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My wife and I have paddled 89 miles so far this year. We're hoping to get one more paddle in down here in Florida so we can top 100. I enjoy paddling the mangrove mazes, tidal creeks, and springs but I'm looking forward to heading back to the Midwest next week to resume paddling the swifter...

Quick followup. I emailed Northstar and they said put a coat of 303 on it and don't worry. The UV degradation they've seen is from years of storage outside in the sun and that a couple months shouldn't hurt anything. I'm glad to hear it because I didn't want to deal with the additional hassle...

Count me in as another person who thinks the Swift weave patterns are gorgeous. Maybe they don't come across well in pictures but I love what I've seen in person.

Those videos seem to pre-date whenever rolling became a thing. These days you see people rolling canoes and I'm always impressed. I'd love to give it a try.

I've found the rules of thumb get me close, but nothing beats testing on the water with your actual boat. I kneel, so that changes the ideal shaft length vs sitting. I also found that about a 2" shorter shaft fits me better in my new Phoenix vs. my previous couple boats. But at the end of the...

Now you've got me all paranoid! I have a 2 month trip across the southern US planned for this summer and will be taking my IXP Northstar. UV damage hadn't occured to me but now I'm wondering if I should. We're in month 3 of camping in Florida with a couple of HDPE rec kayaks on the car and I...

"Themes of wellness and relaxation continue with guided movement exercises on the beach, yoga, breathwork, a sound-healing experience and forest bathing." 🤣

The level of protection is probably less important for poling than whitewater, but here is some good information on watersports helmet testing.

We all have different thresholds. I wear a PFD on lakes and swift/deep rivers but rarely on slow, shallow ones. Sometimes I'll only bring two beers along when three would have been a lifesaver.

Those are some crazy graphics. I'd love to see the process for how they do that.

I want a less expensive option with NO features. I don't want pockets, rescue straps, or anything else. I carry small stuff like car keys, phone, etc in a small waterproof box. My main criteria for a PFD is that it be unobtrusive otherwise I'm less likely to wear it.

Eons ago I took a PADI course back when I was 6' tall and a buck fifty after a stout meal. The first thing we had to do was demonstrate that we could swim unaided for 10 minutes. One of the other students was an older guy who had a good deal of extra insulation. He not only passed that test...

I don't think type V necessarily means more floatation than type III. I think it has something to do with intended usage. I just looked at a couple WW jackets I'm interested in and they offer the same thing in a regular and one with Swift water rescue features. For example, the NRS Ninja vs...

I think what a lot of people think of as a whitewater canoe these days are what are shown in this video. They look like someone took a Dollar Store kiddy wading pool and folded it like a taco. Not aesthetically pleasing, but undeniably capable. *Note to self: attend ALF this year. It looks...

Depending on how they're implemented tariffs could effect domestic canoe manufacturers due to taxes on raw materials. I believe (but could be wrong) that most resins and epoxies are US manufactured but I don't know if that's true for the chemicals that make up the resin/epoxy. Maybe there's a...

I'd run my Northstar Phoenix in class 3 and possibly the right class 4 so I suppose that woud be considered whitewater.

Apparently looking for sharks teeth and fossils is a huge thing on the Peace. We didn't encounter many people on the river but most that we did had shovels and sieves they'd made out of mesh, PVC, and pool noodles. If we return to that area next year I'll probably make one although I don't...

We covered from a few miles upstream of Brownsville Park down to Arcadia and levels were fine. There were some shallow places, but nothing you'd drag on. Last winter we did some sections up near Wauchula/Zolpho Springs. It was narrower and deeper but not a lot of good places to get out and...

After a week in the 90's its finally cooled off with a high of 74 predicted today. Last week we spent most days paddling the Peace River in Central Florida but we'd wait until almost dusk since the sun was so brutal. This week we're in a county campground with 4 smaller lakes to choose from...

If the Cirrus had been out when I bought my Phoenix last Fall I'd have given it a serious look. Although I might have felt bad abusing a Swift the way I plan to abuse the Phoenix on shallow rocky rivers.