For many people, whitewater kayaking is about putting yourself in a situation where you’re raising excitement levels and slightly out of your comfort zone. As you push yourself further and gain accomplishments for your successes, you gain a euphoric state and adrenaline.
With whitewater river running, for a lot of experienced paddlers and “pros” the bar has been constantly raised over the last decade or so and paddlers have always asked, how big can we go? How much further can we push the boundaries of our sports and equipment? I think back to the guys from River Roots, with the likes of Rush Sturges and Tyler Bradt running big drops! Everything was going bigger and safer, boats were getting bigger rocker with higher volume, so people were able to paddle on rivers that were maybe higher up their comfort zone or above their ability level. Creek boats have become more forgiving and easier to paddle.
But not everyone paddles grade 4 or class 5 whitewater every weekend. We see lots of people on local rivers and whitewater centres enjoying a club atmosphere. There’s now become a big fashion for Half Slices.
The half slice has been really popular over the past few years. That idea of running a river and stopping and playing at different points has become really popular. It’s a lot of fun to jump in a half slice kayak and spin, surf and tailie your way down the river. Lots of half slice kayaks have been very long and fast, but some lack the ability to play.
The Pyranha Firecracker is a shorter half slice at about 8 foot long. It surfs beautifully and stands up vertically like nothing we’ve had before. It’s stable, comfortable and smooth to paddle downriver. Because of its width, it has stability and because of the high knee position and depth at the front its comfortable for people to sit in and paddle. It sits on a wave beautifully. There’s some waves here at Lee Valley that you hop in a Firecracker and the boat sits in that pocket and can surf all day long.
The sizes are 232, 242 and 252. 232 is for the smaller person, 252 is a “big boys” boat and the 242 is for the medium sized paddler. Lots of people have tried the Firecracker, everyone that’s been in it has had a smile on their face. Whether they are an experienced pro paddler or freestyle enthusiast, or someone trying a half slice for the first time, they’ve really enjoyed paddling it. We have one of every size here at Lee valley to demo if you want to demo one get in touch.