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Someone told me (when Rutabaga was closing) that they would be changing over to a different model where the vendors/suppliers would be bringing their own inventory to sell instead of Rutabaga’s. Can’t remember if that was in one of Darren’s posts or if it was Bill Swift that told me when I...

Black bears are only relatively recently recovered in southern Missouri where I paddle, with all of them having moved north from the Arkansas Ozarks where there is a sizable population. While attacks are extremely rare, there have been two deaths due to black bears this year in the Arkansas...

I suppose that’s true, but with its symmetrical rocker and T-formex construction it seems much more like a river boat to me than a flat water boat. The biggest complaint I have seen repeated about the Echo is the shallow depth. I’ve seen multiple posts from folks excluding it from...

For reference, here are the original Echo specs:

Haven’t seen much about this yet, and nothing on the Esquif website I can find, but I have it from a couple of sources now that Esquif is releasing an updated version of the Echo for 2026. From a dealer website: COMING SOON - Olive For 2026, Esquif has added a new model of the Echo. Meet...

Photo snapped of me and my Starfire at the Ozark Rendezvous last Thursday on Current River. Beautiful paddle and met some great folks. Water clarity was fantastic.

Looks like you’ve already made a decision but I’ll throw out there that I have had really good luck with Walrus brand Tung Oil. They don’t sell BLO but do offer a linseed oil and outline the differences in their products in the article below...

That does seem to be the general attitude of a majority of people on these rivers, especially in the summer months. As a kid I never saw a single raft out there, but they’re getting more and more common as more people just want to bounce down the river with little to no input. I follow a...

We usually go a little later in the year and often have the river to ourselves, although we really only saw a few other people each day this time so I can’t complain too much. But having it to yourself is just an awesome experience every time. If we’d have had more days like originally planned...

I hope so. We certainly have some great memories of past trips, and it’s fun to remember them sitting around the campfire. Especially the old stories from the aluminum tandem days camping on gravel bars. I’ve certainly been very lucky to have him along with me for so many years. I noticed...

We tried making it down to the Buffalo this past Spring but Dad unfortunately had to have a torn retina surgery and was out of commission for 8 weeks. We’ve heard great things and would love to compare to what we’re used to. Hopefully we’ll make it next Spring. And the Guide is a cool boat...

For Day 2 we picked a short popular run on the Current, Pulltite to Round Spring. This is a shorter 8 mi section because at this point I had gotten word of a sick kiddo at home and wanted to be back that evening to be home with him Monday (he’s doing fine with a very minor fever and playing...

This year marks the 28th year that Dad and I have gone down to the Ozark National Scenic Riverways to “float”. For about the last 15 years this has been a Fall trip (or as close as we can get it). This year was a little early, but there were leaves falling and temps were not too hot. Lows...

Sobering reading. I have a friend I paddle with occasionally that is in his 60’s and is a dive instructor, and absolutely refuses to wear a pfd as he is a “strong and capable swimmer” due to his diving, or his “wetsuit provides enough buoyancy with his skill level”. Just can’t make him do it...

Beautiful boat Joe! They’re doing some cool stuff over at Hemlock. New colors, innegra layup, etc., all good stuff, love to see it! Their work always looks top notch and it’s good to see the quality is still there through their ownership transition and also while trying new things/innovating...

That’s awesome, I’ll be looking into that for sure. Thanks!

Still IXP, I gotta have that durability. The one downside to this color though is that the white scratches really stand out a lot. On my Polaris with the regular IXP, they blend in pretty well. On the flip side, wanting to hide the scratches will probably drive me to use the 303 a lot more...

Thanks! You can order the back bands from Northstar but I believe the brand is “Sea to Sunmit” and they are available other places as well (Rutabaga, etc). I think you can order it installed but I ordered it separately and installed myself. It does require an attachment point in front of the...

Thanks! Just extra layers, nothing removed. They say it adds a pretty insignificant amount of weight, on the order of a couple of pounds for both color layers combined but I haven’t weighed it. I believe the polyester color layers are thin and weigh almost nothing so it’s mostly the extra...

So back in late July, I had decided on purchasing a Northstar Phoenix. I had test paddled a few contenders at Rutabaga and the Phoenix just felt very good for my uses. I was torn however between ordering the standard IXP, or the Ruby covered version. I had seen Jeremy Vore’s Ruby model at...