Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Currents - Episode 8 - Thailand

Currents - Episode 8 - Thailand from Five 2 Nine Productions on Vimeo.

Autumn Kayaking After Class

AUTUMN KAYAKING AFTER CLASS from Marcos Gallegos on Vimeo.

Jackson Villain - Special Edition

Check out our Special Edition Custom Painted Jackson Villain.

If you have the opportunity to stop by our shop, you need to come in and see this baby... it is SWEET!!

The Daydreams of a Weekend Warrior

The Daydreams of a Weekend Warrior from Steve Rogers Photography on Vimeo.


To get the Beta on all the runs seen in this video and many other check out: http://www.liquidlore.com/

Also check them out on Facebook: LiquidLore Facebook Page

Rideau Falls

Our good friend and bad ass paddler Marcos Gallegos decided to drop Rideau Falls last week on a beautiful sunny day.
A great shot by Izabel Flansberry.

First Descents



For More on First Descents: http://www.firstdescents.org/
To Keep up to date on First Descents Canada: First Descents Canada Facebook Page

Currents - Episode 7

Currents - Episode 7 - Quebec from Five 2 Nine Productions on Vimeo.

Facing East

Vital Films Presents Facing East: Full Movie

In a desolate area of western China, three of Asia's greatest rivers plunge off the Tibetan Plateau through a neck in the Himalayas only 50 miles wide. The spectacular Yunnan Gorges of the Yangtze River, Mekong River and Salween River are home now to a massive hydro electric project that is converting a living, spectacular, unique river to a series of 13 damns with no free flowing sections of river in-between. They are taking this area of life and nature and turning it into a area of industry. The undertaking is causing massive environmental damage and the destruction of thousands of cultural heritage sites. As if the loss of a land is not enough the Chinese government has already displaced 1.3 million people out of there homes and only millions more are in the path of evacuation. Come with Vital Films and Kayakers as we take you on a inside look at the death of this river and land. Very few if any people have experienced the beauty of this place. The power people in Shanghi that are making these decisions don't understand what their loosing in this race for modernization and race for power and as time determines the fate of the land and home of millions, the realization that power generation has won out against preservation. Clearly the race against the clock if their ever was one as far saving this river and land is a finished race.

vital-films.com
forloveofwater.org

Vital Films presents Facing East (Full Movie) from Vital Films on Vimeo.

The Grand Canyon: A Video By Nick Troutman

Check out Nick's Adventure down the Epic Grand Canyon.

Esquif L'Edge Review

The new paradigm shifting openboat (Product Page) has hit the market, and the buzz has been strong. Graham Preston and his crew took down a pair of L'edges to the Ottawa River for some big water fun on the Main Channel. Here is what he had to stay:

We rolled out of the driveway with fried egg sandwiches in our stomachs; pump up music pouring from the radio and two new Esquif L’Edges on the roof. The crew: a group of friends from the Ottawa Valley ranging from the casual playboater to canoe instructors to adrenaline seekers. Our destination: the big water of the Ottawa River with the goal of demoing Esquif’s highly anticipated new open boat design. Life was good.

The L’Edge was designed as an all around solid river runner that could handle anything from steep and challenging creeks to performing on a wave or in a hole. The idea was to rival high performance boats such as the Spanish Fly, but maintain the classic open boat design. Constructed of durable rotomolded plastic with bulkhead outfitting, the boat is available in both decked and fully open models. Since becoming available in stores this past summer, the L’Edge has caught the eye and praise of several of the world’s top open boaters. We decided to see what all the hype was about.

The first thing I noticed climbing into the L’Edge was the stability. The boat had excellent overall stability, with no compromise on either primary or secondary stability. I was able to confidently tilt the boat down to the gunnels, and the transitions over the edges were very smooth. In fast current and big waves I rarely felt caught off guard or had my edges unexpectedly grabbed by the water, and battling the pushy boiling water common below sets on the Ottawa was a breeze. With staying upright moved to the back of my mind, I was able to focus much more on the actual paddling.

Once you stop marveling at the fact that your new little boat hasn’t flipped you coming through that massive hole of death, you move on to praise a new god: the L’Edge’s dryness. The L’Edge was easily the driest boat I have paddled. The decks and bulkhead outfitting allowed us to plow through some huge waves with nothing to worry about but looking good for the camera. When we did manage to fill up, the boat still handled quite well. As a bonus, the L’Edge rolled up with a very manageable amount of water, so it was rare to be paddling it fully swamped.

Despite the incredible stability there is no trade off in performance. The L’Edge is comfortably predictable yet highly maneuverable. It responds to each stroke according to plan. Engaging the edges resulted in smooth carving through the current or eddy turns in the blink of an eye. Although not the fastest boat on the market, it was rare that its speed felt inadequate, even on a high volume river, and compensates with its impressive stability and dryness.

For those who like to play, the large planning hull and distinctive edges produced the best surfing any of us have experienced in an open boat. The L’Edge has unbelievable control on a wave. It was easy to maneuver across the wave without carving off as with many boats this happens more frequently, and maintaining control while in a flat spin was nearly effortless. With shouts of disbelief we were able to fluidly slide into side surfs, back surfs, fully around or back the way we came. Dare I say I even witnessed an ender?! And because of the decks, we were able to stay on the wave much longer than normal without swamping.

The L’Edge’s predictable maneuverability and stability combine to create a boat that is an easy and welcome transition from other boats. The bulkhead outfitting was both comfortable and enabled precision control of the boat. Whether coming from a Dagger Rival or an Esquif Detonator, we all felt at home in the L’Edge and it inspired us with confidence to push our paddling past our perceived limits. Surf on the mighty Garburator Wave? Why not! After a great day on the Ottawa River, I can’t wait until the spring creeks start running, and I have another chance to paddle to the Esquif L’Edge.

Currents

Currents - Episode 6 - The Kimberley, Australia from Five 2 Nine Productions on Vimeo.


Currents is a river stewardship focused WebTV program (online video documentary) which uses white water kayaking as a means to educate a broader audience about the risks threatening the world’s rivers and to help highlight the intrinsic value of preserving rivers in their natural state.
For more info and to see Episodes 1-5 go to www.five2nine.ca
Search Five 2 Nine Productions on Facebook and Twitter

Find Your Moment

Check out this inspirational film entitled "Birthright"

BIRTHRIGHT from Sean Mullens on Vimeo.


A great compelling story of passion with outstanding cinematography and editing. Very Cool.

Jackson Villian S

As most of you may know the new 2010 Jackson Star series has swept the podium at the worlds and dominated every freestyle competition on the planet. There is no doubt it is one of the hottest playboats on the market that can even make the average joe boater look and feel good. Then Jackson somehow improved what was already a great boat in the Jackson Fun series and has become the staple jack of all trades boat in the industry.

What else can they come up with in 2010? Jackson's latest boat 'The Villain'.

Photobucket
Photo courtesy of Five To Nine Productions http://five2nine.ca/

The new river creek boat that replaces the Rocker in the Jackson line up. We just got our hands on one last week and immediately sent it out for testing. Mike McKay of Five to Nine Productions http://five2nine.ca/ was kind enough to take it for a spin on the Bottom Moose in New York State and let us know what he thought:

Stats: 5'11 165lbs
Current Boat: Dagger Nomad

Boofs awesome!
Surfaces great.
Found it sluggish in some ways. A little slow at times because of funny tracking. I had to work a little harder to stay on line.
It launches though. I liked that a lot.

The outfitting was great. I really liked the shock type bulkhead. Great idea in my opinion.

I kinda thought it was a bit of an advanced boat in a way. I ran all the lines really nice in it though. However, like I said, it was a tad harder to keep on line.

I would give it a B-.

However, I am just one opinion. Thanks a lot for the opportunity to try it and let me know if you need me to do anything else for you.

Mike

The verdict is in and this baby is a boofing machine! This boat has fair amount of rocker, especially in the stern. Add this with it's soft edge and ripping in and out of micro eddies is a breeze.

Check out this vid of Stephen Wright rippin' in a Villian, shot with a HD Helmet Hero



The Villain is in stock here at the shop and we do have the demo in our rental fleet, so swing by and check it out!

The Villian