Emotion Kayaks

The new 10' Temptation and Stealth Angler from Emotion is so predictable edge to edge that I see the boat great on rivers and rough water. Anyone can paddle this boat. Often times 10' sit on tops can only handle smaller paddlers but this model can accomadate any size paddler.

Emotion's Tandemonium. It is stable and big enough to put the whole family on. It reminds me of the type of boat I would have loved to have growing up. Swimming off it, dogs on board, maybe anchored as a "fun island". It can be paddled with 1, 2 or 3 people.

Esquif Canoes

I'm excited to be representing Esquif Canoes for the West. The crew at Esquif has the passion for the sport and had a lot of great buzz surrounding them at OR. They specialize in WW, River Touring, and Square Stern Royalex Canoes. Esquif has also been innovating over the last several years and now have 3 boats made of out of Twin Tex which is a laminated Poly Propolene and Glass combination that offers Royalex-like durability with a composite feel on the water. Nice!

http://www.esquif.com/2008/index_en.php

At the OR Open Air Demo, I was able to paddle the new Breeze (15' solo canoe) the Raven (new Bob Foote do it all WW solo) and the Mistral 17.5. All boats really hit the mark. The Raven was so smooth from edge to edge. The stern and bow of the Raven have plenty of volume to keep it dry and stable end to end. I see this as the perfect boat for beginners who don't want a big barge but still want predictability. The Breeze was the most stable solo that I've paddled in some time while still being fun to paddle. I see the Breeze even making a mark as a boat to paddle with a child or dog because of the fuller bow and stern. The Mistral 17.5 expands on the Twin Tex offering from Esquif. A great choice for the family.

The neatest thing about Esquif is the passion that everyone that works for the company has. So refreshing. I'm happy to be part of it. I plan to have multiple demo boats through the west in various locations. Nick Jacobs will be helping with clinics and instruction throughout the west.

Outdoor Retailer Show Day 2 & 3

This year the show discontinued use fo the paddler's tank in exchange for the "paddler's plaza" area that had couches, computers, and samples of many of the new products out on the market for 2009. I was able to get a look at the new Infinity from Current Designs that will give larger paddlers a choice in the british styling. Wilderness Systems have been showing a couple of all graphite kayaks (Zephyrs) that are pretty stealth looking. The finish work looked really nice. I also saw an Airlite long kayak (name?) from Wilderness that was not as nice looking as the composite. Time will tell if they can get this catagory off the ground but I saw a few mistakes in the construction that Eddyline had once made year's ago and since corrected. Secondary sealed skeg boxes, a better working skeg cable/handle, smoother parts needed around cockpit coaming. These were "show" boats which can sometimes not represent the "end" version so we'll probably see improvements in these areas once the Airlite boats reach the stores.

I was pretty booked with appointments the last two days with the lines I represent. It was fun to see some of the excitement around Esquif Canoes. I'm going to bring back several demo models from them to start showing people. I'm really looking forward to paddling the Raven and setting up a square stern for running around the cowlitz. Werner Paddles have come out with a new website and catalog that are really full of cool content. They also had a new $130 high angle but inexpensive paddle that should find some customers. I really liked that Bending Branches have changed the color of the telescoping ferrule to black. It really goes with the graphite and glass shafts.

more to come...

Outdoor Retailer Day 1

Just completed day one at the Outdoor Retail show here in Salt Lake City UT. Yesterday consisted of setting up the "Open Air Demo" up at Pineview Reservoir about 1 hour from Salt Lake City. The water was nice and warm though the location was a bit cramped as a last minute location change forced smaller booth spaces.

So, here's what was new and notable:

Bending Branches has a nice new carbon shafted/wood bladed canoe paddle called the sunburst. It has a nice grip and is super light.

Emotion Kayaks came out with a new 10' sit on top called the temptation which is probably one of the most comfortable sit on tops they have made so far. It has an integrated seat back and a very contoured seat arrangement. Very stable yet easy to edge a bit. I think this will be a great rental and entry level boat that should handle most conditions nicely.

Pak Boats completed an all new look for their folding kayaks. The deck material is a nice polyester fabric with a much more modern look. The seat on the XT 15 was THEE most comfortable kayak seat that I have ever set on/in. Great boat! I'm very excited!

Esquif Canoes Has a new solo 15 foot canoe that is extremely stable. Any one can paddle this boat and I think it has a lot of potentional as a Solo plus dog or child. The new Raven by Bob Foote has one of the nicest and inviting feels for a solo WW canoe. The shoulders of the boat were very predictable and it looks really dry. I'll be owning one for sure.

Legacy Paddlesports has added to their new prop driven peddle kayak line and they also had 2 motorized kayaks. Here we go....

Stand Up Paddle Boards Last year there were a few at the demo and now BANG! Too Many to choose from! Many times during the day there were more people practicing their stand up skills on these than in kayaks. Seems like the new craze, but the market is already saturated as everyone jumped on the band wagon. In related bandwagon crazes, Crocs are still around and people are still wearing them. Yuck.

Current Designs added a couple of CanYaks (hybrid canoe/kayaks type boats) to their line. They also have a long sit on top touring kayak that looks like it came from the Solstice line of boats. Pretty full featured.

Confluence was on the far end of the beach and I didn't go check out what was new. I hear they have a few thermo formed boats. I did see a cool looking new hatch on some of their boats that looked like a combination rubber hatch with handles to open it.

All the new boats, paddles and now paddle boards were out to try. I thought that attendance of dealers was down. The overall buzz around the beach is that most of the manufacturers are finally losing interest in this OR show. It really costs them a lot of money which eventually just makes its way as increased product costs for consumers. Maybe I was just listening to like-minded individuals as I think that this show is one of the least creative and over produced ways to meet with clients. Plus, besides today, the OR show is under big lights in the Salt Lake Convention Center. Boring...

I'll try to get more details tomorrow. One thing for sure, prices are going up...