I need help in choosing a good playboat, i want to get one that I will be happy in when i am advanced, and since I am about 5'6, and weigh about 150 lbs. a friend told me to get a low volume boat, because it would be easier to initiate tricks. please give me your thoughts
thank you

Choosing the right boat depends on many things. Low volume will help with certain tricks but can limit river running ability depending on your skill level. The best advice is to try as many boats as you can and go with the one that fits the best as comfort can be very important during long river sessions.
Check for a local club and see if you cn arange a trail session on their gear. Most stores will allow trials if they are located near a river or lake. The boat will eventually become part of you and also remember the first one may not be the last. I started with one and now hve almost a small navy covering seakayaks, creek boat, squirt boat and a folding double kayak. You could say I'm hooked on the sport. Trial and error is have the fun. Cheers Greg

thanks, my problem is that there are very few dealers in the state, EMS carries sea and rec kayaks, but almost all the stores dont deal in whitewater

I live over a thousand mils from the nearset dealer and have bought all my boats sight unseen and untried and have been very happy with the results. Remember that as skill improves you may change your focus or add to it. on Playak .com there is a very good database and each manufacturer usually provides fairly accurate details on Boat performace. They need to be fairly accurate with the claims or it would show up in the paddling community pretty quick.
Check out the local competetions and festival nearest you and you could get lucky and hit a dealer demo dy close by. Take a road trip and go looking. Options are endless depending on how hard your looking. Sooner or later you will have to jump in and get wet, but if your first boat isn't what you wanf sell it and try again. Unfortunately trying boats isn't yet a perfect world where one dealer close by would have everything. Go second hand and reduce your start up cost and if you need to shop again you lose less this way. You'll find one with your name on the seat sooner or later so make the most out of looking. Cheers Greg

Thanks! your advice will go on into my head, and will stay in there. do you know of any good used playboat sites? or are there many?

There are lots of sites, which state are you in? Check kayak dealers for used demo boats as mahy like Coloradro Kayak Supply have yearly sales on demos and discontinued lines. You can usually find a good supplier relatively close or e-mail them and ask, most are more than pleased to point you in the right direction if they can't help. Check e-bay I have seen some nice deals offered there. Just start hitting the search engines and you will be surprised what pops up I live in Yellowknife,NWT which is way out there in Canada and shop world wie with the web. When searching the internet watch out especially on e-bay for the shipping charges. You should be able to get a playboat delivered anywhere in the USA for bout 70.00 US. by Greyhound bus. There can be problems if the kayak is over 7 feet in length and with a playboat that is not an issue, his is a problem where I live and I had to fly my last boat north from Edmonton, Alberta. Cheers and good hunting, Greg

I live in MA, USA

the only advice I can give as I've only bought one playboat and am VERY happy with it would be to continuously research potential boats.. If you can spend 900-1000 then the door is wide open for your options. Some boats you can't go wrong with (like JK Allstar) and some are definitely more specifically designed (like Riot), so keep researching..

My other advice, is if you want something easy to throw around, then you want to make sure your weight of 150 is at the top end of the weight range for the boat. [example] if you wanted a wave sport project, the p45 has a range of 80-140. while the p52 is 130-190, so.. if you went with the p52, it would place you on the low end of the range, making it harder to throw around... but the 45 will be easy to throw around but may not be suitable for fast waves or river running... If you wanted a Dagger Agent, the Agent 6.0 has a range of 80-145 lbs. or a Liquid Logic Ronin, the Ronin 49s range is 120-170....

So keep those things in mind along with what you want to accomplish, some boats are better surfers, some are better for holes and loops, while some have very slicey edges or have very soft edges.. So look at what you like, then do your research, to find which boat may suit you.

Good LUCK:cheer:

I've read some bad stuff on the reviews on this site about the Agent, it being made of soft plastic, it being shoddily put together, do you know if those fears are viable problems?

if you have a true problem the manufacturer should take care of it..
Every brand of boats have bad apples..
There was criticism about the plastic in my boat... BUT, no problems yet..
Some people will allways talk down other boat manufactures ...
some boats will last longer.. and we're talking years of more use.. and some boats even break within 2 months..

I know there have been bad batches in the Agents, but I only hear good things from the people that own them around here.. I've been in it myself and would have bought it if I had a higher price range.. The deal with the plastic is that the plastic is unidirectional in it's molecular pattern, where as they used to be made bi-directional, cross-threaded, so now, over time the plastic supposedly wears out faster (visibly by the discoloration of the plastic over time of sun damage) and is not as hard, leading to oil-canning and easy gouges... WS and Dagger had difficulties when they switched initially, but most of the kinks are fixed, as new molds and models were created... plus you can never tell as kayaks are basically hand made.

Bottom line.. I wouldn't personally worry about it, but be cautious and save your paperwork, talk to your distributor if you need to, and just buy the boat you like the most

*my opinion*

thank you, i actually work at a kayak place, and I must check to see if we have a pro deal for dagger, that will take off the price a bit.

Check out www.altrec.com they are having a free shippingf saly on kayaks at the moment Cheers Greg

Would you think that the Fluid Flirt small is to small?

All I found on Altrec were inflatables...

Fluid flirt looks like a good size for you.. but I don't know much about fluid kayaks... no one has them around here in Eastern Washington area

Fluid flirt (s) would be a good boat at your stats... might look at the JK allstar, and the wavesport project 45 and 52.

All of those are top notch playboats!

Small Fluid Nemesis?
www.fluidkayaks.co.za/News_080612.htm

Slightly better than the small Flirt. Will reach the USA towards the end of July. Try as many boats as you can. It will be worth the effort.

Ill echo that on the small nemesis... looks pretty sharp in the pics...Im looking forward to getting in a demo....

Research and then watch ebay for a good deal from a seller with good ratings.

Laddie wrote:

Ill echo that on the small nemesis... looks pretty sharp in the pics...Im looking forward to getting in a demo....

Also shouldn't have any problems fitting in. I'm 85kg and 6' tall. Here I was in the final proto of the small, just for kicks. It was very tight but then again, I was WAY over the limit. I'm super happy with my medium Nemesis now. No complaints.

adrian.playak.com/index.php?option=com_c...=view&id=30&Itemid=5

ok, ok, the small nemesis does look very nice, though i am a little over the said weight limit (about 15 lbs over the weight limit, i'm 165, it says 150) but i dont think it matters too much

I've been mistaken, I am a perfect fit!

Now, i would like to get a new lifejacket, i would like it to be a jacket with a harness that I can use for river rescues, would anyone suggest styles/brands?

The Astral 300 is a very nice PFD with a harnesss and plenty of arm clearance for paddling and swimming. Our raft guide instructor used one and they come in both male female models, They have 16.5 lbs. of bouyancy and tabs and pockets. You can stsh a small throwbag in the front. Unless you have some river rescure training and even with it rescue swimming is dangerous business and you beat be ready for it before slipping on the belt. Take the basic 3 day rescue course if you haven't all ready and it will help lots. Cheers greg

Oh, I plan on going through the course, and mabey more depending on monetary stuff in the pocket, and it would help me at my job, which is working at a canoe and kayak place near me

i've had tons of playboats...my favorite thus far - the Agent 6.2 I'm 170 lbs.

I think the Agent 6.2 would be a good fit for you...lots of play - easy to roll....super easy to spin, etc...

The Ronin is a good boat but is very tough to learn to toss around - big volume on the ends. I also at 5'7 find LL boats difficult to roll. The sidewalls in LL boats are higher than other manuf. and thus it's tough for me to set up in my stubby frame.

If you haven't already check out

www.boatertalk.com and look in gearswap.

In the states - this is the best site for buying used playboats. You can have a playboat shipped for 60$ via greyhound express. I bought a brand spanking new Agent for $600 and had it shipped from Denver to N.East Tennessee for $60.

Look for a boat that the specs are right in the middle of your weight. Too low and you'll find it tough to run rivers. Too high and you'll be like a cork and won't be happy.

My suggestions at your weight:

Agent 6.2
Allstar
Project 52
Pyranha 420 S/M
Jackson Fun - which is more of a river runner, but you'll still be able to pull most stuff and it's a fantastic runner, roller, and all arounder.

Avoid a rescue vest unless you plan to use it. A simple Astral, Lotus (Patagonia) class III kayaking vest will be sufficient - and you can also buy a great used vest on boatertalk

Good luck!

Jon

here's the link:

www.boatertalk.com/gear/gear.php

you can narrow the seach to playboats or boats within driving distance of MA.

Good luck.

Thanks! though I do plan on using the rescue parts of the vest. I have a very nice lotus vest, it's very close to the Patagonia Lola, (my vest doesn't have the model name) that I use in situations in which I will not need it. and thank you on the gear spot

I have a quick release belt that I use with my standard vest when paddling. I only wear my rescue vest when I go out just to provide rescue or to train with the CERT team of which I am a member. Your exsisting vest probably supplies 15.5 lbs. of floatation and some rescue vest offer only a little more 16.5 lbs. of floatation. The seperate quick release belt offers the option of not wearing it when your just having fun and when you go onto safety strap on the belt.
The belts that are built into the vest are designed to stay attached to the vest, this means when you release the steel ring connected to the rope slides off the belt and the belt remains conected to the vest. With the seperate belt when you use the quick release the whole belt comes free and remains conected to the rope as you float away. the bellts also have two ways of buckling up one way is for a swimming rescue and the other is for when your belaying. This isn explained with the directions that come with the belt, so be sure to keep them and read them, this is also well shown in most resue text and will be demod in the training. Cheers Greg

You should check out www.paddling.net a very handy resource and they have get raffles ,you could win a boat. Very good articles from some gun paddlers well worth a look. Cheers greg

What do people think of the LL CR 125?