for whitewater. If you happened to have one, they could probably do some easier whitewater, but they’re not designed for it. For one, they lack some of the safety features of ww boats. And while they do have to withstand some impact (from other boats), the type of forces you’ll encounter on the river are a lot different.