Hi Alex, wonderful review, thank you! What would you suggest I buy for a beginner who would like to get to an intermediate level forever kayak. I am a 40 year old lady who wants to do gentle white water. I really don't want to roll over. I need to be able to navigate uk water in the Peak District down rivers. I am 97kg. (15.5 stone)
Being from the UK it only seems natural to start by suggesting a Pyranha Machno. I'd also point you towards the Zet Raptor which is a really underrated intermediate boat.
Thanks for such great reviews Alex, incredibly helpful and very well articulated and put together! Got a question for you; I'm a very experienced sea kayaker and feel very confident on edge and carving turns in rough water and surf (skier too, thanks for the ski analogy in the video, I know what you mean!). I'm looking for a boat to have fun on my backyard runs with my girlfriend; mostly ranging from II+ to III+ stuff for now to build some river skills. Tried a bunch of stuff already and nothing felt great. Have tried zen 3, zen 2, and dagger rewind, all medium size. Zen 2 felt most like my sea kayak out of the three with it's edge response being something similar to what I'm used to. Was thinking of trying out the nirvana and machno, but unsure if those would be too much boat to screw about on II+, or if they would achieve what I'm looking for in a carvy, surfy boat. Any insight or thoughts into it, or recommendations on other things to try to demo would be much appreciated. For reference I'm 5'9" and about 190lb not including gear. Thanks man, and keep up the awesome work!
From the sounds of it the Nirvana will be the highest performance in the surfing/carving feel that you're looking for. However, looking for a whitewater boat that's like a sea kayak is like looking for a mountain bike that reminds you of a carbon road bike. It doesn't really make a ton of sense. You're better off accepting each for what they are. I would probably steer you to the Axiom, Rewind, or the Braaap. They will have the speed and carving you're looking for, but keep you entertained on 2-3 while your girlfriend catches up.
You left that one wide open! If you're going to be in pushy water the Nirvana is very good at carving and holding a line. Bouncing down wet rocks- the Newmad is my go to. Best dependable bro-dozer that makes everything easier - Machno
Right now my two main boats are the Machno, and the Nirvana. Paddled the Mamba for a long time. Machno for the low volume, and nirvana for high. I paddle very aggressively, so... when it's big water... Nirvana+ foam core. When it's low volume... Machno+fiberglass. IMO ***However, the nirvana does have a specific range to take full advantage of its design. If I was back around 200lbs... I'd probably shoot for the Phantom(even with its softer edges) . Around 220-250lbs.... and I'd go with the Nirvana Large. 160-180lbs... is pretty much perfect for the Nirvana M.
Brett I was specifically talking about the hull speeds of boats in the 9ft racer group (9r, Phantom, Nirvana, etc). Obviously there is going to be a major speed difference between racing and non-racing boats.
@@AlexBarham Love my Shoguns! I've broken a few on some many stuff though, so if there's a high probability that the paddle is hitting rocks... I just bring the fiberglass. Every week I'm still finding myself repairing my paddles anyway with epoxy.
Zen 2 was a Piece of shit! Surfing or do a ferry was terrible, the tip has only do drift away a little bit and it is neary impossible to bring it back on course. My old burn 3 could drift away 30° and i could bring it back with a slight sweep stroke and with the zen i needed an exceed amount of force only with 15° off angle
No it wasn't. It just came out a long time ago, and wasn't designed to be used the way it ultimately was. The Zen became the go-to for the JK crowd because the karma was so slow. For an intro river runner the Zen 2 was excellent. You still see people loving them on the Ottawa
appreciate your honest reviews...:)
Thank you!
Did you mean Nirvana (not 9r) at 6:05, or were you comparing low water in 9r vs high water in Nirvana?
Correct! Apologies
hey Alex very informative video , i was wondering if this boat would be suitable for a paddler 145-150 lbs? thanks!
Yes, you can definitely paddle it that light
Hi Alex, wonderful review, thank you! What would you suggest I buy for a beginner who would like to get to an intermediate level forever kayak. I am a 40 year old lady who wants to do gentle white water. I really don't want to roll over. I need to be able to navigate uk water in the Peak District down rivers. I am 97kg. (15.5 stone)
Being from the UK it only seems natural to start by suggesting a Pyranha Machno. I'd also point you towards the Zet Raptor which is a really underrated intermediate boat.
Thanks for such great reviews Alex, incredibly helpful and very well articulated and put together! Got a question for you; I'm a very experienced sea kayaker and feel very confident on edge and carving turns in rough water and surf (skier too, thanks for the ski analogy in the video, I know what you mean!). I'm looking for a boat to have fun on my backyard runs with my girlfriend; mostly ranging from II+ to III+ stuff for now to build some river skills. Tried a bunch of stuff already and nothing felt great. Have tried zen 3, zen 2, and dagger rewind, all medium size. Zen 2 felt most like my sea kayak out of the three with it's edge response being something similar to what I'm used to. Was thinking of trying out the nirvana and machno, but unsure if those would be too much boat to screw about on II+, or if they would achieve what I'm looking for in a carvy, surfy boat. Any insight or thoughts into it, or recommendations on other things to try to demo would be much appreciated. For reference I'm 5'9" and about 190lb not including gear. Thanks man, and keep up the awesome work!
From the sounds of it the Nirvana will be the highest performance in the surfing/carving feel that you're looking for. However, looking for a whitewater boat that's like a sea kayak is like looking for a mountain bike that reminds you of a carbon road bike. It doesn't really make a ton of sense. You're better off accepting each for what they are.
I would probably steer you to the Axiom, Rewind, or the Braaap. They will have the speed and carving you're looking for, but keep you entertained on 2-3 while your girlfriend catches up.
Thanks for the kind words! Good luck!
Great reviews, man. What do you recommend as a good all around paddler getting into Class IV? Looking for a nice go to.
You left that one wide open! If you're going to be in pushy water the Nirvana is very good at carving and holding a line. Bouncing down wet rocks- the Newmad is my go to. Best dependable bro-dozer that makes everything easier - Machno
@@AlexBarham Very helpful. Thanks!
Right now my two main boats are the Machno, and the Nirvana. Paddled the Mamba for a long time. Machno for the low volume, and nirvana for high.
I paddle very aggressively, so...
when it's big water... Nirvana+ foam core.
When it's low volume... Machno+fiberglass.
IMO
***However, the nirvana does have a specific range to take full advantage of its design. If I was back around 200lbs... I'd probably shoot for the Phantom(even with its softer edges) . Around 220-250lbs.... and I'd go with the Nirvana Large.
160-180lbs... is pretty much perfect for the Nirvana M.
Brett I was specifically talking about the hull speeds of boats in the 9ft racer group (9r, Phantom, Nirvana, etc). Obviously there is going to be a major speed difference between racing and non-racing boats.
Paddles might be another topic I cover in the future, but really I have a fleet of paddles I have been given and only ever use Shoguns
@@AlexBarham
I must have misinterpreted what you were saying about hull speed in the video.
@@AlexBarham
Love my Shoguns!
I've broken a few on some many stuff though, so if there's a high probability that the paddle is hitting rocks... I just bring the fiberglass. Every week I'm still finding myself repairing my paddles anyway with epoxy.
If that's the case you're doing something wrong. Even bashing down the mank there's just no reason to be shredding paddles on a daily basis.
Zen 2 was a Piece of shit! Surfing or do a ferry was terrible, the tip has only do drift away a little bit and it is neary impossible to bring it back on course. My old burn 3 could drift away 30° and i could bring it back with a slight sweep stroke and with the zen i needed an exceed amount of force only with 15° off angle
No it wasn't. It just came out a long time ago, and wasn't designed to be used the way it ultimately was. The Zen became the go-to for the JK crowd because the karma was so slow. For an intro river runner the Zen 2 was excellent. You still see people loving them on the Ottawa