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18
Apr

This Outfitting is Elite

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Moving on from what we strongly felt was a solid outfitting system that didn’t compromise on safety, weight, cost, or durability was hard, but we heard your feedback, and we’re excited that we’ve managed to hit a number of your key requests, whilst still avoiding compromise on those crucial points.

We didn’t just go back to the drawing board with our outfitting redesign; we built it again, from the hull up. Featured in the ReactR, the new Elite outfitting system provides the widest range of paddlers yet with ultimate comfort and control.

Solid, Speedy Seat Position Adjustment

You can now adjust the ergonomic seat forwards and backwards in a matter of seconds, without tools, to find the perfect centre of gravity to suit your unique style and loadout.

3-Way Adjustable Hooker Thigh Grips

The adjustable thigh grips are a game-changing feature, with three-way adjustment that accommodates a range of leg angles and allows for your choice of grip, as well as the usual forward/backward adjustment. Choose the position, angle, and hold for your legs to experience our most responsive, precision fit yet, and enjoy the comfort of the oversized pads that extend over your knees and move with the thigh grips.

Rapid, Reliable Backrest Adjustment

The backrest adjustment features high-grade aluminium racing cleats with an internal pulley to redirect the direction of pull towards the paddler, so your back forms a concave rather than convex arch when tightening for a better fit. This also makes it easier to lock off the cleats, as your arms aren’t at full stretch or fighting the curve of the cockpit rim when doing so.

The system gives a 2:1 mechanical advantage for ease of getting a snug fit and uses a thick Dyneema cord for reliable durability and a secure fit in the cleats. If the worst does happen, you can easily replace the backrest cord in the field, wherever your adventures have taken you.

As well as being wider, which gives you better contact and control, with no gap in comfort between it and the hip pads, the backrest is shallower, which means you can get better placement in the small of your back, with a greater range of adjustment up and down using the height adjustment strap and backrest bungees.

Extreme Comfort

Hip pads with flexible adjustment options in both position and fit, as well as simple, solid seat height adjustment using foam shims, mean you can fully customize your seat. The backrest is also wider and won’t pinch, and along with the seat liner, features entirely new padding that is more comfortable than you ever thought possible!

Easy Access Stern Storage

A lower rise at the back of the seat, and a height adjustment strap that completely detaches, mean that you can also easily access the back of the kayak for storing rescue equipment, camera gear, or overnight kit.

Ergonomic Cockpit Design

Along with the familiar essentials such as an adjustable bulkhead footrest, airbag lash points, quick-access throwline attachment point, and bottle holder, the intuitive cockpit design contributes to a system that maximises your control, enabling you to get the most from this progressive hull design.

No More Sore Shoulders

You’ll be pleased to hear we also made carrying WAY more comfortable by adding more depth to the internal edge of the cockpit rim and adding pads that rest on your shoulder and hip, whichever side you carry your boat—so get ready to go explore those hike-in/hike-out runs!

An Eye on Sustainability

Last but by no means least, reimagining our outfitting offered the perfect opportunity to review its lifecycle, and we’ve paid careful attention to ensuring Elite outfitting can easily be disassembled and recycled at the end of its life.

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17
Apr

ReactR: A New Era of Whitewater Kayaking

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Embrace the new era of whitewater kayaking. The most progressive creek boat to hit the rapids since the 9R, the ReactR is here.

Head downriver in a way you’ve never experienced before; whether you’re dropping into a steep gorge, threading tight lines between thunderous features, or even upping your game on a local river, the ReactR leaves ordinary creek boats in its wake.

Ride higher and drier in rapids, scream into eddies faster than ever, and find your line without any limitations. This is our most innovative design and opens the doors to the world of river running for kayakers of all abilities.

Whether you’re just learning how to lift the nose over stoppers or you’re looking to clock up some serious air miles, the ReactR allows you to skip over tricky river features, not just with ease, but with style and a huge smile.

What’s more, with unmatched agility and precision, the ReactR allows you to choose your own lines. The nimble frame and responsive handling make it the ultimate tool for conquering every twist and turn the river throws your way. 

The “Pivot Hull Philosophy”

We’ve spent significant time developing an entirely new style of hull, with a perfectly positioned pivot point and two planing surfaces, one in front and another behind, which the paddler can switch between with ease. This means the boat is stable both when landing a drop on the bow and when planing out of features on the tail. You want that skip, and we’ve delivered.

The pivot point position, where the front and back rockers converge, allows you to de-weight the bow and swing it around or up over features. With your weight forward, you can feel the glide and control from the front of the boat. 

We have utilised our new pivot hull philosophy to allow the paddler to choose the kayak’s pitch in real time. This allows you to release the bow and gain ultimate mobility, but all without that tail getting bogged down or going underwater.

This is Not a Half Slice

Whether a quarter, half, or ¾, the ReactR isn’t a slicey boat, where volume has just been removed from the deck. The ReactR’s tail is not designed to be underwater, but to allow water to slide around it. Soft sidewalls above and below result in minimal pressure buildup from side currents and mean you can move when you need or want.

Design Breakdown

  • The ReactR hull has been perfected to enable direction changes when flat without tripping over the tail.
  • An innovative rocker profile takes sidewall pressure away from the ends of the kayak, allowing you to make last-second adjustments and carve into and, if need be, straight back out of eddies.
  • The bow profile has been completely rethought from first principles to give smoother water entry, a lifting point closer to the paddler for more horizontal skips, and to allow cross currents to pass under the kayak without knocking you off your line.
  • The “Pivot Hull Philosophy” allows the paddler to control the kayak’s direction at any speed.
  • ⁠The ReactR’s tail design has been honed to stay on top of the water when heading downstream, but enable rapid direction changes through low-angle pivot turns while keeping your weight over the front and your forward momentum strong.
  • The hull efficiently glides out of features and retains upstream speed in ferries and attainments, yet still gets out of your way quickly during boofs.
  • The dynamic bow captures the flow running over it and directs it under the kayak for increased speed and optimal planing performance.
  • High edges on the bow and stern mean an agile yet predictable carving experience. The paddler can transfer edge easily and fluently without feeling unstable or locked into a position.

New Ideas. New Possibilities. A New Era of Whitewater Kayaking.

The ReactR enables you to push the boundaries of what’s possible on the river, and Team Pyranha’s very own Bren Orton has already been dialling in new techniques in the kayak throughout the prototyping process.

“The ReactR opens up a whole new realm of river running; within just a few days of paddling the prototype, I’d already unlocked a new technique for whipping the kayak over wave trains! 

Following that up with some testing in Brazil, I found I could read and run rapids better than ever before because the ReactR allowed me to react and manoeuvre my kayak so quickly. I’m stoked to spend more time in it!”

This design delivers truly new possibilities. It allows the paddler to double pump, sweep the tail along the water, and boof at any angle. This precision allows for a dynamic range of options in the most technical whitewater.

The Conclusion

The ReactR is a fusion of what paddlers need and what they may have never experienced. It’s designed to give ultimate control in uncontrollable environments, leaving you free to react in the moment and embrace your instincts. This boat takes familiar principles and makes them second nature so you can focus on opportunities you may not have considered before.

The ReactR isn’t just a kayak – it’s a statement about Pyranha’s commitment to leading the charge and progressing the sport through design innovation. Its development tore up the rulebook on creek boat design and rewrote it. Get involved.

Oh, and it comes with an entirely new outfitting system, too…

Our new Elite outfitting system has been redesigned from the hull up to give you optimal control of the ReactR’s progressive hull design, but we’ll tell you more about that in this separate blog post.

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20
Feb

Which river runner?

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Honestly it’s not easy to choose a Pyranha down river, half slice kayak these days. I currently have four of them sat outside my window vying for my attention to get loaded up on the car and taken to the river. 

I’m a stocky 73kg (160lbs) and I like to swap between the medium and large sizes of the Pyranha kayaks depending on how powerful the river is. 

The Large Ripper, arguably my favourite kayak ever. I can take this kayak to any kayaking zone on the planet and be stoked on my kayak of choice 90%of the time. The other 10% of the time I find myself wishing I had 100% of the Scorch L… but still, the vast majority of time I want to be in the Ripper L. I find it incredible for tallies, in a deep hole I can cartwheel it and when I’m running rivers I feel confident and fast. 

The Medium Ripper. The dust gathers on the cockit rim as it sits in between the favourite Ripper L and the fancy new Fire Cracker. The Medium Ripper is an incredible kayak but I can still get the large vertical easy enough and the extra volume makes river running much easier… Why then do I keep this kayak? Because every time I get in it I am shocked at what a weapon it is and the different skills I can use only in this kayak. It’s just a touch small for me to use with a camera bag and first aid kit in it on big chunky rivers. 

The Medium Fire Cracker. I was confident I wasn’t going to like it that much, all the way up until the first lap. Then I understood it for what it was, a kayaking motivational booster. There are days where the level isn’t that great but in the Fire Cracker I know I will have a good time and be able to find a way to challenge myself. The soft edges and extra width inspires confidence in less confident kayakers and it is ridiculously easy to tailie. This kayak makes me kayak more!

The Large Fire Cracker. This is a truly big kayak. I think it will be incredible for actually large sized kayakers for myself at my size it’s just too much boat to throw around and not think that you might throw one of your ribs out along with it. I find it pretty cool that it’s a genuinely big kayak for big people and has been scaled up well. I keep it in the fleet because I’m pretty sure I will hit the biggest loop ever in it when I eventually find the right hole to loop it in and it could be great to have the large version if I go back to Turkey again… Last years trip was at high water with the medium Fire Cracker and it was a touch sporty at times!

For now, on a medium low day on my local river, I’m taking the large Ripper. It’s cold and I don’t want to play that much but I still want to do a few tallies, surf some waves and hit all the lines really cleanly. When it warms up it will be time for the return of the Fire Cracker. 

Goodluck with your kayak choices, 

See you on the water, 

Bren

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19
Feb

Pyranha Scorch X.

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My first look at the Scorch as a base was through Instagram reels, as is the case for most of us. The instant thought about the boat’s behaviour was how it seemed to snake or slither between features, represented especially by the boaters paddling the Scorch.  When paddling the Scorch, you can imagine yourself in a video, catching a ribbon of flow, riding it, and gliding out.

Getting to use the Scorch X, I got the very same feeling… the boat glides. For a 10-foot boat, it is agile and manoeuvrable; you pick a line, and you get it. It feels like an extension of your movement on the water, whereas some boats may drag you offline, you feel comfortable that the X is heading where you want it to. The most unique thing about the X is its ability to carve and manoeuvre, although it’s a ‘long boat’; it’ll sit on a wave for hours, carve with ease, and then, once you’re done playing, it will throw down along the river, easily crossing eddy to eddy and picking up the bow over holes. The X has enough rocker to boof a house.

Most of my time boating has been in the Ozone; being a slice boat paddler 90% of the time, the expectation is that a big boat will be harder to paddle. Although the Scorch X has a gain in volume, it is not hard to move, still turning on a dime. The change is manageable, and it is a boat I expect to enjoy more with time.

I’ve had the opportunity to paddle the X on a high Dee, Ogwen, and the Llugwy’s Chip Shop Drop. The X, although capable on harder whitewater, can still excel on your local grade 3 rivers. It is playful in a hole but also forgiving and fast when you need it to be. Also, excelling on the technical moves of the Ogwen, quickly moving between features and has the speed to change lines quickly. On Chip Shop Drop, I found that the X absolutely soars if you put a big stroke in, gliding out straight after. The Scorch’s skip is a highlight of the boat, a feeling you look forward to.  I can’t wait to get it out on some more hard water.

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10
Dec

‘Slightly’ White Water Kayaking Festive Paddle 2023

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We’d organised Saturday’s Slightly Festive Paddle around 4 weeks ago. Around 15 paddlers met up for the paddle at TNR Outdoors; they’ve always been great supporters of the Slightly White Water paddling group.

We expected it to be cold, but not such high levels on the Dee! As it was a mixed group of abilities, we decided to get on at Carrog and paddle down to Horseshoe Falls. It was a nice, bouncy run down with some nice wave trains.

From Horseshoe Falls, some elected to paddle the river down to Mile End Mill, and others the canal, but we all met up for a prize giving for the most festive paddlers. Go Kayaking North Wales, based at Mile End Mill in Llangollen, kindly donated a Limited Edition Pyranha Christmas Jumper, as well as some Angry Fish Sponges as consolation prizes. It’s great to get support for grassroots events from a canoe and kayak shop like Go Kayaking.

Shellie Hughes won the jumper; she went the extra mile with a Christmas Tree Hat and a well-decorated boat.

We rounded out an overall great day with a lovely meal at the m’Eating Point in Llangollen town.

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23
Nov

Park Jam 2023: IRELAND!

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The final leg of the Park Jam Tour was upon us. This time, Liam Jay and myself would be heading out to Ireland from Pyranha HQ on the Friday. Demo boats and flags loaded we set off for the drive to Holyhead with plenty of time to spare. Wanting to make sure the demo Firecrackers were up to scratch, it was rather important we checked them out with a quick run down the Afon Ogwen along the way. Making it to our ferry on time, we set sail for a taste of the dark, creamy pints of Dublin. Well, maybe more than just a taste.

Arriving bright and early to Canoe Centre, based on the river Liffey, we unloaded and set up ready for the day ahead. The water levels were pretty high and the normal play feature had washed out, so some river trips were organised instead. I thought it was going to be a bit of a float down, but I was pleasantly surprised. Multiple weirs and a guided tour from local superstar, Robbie O’Shea made for an excellent run. The Ripper 2s and Firecrackers came into their own, with epic tailie spots and the young senders throwing really cool tricks the whole way down. After a quick change, some great pizza and burgers, and maybe another pint of Dublin, we all settled in for a presentation and film from Bren.

Sunday morning led us west; just outside of Limerick is Castleconnel, home to the final stop of the Park Jam tour. The Shannon, which winds its way through beautiful countryside, brought the community together, and the strong Limerick Kayak Club and Limerick Kayaking Academy hosted a well-organised gathering. On the water, Pyranha and Palm’s team paddlers got involved to shred and share tips, tell stories, and make new friends. Once again, we had a talk from Bren for the final time at a local sports hall, and prizes were handed out to paddlers who came along and got involved.

As expected, from the moment we arrived, the Pyranha and Palm team were welcomed with open arms by the Irish paddling community. This is the first time Park Jam has made it over to Ireland, and I’m so glad to have been a part of it. The Irish community is so strong, and the young paddlers coming through are super talented. Liam, Bren, and myself began the journey back to Pyranha HQ in high spirits after reminiscing about a great weekend. We can’t wait until next time!

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20
Nov

British Universities Kayaking Expedition 2024 – Selection Event

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The British Universities Kayaking Expeditions have taken place every two years (with a break for COVID) since 2005. I’d like to say we’ve got running the biennial selection event for the team down to a fine art given we’ve had a decade or two to refine it, but that would be a lie. Every year it still seems as though we are winging it! No rain makes the weekend a lot more labour-intensive, so it was with enormous relief that this year the rain gods were smiling on us!

The selection process involves a round of paper applications assessed by previous expedition team members, followed by gathering 20 of the best applicants together in North Wales for a long weekend of boating and partying.

Pretam showing steeze on the Staircase rapid.
Pretam ‘warming up’ on staircase rapid of the middle Conwy.
📷: Barra Liddy

An early morning scouting mission by some of the old boys formed the plan for the Friday. A warm-up on the Middle Conwy, followed by a lap of the Lledr. The highlight of the day’s paddling from a carnage perspective was watching a variety of lines on the Gobbler rapid, which was particularly unforgiving of anyone who had opted to paddle a half-slice!

Gobbler rapid on the middle Conwy
Gobbler rapid on the middle Conwy
📷: Tim Burne
A less than ideal line down the gobbler. Red boat facing the sky!
Sometimes you play the river, other times, it is the river’s turn.
📷: Barra Liddy
Mincer rapid on the Lledr
Mincer rapid on the Lledr
📷: Dave Stack

Friday night was destination proposals night, with customarily withering feedback provided by the walking river encyclopedia that is Dave Manby. A great array of suggestions were made with a particular highlight being the Tajikistan proposal, which was hilariously backed up by a traditional Tajik dance.

The hilarious interpretation of traditional tajik dancing
Unique interpretation of traditional Tajik dancing
📷: Seamus Smith

Saturday dawned dry and foggy, but the infamous North Wales test piece, the Fairy Glen still had enough juice to be perfect for people to tick off some ‘personal’ first descents. None of the applicants had run the river previously, so we split them into groups and set them off to run this section, which has some notoriously difficult-to-scout rapids. Excellent expedition practice!

The first gorge on Fairy Glen, Conwy
The first gorge on Fairy Glen, Conwy
📷: Tim Burne
Fairy Falls on the Glen
Fairy Falls on the Glen
📷: Tim Burne
Flying off Fairy Falls
Sol getting some airtime off Fairy Falls
📷: Anne Ruyters
Dropping into the second gorge on Fairy Glen
Reece boofing his way into Fairy Glen’s second gorge.
📷: Anne Ruyters

After a slow but successful lap, the groups split, with some heading back up for a second (much faster) lap, and others heading to check out the nearby Glaslyn, which was also running well.

Glaslyn
Breaker rapid during a Glaslyn Lap
📷: David Brearley

Saturday night saw a masterclass in scouting using Google Earth, following which “organised fun” descended into rowdy carnage until the early hours.

Ring of Fire

The vote for the 2024 British Universities Kayaking Expedition team took place on Sunday morning, with a worthy team of 7 being selected, followed by a relaxed lap of the river Dee for anyone who was still functioning after 3 nights with too much beer and too little sleep!

The 2024 BUKE Team
Huge congratulations to the 2024 British Universities Kayaking Expedition Team. (L to R: Osian Curig, Bryony Agar, Patrick Kyle, Alastair Shapland, Ellis Pimbrough-Jones, Oli Cooper, Matt Purvis)
Horseshoe Falls at the River Dee Put-in
Horseshoe Falls at the river Dee. Beautiful even when it’s grey and drizzly.
📷: Dave Stack

Watch the BUKE socials (Facebook/Insta) for an imminent announcement as to the destination for the 2024 expedition!

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01
Nov

Park Jam 2023: Round Two

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Wow, what an amazing first weekend of Park Jam we had! Round 2 was even better…

Mile End Mill

We arrived in Llangollen early to do a Team lap down the river before the main event started, it was awesome to see everyone crushing their way down the river!

Around midday, the main event kicked off we had an amazing turnout! Everyone headed to the get-in where there is a huge eddy for everyone to chat before throwing whatever moves they want down the river. For me, it is amazing to see so many people enjoying my local run as much as I do! 

It was so awesome to see so many young shredders on the water pushing themselves, jumping in the holes and styling their way out…

There was a few king of the waves, battling to stay on the longest, and of course, some carnage!

The main challenge of the day was an old-school challenge to throw the best move in one of Dave Manby’s old kayaks; this thing is a beast, it’s around 12 feet long and made out of fibreglass with a steel footrest, it was great to see everyone giving it ago!

After a great afternoon paddling, everyone headed up to watch Bren’s new film, talks, and prizes!

Tees Barrage

This was my first experience going to the Barrage; it is a great little set-up, with a little shop and a great course!

Around 10.30 am, the water turned on and paddlers started to float down to the top of the course! The small features here are super nice for everyone; we had paddlers with a great range of experience and everyone seemed to love it!

Although throughout the night we had some biblical rain, the turnout was fantastic and we had loads of locals smashing lines! Everybody encouraging each other to try new things…

The first few features were a little shallow to throw some moves, but halfway down the course was an amazing hole where everyone was getting involved, working on new moves, or trying their first side surf!

We had demos available at the event and they were flying out; it was great to see people trying a few kayaks, narrowing down their options, and seeing where they wanted to take their paddling!

Around 2 pm, the water shut off, the paddlers got changed, and everyone headed in to watch the film, talks, and prizes!

Pinkston Watersports!

The day started off with a leisurely paddle down the River Kelvin, which is an urban ditch that goes through the middle of Glasgow, which was an experience! Shopping trolleys and toy unicorns were the highlights…

The evening kicked off with a mighty BBQ, music, and a bunch of stoked paddlers. Even though it was cold in Glasgow, the boaters didn’t hesitate to jump straight in and start shredding.

Everyone was buzzing to be throwing moves and trying new ones; it’s an awesome little course with an amazing atmosphere, which just makes this place special. The evening passed by, then came the pump challenge, where you side surf into the pumps and style your way out. This hole is super sticky, but it was great to see so many people giving it a go! The evening ended in a mass tubing session down the course, which was absolute carnage, but we loved it!

After the prizes, talk, and films, it was a wrap for this weekend. We are super grateful for everyone who came and helped out, and we are looking forward to seeing you in Ireland!

Parmhole, Dublin – 4th of November

Castleconnell, Limerick – 5th of November

Thanks for reading!
Daniel Jones

Photos: Aaron Kendall, Tom Clare

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26
Oct

Park Jam 2023: Round One

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By the Scottish Crew: Rowan Andrew, Taylor Stevenson, Kyle Rodger, and Niamh Shannon

Lee Valley Whitewater Centre

Driving from Glasgow to Lee Valley was a mission, but the crew were super stoked to arrive at the centre as it was all new to us, and we were impressed with the scale and scope of the place.

As it was our first time, we had to sit our competency assessment. We were introduced to George, our assessor, who quickly after the assessment joined us for our first laps on the Olympic course with the Palm and Pyranha Team.

It was a very busy session on the water with rafts and kayakers flooding the course and carnage at every corner. However, that did not stop everyone from laying down some awesome tricks. It added a certain level of adrenaline knowing if you fall off a wave or are not paying attention you would be slammed by a raft.

As always, Bren was smiling and giving out advice on the water as well as teasing future plastic Pyranha has to offer.

📷: Dolly Brown

We had an hour to shred on the Olympic course before we moved on to the well-anticipated Park Jam on the flood-lit Legacy course. There was a lot of hype for this session, and watching everyone make their way onto the water and up the conveyor belt only added to the stoke and excitement.

Everyone sessioned on the top hole, where there were many aerial tricks thrown, before making their way down the course, stopping at all the features for a play. Barra, Vitamin T (Niamh, Taylor, and Rowan), and the rest of the Pyranha Team would sit at the bottom of the course bringing the hype and allowing the participants to use the demo boats on offer.

The Pyranha Firecracker seemed to be a favourite of the night, and everyone was super stoked to see the new 2024 colourways, Rosella Red & Cotinga Blue. To finish off the night, Bren showed off his new, sick edit, and there was a prize-giving for those who shredded on the water that night.

Northampton Active Whitewater Centre

We kicked off the morning with a team paddle at Hurley. As we are Scottish and have primarily paddled in Scotland, this was a spot we had heard a lot about but never paddled, so we were pretty stoked to be able to fit it in this weekend. It did not disappoint.

We sessioned the wave for a couple of hours before receiving a phone call to say that sadly the water quality was too low to paddle at Nene, but even with the paddling being cancelled, there was still a keen group of local paddlers excited to meet up with Bren and catch a sneak peek of his latest edit, so the Pyranha and Palm team headed to the centre to deliver some talks, films, activities, and prizes.

Heidi Walsh started the party by telling us all about her inspiring and eventful trip down the Humla Karnali in Nepal. Joe Rea Dickins followed up with some beautiful surfing shots from our very own Scotland (whoop whoop), documenting the recent monster-sized Tay-bezi which highlights just how great Scotland is when Scotland does what it does best and RAINS.

We followed up with a little “Who can get kitted up the quickest?” competition, and brave young Marcus and Noah went head-to-head for the chance to win some prizes! Finally, to finish off the Park Jam, Bren told us all about the recent adventures and gave the group a preview of his soon-to-be-released shredit.

Cardiff International Whitewater Centre

Cardiff was one of the centres that we were most eager to visit. Although none of us had been before, our friends had, so we had heard quite a bit about it. Still, that didn’t prepare us for just how cool this place was.

Vitamin T does CIWW

The first thing that catches your attention about the centre is just how beautiful it is. The fact that it was based by the water is something that was quite special and made you forget for a bit that you were paddling somewhere artificial.

That thought was soon overtaken, and our lasting impression was one of the people we had met. This Park Jam was a really fun experience for us all and that was down to all the interactions we had with folk.

One memory that demonstrates the love they have for the sport and just how eager they were was a little boy who missed the first half of the event because he was at his friend’s birthday party. When he discovered that he could take part in the second half and had the opportunity to go in the Pyranha Duo with Bren, he jumped at the chance and wasted no time in finding his paddling kit and getting ready. This encouraged a lot of others to do the same.

As soon as one person hopped out of the kayak another person was lined up ready to get in. This stoke to be on the water was carried by everyone right up until the last second when the pumps were switched off and the only option was to get off. Overall, we left inspired by the dedication of the people and the willingness to get in amongst it and try something new. 

It was an absolute pleasure to join Bren, team Palm, and the other Pyranha paddlers on the first leg of the Park Jam, and we’re looking forward to heading back down to Wales to start the second half of the tour on the mighty river Dee, followed by Tees Barrage, and finishing off at our home run, Pinkston Watersports. Find more info on the event pages below, and come join us!

UK

Mile End Mill, Llangollen – 28th of October

Tees Barrage, Stockton-on-Tees – 29th of October

Pinkston Watersports, Glasgow – 30th of October

IRELAND

Parmhole, Dublin – 4th of November

Castleconnell, Limerick – 5th of November

See you there!
The Scots

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05
Oct

Sal’s Firecracker 232 Review

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(Also known as, ‘The Smiler’)

Photo: Turnip Towers

So, for anyone reading this who doesn’t know me too well, me and my life are basically chaos… but in a good way, most of the time! I’ve been working in a different country every couple of weeks, continually swapping between packing and unpacking, and trying to squeeze all the ‘normal’ life stuff (and UK paddling) in between. This summer has been particularly jam-packed and any time back in the UK has become way more valuable (and brief!)

You might wonder why I’m babbling on about this -isn’t this a boat review after all?! I’m getting there, I promise. 

Arriving home after 5 weeks in Europe, I excitedly packed for a few days in North Wales. With it being British summertime, the rivers were dry, however, the trusty dam-released river Tryweryn was due to be in flow. I had space for one kayak only. I’d not long had my new Firecracker 232, and I was desperate to get her on some moving water and have a proper play. However, I’d also agreed to coach river skills at the #ShePaddles Festival. Would it be irresponsible to try and teach river skills in a playboat? And what if I needed to carry out rescues? Would I manage them in this little boat? Fun-versus-sensible pulled me back and forth. I vented my predicament to Andy Butler (Product Manager at Pyranha Kayaks), who of course told me to take the new boat. I felt like a kid that had been given permission to go out and play! So, me and my new fun machine headed west.

And boyyyy was I glad that we did! 

I’d assumed the Firecracker was an all-out river-play boat, but it turns out that she also really loves river running! During the coaching weekend, I was surprised at how well she boofed, cut into micro-eddies, and basically made all the moves that I’d usually make in my bigger boat. And that included rescues too, whether I was chasing or towing a swamped boat, I never felt out of control or unable to get myself where I needed to be to deal with the situation. 

And of course, with the added fun factor of a boat that loves to surf, play and get vertical! 

Photo: Kay Powell

After the coaching weekend, I spent my remaining few days playing around with friends on the Tryweryn and the few local rivers with water in. I honestly don’t think I stopped grinning. Being away with work so much lately, I hadn’t had a lot of time to get to know my new boat, but I was already sure that we were going to get along well! Stable and smooth, I felt like I could surf waves for days. I’ve never been very good at tailees, but with the Firecracker I was getting way more success than in any other boat I’ve tried. I still fell on my face a good amount, but always rolled back up with a big smile, ready to go again.

Photo: Turnip Towers

Since the North Wales trip, I’ve been in and out of the country frequently (sometimes for several weeks at a time), however, it’s felt pretty easy each time to jump back in my boat and get stuck in again. I’ve also been rehabbing an injury, and having a smaller boat that I can move around easily has really helped, as well as meant an earlier return to the water. 

Being a smaller and shorter boat (232cm to be exact), has also meant that it’s way easier to travel with. She fits inside my vehicle, which works perfectly for any last-minute decisions to hit the river or head to the best paddling spots!

There have been many sessions at my nearest training ground, Holme Pierre Pont Whitewater Park. Here me and my Firecracker have been playing around in the more hole-like features, trying out mostly loops, cartwheels, and spins. There are also lots of great boiley eddilines for trying tailees!

We’ve returned to the Tryweryn a few times, each trip being as fun as the last. I haven’t even contemplated swapping the Firecracker out for a different boat -why would I when this one is so much fun? The Firecracker basically lives in my vehicle now (when I’m not paddling it, that is!).

Photo: Turnip Towers

And most recently, I travelled down to Lee Valley Whitewater Park, which is steeper, faster and more powerful than most of our whitewater courses here in the UK. Other than the odd wobble on a couple of eddilines when I first got on, I felt really good! The Firecracker loved the steepness and speed of the water, charging through breaking waves, boofing pour-overs, and gliding over boils into swirling eddies. The waves were faster than any others that I’d surfed recently, but it didn’t take long to learn to just relax and let the boat do her thing!

All in all, I love this boat -she’s fun, loves to both run the river and play around, her shorter tail means extra play and tailies galore, and you can literally surf all day long. Oh, and she’s super easy to travel with -I’m convinced that I could travel with her on the train, and no doubt flying with her internationally will be easier too. The perfect, year-round fun machine! Thanks for another awesome design, Pyranha!

Photo: Turnip Towers

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