Enjoyed listening to this, Defiantly agree about the playboating. You can challenge yourself without steep consequences. Endless cycle of gaining confidence and seeing if you are humbled by the river. Great job pointing out ways to mitigate as much of the risk as possible.
Matt I think this type of video is very good and needed I am over 40 and started kayaking white water about the time Covid started so I’m not very experienced but I new one of the first things I needed to learn was how to roll and have spent many hours working on it , it’s not boom proof yet but it is getting better and better another thing I do is watch videos and I watch the paddle strokes and practice them and I got a good group of old guys I ride with
I'm in a similar place. 45yo, live in TX so time on moving water usually involves travel. This is why I put in a lot of flatwater roll practice so when I do get the opportunity to get on moving water I can enjoy it more.
Dude, the crew thing is spot on! Running some of those PFD’s with you guys this year like the upper G and the Green, man, the level of stoke with y’all was so so high. Bandits4Lyfe brahhhhh
Sound advice, I’ve fallen in with a good crew that have boosted my confidence and are giving good advice on improving fundamentals. Soon as spring breaks I plan to hit up h2o dreams in saluda for swift water and creeking classes. Hopefully by years end I will be able to run the things I want to using skill and experience instead of over exuberance and dumb luck
Great video! I've been boating about 8 years and spent the 1st 6 in a playboat most of the time. Taught me a bombproof roll and good boat control. I didn't really learn good judgement though. I think that's something I see lacking sometimes in newer boaters that have stepped it up quickly is the ability to scout a rapid and match up what they see with their own abilities. Paddling with a good crew that knows you and has a safety mentality has filled that gap for me over the past year.
Thanks for your insights, Matt! I've been paddling now for about 20 years and have been riding the class IV plateau forever. Since moving to the D.C. area a couple years ago, I started exploring runs above my comfort zone with solid, highly skilled paddlers. This is definitely increasing my confidence as I work towards stouter class V runs. I really appreciate you mentioning the importance of playboating, too! I took a playboating series (Calleva's Surf Academy) with Bobby Miller last fall which really increased my sense of control in holes, whether I intentionally dropped into them or not. It also got me testing out new ways to have fun on normal everyday runs, like surfing things I never would have imagined I could. I totally agree with you on rolling...having a bombproof roll makes progressing so much easier and way more fun!
Solid stuff brother! Myself and a few others I know get told we are progressing too quickly on a fairly common basis. Question for you - how do you find the line between progressing too fast vs not progressing fast at all? For example, in the past I've had people tell me I'm ready to run the upper gauley, and others tell me that I should be paddling a minimum of a few more years before I get on the Ocoee. And this is within the same week!
Honestly in my opinion it’s up to you and seat time. Some people can paddle not every often for 20 years and some people get more seat time in a summer than those 20 years combined. I think if your respect the river, have a good crew, and be mind set and read the day you do something stout then it will go the best it can. Evaluate your skills..solid roll, solid hole skills, solid river running skills, solid creeking skills, solid swimming skills, good cardio conditioning and muscle condition, proper boat? I think if you look at those things yourself and you think your ready then you are ready. Just don’t let social media influence your decision to do something dangerous. I think we all get in trouble (including myself) trying to keep up with the Jones’s so to speak.
Who are these people running more than class 2-3 with out a legit roll? I also can't imagine not wanting to at least dabble in play boating. I can't travel like some people, so full slicing on the same class 2-3 runs (read: doing stupid stuff in a controlled environment) makes up 80% of my paddling. I'm always pleasantly surprised how those boat control skills and underwater time translates to hard runs. Ultimately, you have to beater sometimes to learn, but doing it in the appropriate setting is key.
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Enjoyed listening to this, Defiantly agree about the playboating. You can challenge yourself without steep consequences. Endless cycle of gaining confidence and seeing if you are humbled by the river. Great job pointing out ways to mitigate as much of the risk as possible.
Thanks for watching and I appreciate the feedback!
Matt I think this type of video is very good and needed I am over 40 and started kayaking white water about the time Covid started so I’m not very experienced but I new one of the first things I needed to learn was how to roll and have spent many hours working on it , it’s not boom proof yet but it is getting better and better another thing I do is watch videos and I watch the paddle strokes and practice them and I got a good group of old guys I ride with
Just keep working hard and getting after it and you will get there !
I'm in a similar place. 45yo, live in TX so time on moving water usually involves travel. This is why I put in a lot of flatwater roll practice so when I do get the opportunity to get on moving water I can enjoy it more.
Dude, the crew thing is spot on! Running some of those PFD’s with you guys this year like the upper G and the Green, man, the level of stoke with y’all was so so high. Bandits4Lyfe brahhhhh
Bandits bro !
Sound advice, I’ve fallen in with a good crew that have boosted my confidence and are giving good advice on improving fundamentals. Soon as spring breaks I plan to hit up h2o dreams in saluda for swift water and creeking classes. Hopefully by years end I will be able to run the things I want to using skill and experience instead of over exuberance and dumb luck
Sounds like a solid plan. Chris wing is an excellent teacher!
This is good advice, great video!
Thanks !
Great video! I've been boating about 8 years and spent the 1st 6 in a playboat most of the time. Taught me a bombproof roll and good boat control. I didn't really learn good judgement though. I think that's something I see lacking sometimes in newer boaters that have stepped it up quickly is the ability to scout a rapid and match up what they see with their own abilities. Paddling with a good crew that knows you and has a safety mentality has filled that gap for me over the past year.
Thanks for watching and thanks for sharing. Good points !
Thanks for your insights, Matt! I've been paddling now for about 20 years and have been riding the class IV plateau forever. Since moving to the D.C. area a couple years ago, I started exploring runs above my comfort zone with solid, highly skilled paddlers. This is definitely increasing my confidence as I work towards stouter class V runs. I really appreciate you mentioning the importance of playboating, too! I took a playboating series (Calleva's Surf Academy) with Bobby Miller last fall which really increased my sense of control in holes, whether I intentionally dropped into them or not. It also got me testing out new ways to have fun on normal everyday runs, like surfing things I never would have imagined I could. I totally agree with you on rolling...having a bombproof roll makes progressing so much easier and way more fun!
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Also cool to hear what others do. Thanks for watching!! Wishing the best and stouts in the future !
Great stuff, I personally returning back to basic fundamentals
Good tips! Always appreciate your sensible approach.
Thanks appreciate it !
Solid stuff brother! Myself and a few others I know get told we are progressing too quickly on a fairly common basis. Question for you - how do you find the line between progressing too fast vs not progressing fast at all? For example, in the past I've had people tell me I'm ready to run the upper gauley, and others tell me that I should be paddling a minimum of a few more years before I get on the Ocoee. And this is within the same week!
Honestly in my opinion it’s up to you and seat time. Some people can paddle not every often for 20 years and some people get more seat time in a summer than those 20 years combined. I think if your respect the river, have a good crew, and be mind set and read the day you do something stout then it will go the best it can. Evaluate your skills..solid roll, solid hole skills, solid river running skills, solid creeking skills, solid swimming skills, good cardio conditioning and muscle condition, proper boat? I think if you look at those things yourself and you think your ready then you are ready. Just don’t let social media influence your decision to do something dangerous. I think we all get in trouble (including myself) trying to keep up with the Jones’s so to speak.
Good stuff
Thanks !
Who are these people running more than class 2-3 with out a legit roll? I also can't imagine not wanting to at least dabble in play boating. I can't travel like some people, so full slicing on the same class 2-3 runs (read: doing stupid stuff in a controlled environment) makes up 80% of my paddling. I'm always pleasantly surprised how those boat control skills and underwater time translates to hard runs. Ultimately, you have to beater sometimes to learn, but doing it in the appropriate setting is key.
Sad to say tons of people run class 5 without a solid roll or a roll at all. Appreciate the feedback!