White-water Kayaks designed for manoeuvrability and durability usually for a single paddler in white-water rapids is further diversified by distinct white-water kayaks such as slalom kayaks and play boats.

KAYAKS InFORMATION

The Kayak is distinguished from a canoe by having a covered deck and typically a spray deck to protect the canoeist (kayaker) from spray. Kayaks are propelled using a double bladed single paddle. Traditionally Kayaks were used by natives of North America, North eastern Asia & Greenland for sea and river travel. The modern day Kayak has been much developed from its early routes and has diversified into a large number of types ranging from white-water kayaks, Slalom kayaks, Sea Kayaks and Ocean Kayaks. Kayaks are made from a wide number of materials from traditional wood construction through to carbon Kevlar composites.

 

WHITE-WATER KAYAKS INFORMATION

There is a huge range of white water kayaks available on the market today and so it can be very confusing trying to narrow down your search whether you are a new to White Water Kayaking or you are an experienced paddler.

 

One of the best ways to decide upon which kayak is best for you is to ask yourself the question "what kind of paddling am I most likely to use it for".

 

White water kayak designs generally fall into one of three categories: All Round River, Creek/River Running, Freestyle/Park 'N' Play.

 

All Round River Kayaks are designed to have some of the performance and fun of a playboat with a more forgiving and predictable nature of a river runner. They are the most popular type of white water kayak as they are the 'jack of all trades'. They will not perform all of the most radical moves of playboats but are generally a lot of fun. They tend to have more sagety features designed in a fitted as standard and can be used by people with the right experience on most grades of water. They are slightly longer than freestyle park & play boats to give extra speed with slightly more volume to give a balanced ride down the river. Models vary from the playful to the forgiving, most models come in 2 or 3 sizes to get the best fit for your size.

 

Creek/River Running - For serious rivers with tight technical lines and big drops you need the right boat. Creek boats are high volume, short to medium in lenght and packed full of good safety design features to allow paddlers to explore more difficult runs. full plate footrest, end handles, rescue points, large cockpits are all aspects important to a creek boater. Getting down the river on the line you want and catching the eddies you need are exactly what creek kayaks are designed to do, therefore they will not perform play moves like a freestyle boat or like an all round river kayak. Many creek boats also make a good choice when wanting a forgiving river runner with more volume than an All Round design.

 

Freestyle/Park 'N' Play - Riding a wave or hole, spinning, surfing and blunts, are all moves performed on these kayaks and as the name suggests, they are designed to allow the paddler to perform these moves and tricks on water features. These features may be waves, holes, weirs, eddylines or even flat water. These kayaks tend to be very short and low volume and allow rapid changes of direction in all dimensions. There are a mind boggling number of playboats on the market. Your size and weight will be 2 of the most important factors in choosing a playboat as they are often designed in several sizes for different paddlers to get the best performance out of the design. The shorter, stubbier style of kayak will perform some moves better than others such as aerial moves, while the slightly longer kayaks with slicier ends will be better at vertical moves such as cartwheeling, bow stalling etc. some designs will also behave on a wave differently depending on the hull length amongst other things. Mosts playboats are not suitable for running anything bu the rivers you are totally confident of your ability on. They lack speed and volume that help you get where you want to be on a river as well as some of the important safety features found on All Round River kayaks and Creek Boats. Most of the playboats will do most of the moves. Sitting in one first or even trying one out is recommended if possible.

 

So in summary, there is obviously some cross over between these categories and with ever changing boat designs, the lines between say a creek boat and a river runner are not always clear. Paddler ability, locations to be paddled, budget etc will all have a bearing on your choice. Speak to other paddlers, speak to canoe suppliers, try them out on a demo if possible or at least sit in them to get a feel for the comfort to help you to make a happy and informed choice.

 

Introductory white water kayaks start from around £350. All Round River kayaks range from around £399 - £799. Creek/River Runners are available between £730 - £750 brand new and Freestyle kayaks cost around £800.

KAYAK TRIPS

More Information to Follow: Kayak Trips

WHITE-WATER KAYAKS ARTICLES

White-Water Kayaks have been popular form of kayaking for many years sometimes known as recreational Kayaks; white-water kayaks are often shorter than standard kayaks with a higher more built up cockpit to allow greater protection from water seepage when fitted with a spray deck. They are built from light weight robust materials such asroto-molded plastics and Kevlar and carbon composites. As can be appreciated recreational kayaks need to be tuff having been designed with fast flowing white water in mind  and are built to be resilient to scraping and buffeting of rocks they are also designed to have limited straight line tracking enabling the kayaker a great degree of turning control in ruff water this tends to make the white-water kayak less stable and more prone to roll for this reason white-water kayaking requires high levels of skill and practice to master and anyone new to the sport should definitely seek expert tuition before venturing on white-water. The modern day white water kayak has been developed for maneuverability and crash resistant's it is also an inherently very buoyant craft , whitewater kayakers will use specific white-water paddles again made of light weight tuff materials such as carbon and Kevlar.  Specific clothing is also adv iced the most essential of all being a buoyancy aid such as buoyancy vests or jackets and head protection specifically helmets designed for white-water where the risk of cracking ones head on rocks is much greater than on placid water. Gloves are also highly recommended to protect the hands from scratches and scrapes from rocks and shingle. Check out your specialist kayak center for tips and advice on clothing and paddles and is new to the sport do most definitely seek expert tuition from a kayaking instructor. Once you are hooked on white-water kayaking you will be hard pressed to find a more exhilarating sport  that with proper preparation and tuition can be made relatively safe.

 

Article by Jako, www.CanoeSales.com > Kayaks - White-water Kayaks

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