Posts Tagged ‘Reviews’

Clothed in new costumes
That weather your new found storms
Staring through reason
Content with your new found decor
– collective soul

I’ve always been conflicted when it comes to companies like Wilderness Systems.  I don’t think of them as “sea kayak” companies. They seem to put more weight into their recreational and fishing boats and come to sea kayaking as an afterthought.  It’s hard to imagine the company that makes the infamous Pungo could produce a decent sea kayak.  Still there have been a lot of good things said about the Tempest since it came out.  Given that, and that I had Cindy Scherrer (partner of co-designer Steve Scherrer) paddling right beside me while I was out test paddling boats in Grand Marais, it seems like as good a time as any to take one for a spin.

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We can never know about the days to come
But we think about them anyway, yay
And I wonder if I’m really with you now
Or just chasin’ after some finer day
– carly simon

I’ve had the old white Romany for some time, but as I said it was not “my” boat so I rarely paddled it.  In fact until recently the only time I paddled the Romany was when the local river was in flood. At those times I’d take the boat out to play in the currents and surf since I was not worried about banging it up.  Now that I’ve repaired the hull and have it seaworthy again, I’ve been paddling it quite a bit which offers a great opportunity to share some fresh thoughts about the Romany in general.   Read the rest of this entry »

Video – Next week I’ll be doing a review of Gear Pods, the cool new modular adventure gear kits.  This weekend I’m running the final and maybe most important (to me) test.  It’s called “The Oatmeal Test”.  Just how waterproof are Gear Pods anyway?  In my kayak filled world, I’ve found my waterproof bags and cases can sometimes spend hours in and under the water.  It happens.  It happened to me last weekend in fact!! Nothing sucks more than when you realize that your first-aid kit got soaked because the “waterproof” case leaked.  How Gear Pods hold up to sitting in standing water for a couple days will tell me a lot about how appropriate they are for sea kayaking.  Next week, we’ll talk a bit more what Gear Pods have to offer as I review their Backcountry kit.  AND by Monday morning we’ll know just how they stood up to the dreaded Oatmeal Test as well!

Well the dawn was coming, / Heard him ringing on my bell.
He said, “my names the teacher, / That is what I call myself.
– tull

Thumbs Up! I say that now because honestly I get really board reading long-winded reviews when all I needed was a gladiatorial thumbs up or thumbs down. So if you’re looking for the Circus Maximus version of my Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown review its, “Thumbs Up”. Gordon Lives!!

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Just for a change I took my P&H Scorpio down the Wisconsin river yesterday.  The Scorpio as you know is the plastic version of P&H’s very cool Cetus.  As it happened a couple on the trip had custom ordered 2 Cetus’ from P&H and were excited to be getting them next month.  I’ve chatted and paddled with the couple a few times on Rutabaga events so they were happy to tell me all about their new kayaks and where they hoped the new boats would lead.  Congratulations!

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Strap yourself to a tree with roots
You aint going nowhere.
– dylan

This lovely bit of artwork is what you get when you take a picture of the flooded fifth hatch in your Scorpio. It’s not as if I left the cover off or anything.  It simply fills (and I mean fills) with water if I roll the kayak.  I don’t believe it’s the kayak.  I think it’s the hatch cover.  Let me tell you why…

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I can hear chants and incantations
And some guy is mentioning me in his prayers
Well, I don’t know what it is
But there’s definitely something going on upstairs
– nick cave

I’m not sure why, but I was thinking of ICBMs.  The idea that we can sit on one side of the earth and wipe out the other side with little more than the press of a button.  In a way Antarctica is under assault from over the horizon.  While we at home debate whether a cool summer says anything about global warming, it’s raining on the Antarctic Peninsula.  In the often elusive battle of climate change, the earth’s poles are undoubtedly ground zero. Terra Antarctica examines the tell-tale silhouettes burned into the ice. And that’s just one part of the story…

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