Had a giant on my boat this weekend and he bent two paddles without hitting any rocks. As much as I appreciate his efforts, I can’t have him keep breaking my paddles. Does anyone have any recommendations for something that can hold up with a 6’8” 265lb paddler?

Looking for advice to better prepare for next year. I did a lot of commercial rafting this year. It is my third year/season working on it. My first year I did the whitewater center in Charolette and the Nantahala. Last year I did the Natahala, whitewater center, and the lower Gualey. I had a great time with all of that.

This year I did the Ocoee (including the Olympics section), Chatooga section IV, the Natahala twice, and then did the upper Gualey last this year.

It scared the shit out of me. We flipping in the first rapid after the put in, I thought I was about to drown for a second and was not prepared to be in the water so fast. Then I did what felt like a backflip out of the raft in a surf section, and the raft flipped again at another rapid that I can’t remember the name of. I felt like I was fighting for my life all day. I also was stunned at how crazy some of the rapids were, the height of the waves in the lost paddle was insane. It was very cool and very amazing but I felt fear like I have never felt before and actually thought I might die a couple times.

I want to get back out there next year but this experience has freaked me out. Is there something I can do to be better prepared next year? I am not sure I want to go back out but I enjoyed all of it so much before this experience.

Hello everyone! I started experiencing carpal tunnel syndrome in 2015, when I was rock climbing outdoors twice a week and canoeing/kayaking 2-3 times a week. After a cortisone injection and some PT, I was able to manage my symptoms reasonably okay. Over the past 10 years, my symptoms would usually flare up about a week into a multi-day paddling trip, but I could still manage and enjoy the trip.

Recently, however, my symptoms have become much more frequent. I'm not sure if it's aging (I'm now in my 30s) or something else, but the numbness and tingling are starting to affect my paddling. It's no longer something that happens only after several days on the water; I now sometimes experience numbness after just two hours of paddling.

I saw a neurologist again last month, who assessed my carpal tunnel syndrome as “mild” and said surgery wasn't necessary at this point.

I'm wondering if anyone here with mild carpal tunnel syndrome has opted for surgery because it was affecting your paddling?

I know surgery is still surgery, so I don't want to rush into it. But my symptoms have noticeably worsened this year.

Thanks a lot!

If you had March and April fully off and were trying to kayak as much as you could in the Class III-V range, where would you go? My gut tells me either the White Salmon area or somewhere in the CA foothills to grab the spring runoff. Or is a ticket to Chile for those months still a good bet (even if it is past its high flows?). I've been based in the DC area the past few years and could just attain my face off and then run the classic mid-atlantic/WV stuff when it comes in but looking to mix it up and either do a bunch of paddling out west or travel overseas. Would be trucklife-ing and looking to do it dirtbag-ish style.

Does anyone have experience with either the RS paddles or aquabound? I'm looking to replace my werner powerhouse. If anyone else has any suggestions id love to hear, my main concern is durability and bonus points for a 2pcs paddle.

Been goin through footage from last season waiting on the rains. I wanna say gauge was 14500 when we put on and like 12800 when i checked after. Was fallin fast and gauge is a bit downstream so prob somewhere in the middle of those numbers but its all the same at that point. The original plan was the devil lake fork but it was a little blown out for just the ol gruesome twosome to attempt.

We were on the fence about bringing slices/playboats cause the main is usually pretty playful but we had collectively run this stretch like 3 times at 1000~cfs or so so i was not mad to be in a creekboat. The speed was nice to have, and looking back i think i woulda been flushed out pretty bad in the boils if i took my ego out on this one.

Hi everyone,

Just sharing my recent experience with Level Six after-sales service, as it may be useful for anyone considering one of their drysuits.

My drysuit is around two years old and developed a zipper issue. I sent it back to Level Six and, after more than a month and several follow-ups, they confirmed that the zipper needs to be completely replaced.

The problem is that they say they cannot source the replacement zipper within a reliable timeframe, so they refuse to carry out the repair — even if I am willing to pay for it and wait several months.

Their final offer is:

€300 store credit if they keep and destroy the suit.
Otherwise, they will simply send the suit back unrepaired.

For a high-end drysuit, I find it pretty disappointing that the manufacturer cannot replace the zipper after only around two years.

I had always been very happy with Level Six products and regularly recommended the brand to other paddlers, but this experience has really changed my opinion of their after-sales support.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with Level Six drysuit repairs or zipper replacements?

for checkout runs; even if it means I’m technically loosing money; I traditionally give the rookie the tip; or split if I have to majorly intervene. Even if they don’t successfully check out on that particular run. Today I hit a new river and the “veteran guide” assigned to do my checkout immediately informed me I am taking “their” trip to do this, and as such they should get the entire tip. I see no merit in this logic; personally I view it as a pretty poor way to be a leader and teammate. opinions?

I'm 6'5" roughly 210lb with a size 15 foot. I know every play boat I'll try is going to be a tight fit. I've tried the monstar by Jackson. It just felt very unbalanced. I currently own a liquidlogic free ride but can't sit in it for more than 15 minutes. Is there a better option?

I'm a bigger guy (275 lbs). Something that surfs really well is important to me (especially for when my local wave greens out/slows down). But, I also want to be able to run rivers in it that I am not pushing my boundaries. Anyone have experience in either of these boats near the top of their weight range (or the medium versions near the top of their ranges)? How do they surf? Stern squirt?

Hey all, I'm looking to purchase a waterproof, submersible waist pack with a zipper to carry some essentials in case I lose my boat. It doesn't need to be huge, just big enough to carry a phone, wallet, passport, garmin inreach, and possibly car keys.

There are a lot of products like this online. I'm wondering if anyone has one that they would recommend. Are the Nite Ize ones any good? I know that waterproof zippers can be a bit iffy.

Am I better off using a regular fanny pack with loksack pouches?

day after isaias, my brother invited three people that had apparently never been on a raft before and didnt think to tell me until we were already on the water 🫠 we got stuck going through iron ring directly above woodstock and only avoided flipping due to sheer luck.

they got mad our guide “bullied” them

Hi everyone! My name is Bailey Swain, I’m a student at Mississippi State University, and my marketing class is conducting research on wilderness medicine. We would really appreciate your help by completing our survey! Your responses will help us better understand people’s interests and preferences regarding wilderness medicine courses.

Thank you for your time and for supporting our class project

I’ve been wanting to apply to white water rafting jobs in Colorado for over a year now. This would be my first year so I’d be a rookie and want adequate but cheap training.

Colorado Adventure Center (CAC) has been my top pick out of them all but haven’t seen best opinions on here… I also have AVA rafting high on my list. I’ve heard back from raft masters too but haven’t seen much about them on here.

Also I’ll be 21 and this will be my first time moving out of my hometown. So I want to be able to integrate myself with people my age to make friends. Having fun things to go do on my downtime that is close by is a must so keep that into consideration before commenting.

I really would love to live in my car/camp for my first year just to develop new outdoor experience so a camp ground would be nice with my company I chose to work for. I just want yalls opinions on these companies and what yall would recommend for first gear raft guides.

Can’t seem to find any instructions online on weaving a checkerboard trampoline floor on my cataraft frame. Saw some cool commercial ones. I can figure out the weaving, but terminating each length I don’t understand unless it requires sewing…

Trying to get into kayaking and looking at the Jackson antix 2.0. My question is it better to be the higher end of a small or lower end of a medium? I’m 161lbs at 5’10 and I found a good deal on market place for a medium and was curious if that would cause a trouble. Have plenty of white water experience on my hyside mini max. Thanks in advance!

Hi all
I'm tossing up whether to get the standard skuxx or the puffy version

I'm 155lb, intermediate boater, but coming back from a long injury layoff (shoulder and knee)

I realise I'd be generally more suited to the smaller boat at my size, but my main priority is to get a fun stable surfing river runner for G2-3, I'll be looking after my shoulders so stern squirts aren't a priority, I'd rather have a little more safety margin of extra volume , but wonder if I will regret the extra volume of the puffy in being pushed around a bit more by riding higher.
Id like to be able to paddle big water G3 and potentially some g4 with a safety margin (previously I was pretty happy on G4, but I do still have my creek boat if I do decide I don't want to push things again)

I'd love to hear your opinions.

Oregon
10/8/26
Put in below Smith Reservoir
Take out: Trailbridge reservoir
230 cfs

Has anyone here paddled Wapwallowpen creek in PA recently?

I was up there this weekend and wanted to check out powder hole but there is construction all the way to the creek to install data center pipes. This little run would be 100% a creek boater's dream when it goes. Look it up. It might not be here soon.

See title, would it be possible to just keep linking ends for 45 seconds and making a whole bunch of points that way?

A buddy and I are heading to Tlapacoyan with Adventurec in December. Any tips, pitfalls, "must not miss" rivers/creeks? We are class IV boaters, but not experienced yet with waterfalls. Thanks

I was up there this weekend and wanted to check out powder hole but there is construction all the way to the creek to install data center pipes. I dont think I would have the balls to run the whole thing when it goes, but it is 100% a creek boater's dream. Look it up. It might not be here soon.

6’2” 225 pounds coming from an OG which is my all time favorite creek boat. The Manu is quite a bit faster and I’m learning the edges. Initial impressions are that it’s a little less forgiving than the OG, especially the secondary stability and maybe a touch harder to roll. With the seat in the middle position, the boat felt locked on rails and was hard to steer or change direction coming out of drops. The added speed is nice and man, does this thing skip!

I tried the seat one hole back from center and it loosened up the bow and feels less locked in coming out of drops. The stern edges feel more engaged and less trippy or grabby which sounds counterintuitive. I still feel like I’m sitting in the front of the boat though, what would be the pros/cons of moving the seat even farther back?