Packing up my gear for the seventh time to head to one of my favourite rivers in the world—the Zambezi—I paused and wondered whether taking the ReactR was the right choice. Would I really bring my multiday, big, stout kayak to one of the most playful rivers in the world, where you really don’t need a full-sized, badass creek boat? I’ve thought about this decision a lot, especially after having paddled small and big half-slice kayaks on the Zambezi exclusively.
My hope was to catch the Zambezi at slightly higher flows this season. My main goal? Maximum airtime over features and throwing some of the biggest kickflips of my life. (Hint: mission accomplished.)
You can paddle this river in any boat, and it will give you a different sensation. Perfect seamlines invite endless tailies, surf waves let you throw tricks in playboats, and huge features give you the ability to fly and throw kickflips in bigger boats that carry the speed to clear features while resisting the crashing tops of waves.
Last year, at much lower flows, I took my Firecracker and mostly experienced the playful side of the Zambezi—surfing waves, throwing tricks, and tailing down the Batoka Gorge. But smaller, lower-volume boats come with trade-offs. My goal to land the elusive kickflip at the bottom wave of #9 never came close, as the boat got swallowed by a massive wave on the way up. That experience got me thinking: maybe the ReactR was the right choice this time.
On my first lap of the season, in my all-time favourite kayak—the ReactR—I was excited to fly. I’ll admit, there was some doubt about whether the river might get “boring,” since you sacrifice the endless tailies and playful engagement on waves. But within the first three rapids, I was soaring over features, carrying speed across the tops of waves, and feeling loose, free, and disconnected from the water surface. The way this kayak pops off waves and rides over features is insanely fun.
Of course, being in a bigger, more badass boat makes rapids easier, which in theory could reduce the challenge. But what I found instead was that I could focus on hitting the right features to maximise airtime, since the smaller stuff no longer slowed me down or knocked me off line. By giving up some playfulness on minor features, I actually got more out of the big ones.
And don’t get me wrong—the ReactR is far from a bulldozer. It lets me drive edges, carve on waves, and feel completely one with the water—just in a different way than a half-slice. The best comparison I can make is going from a Can-Am to a Dakar car. Less technical challenge on the small stuff, but oh man, the big features? This boat shines in a playful, engaging, and insanely fun way.
I did keep my Firecracker on hand for variety, but the more I paddled the ReactR, the more I just wanted to stay in it, hunting that elusive #9 kickflip. And on the last day of 2025, it all came together. Coming down #9, I felt everything align from the top, hit the bottom wave with speed, powered through all the foamy stuff, disconnected from the water like never before—and landed the kickflip clean to my right. Mission accomplished!
Summing up my experience on the Zambezi in the ReactR: it’s different, but incredibly rewarding. Will I do another trip exclusively in the ReactR? Probably not. But will I take a few more laps in it when I want speed and airtime? Absolutely. I’m excited to see what future designs can offer on this river—one of the ultimate playgrounds in kayaking. For this season, though, I was more than stoked to find myself in the Pyranha ReactR Large.