Liam returns from Ecuador.

Ecuador 2012. 

Last week I returned from a 3 week kayaking trip in Ecuador and I still haven't stopped smiling. I spend most my hours in the Summer on the water teaching kayaking to and I absolutely love it. Though with the winter coming up I knew I was to be spending a bit more time indoors and started getting itchy feet so I decided to book a trip to Ecuador, South America. I'd had my eye on this location for over a year and a half.

Past trips to France, Italy and Switzerland have all ways been with a group of friends and organizing everything for ourselves. That's something I love doing. Though this time I wanted a different sort of trip. Admittedly I wanted to be a little lazy. So headed out on my to Ecuador on my own and joined Small World Adventures an outfitter who spend the winter months guiding week long trips and clinics . They have been guiding there for 15 plus years. Accommodation, food, drivers, vans boats were all part of the cost. This meant I could relax and save your energy for the paddling!

Enjoy the Photos!

See our gallery!

50% Off Big Dog Kayaks at the Pots Rodeo.

Big Dog kayaks are giving away a massive 50% Off voucher to the winning uni team at this weekends
 Pots Rodeo and Boater-Exe.

The winning team get a Big Dog kayak of their choice and only pay for half of it. Thats a BIG prize.

The event is still open to anyone over the age of 18 (on the day of competition) but this prize if for Uni teams only.

                                         www.potsrodeo.co.uk

Get all the event info on the Pots Website.

Lettmann Paddles now in stock.

Lettmann Paddles, high spec, high tech, high performance kayak paddles now in stock. If you've not heard of Lettmann paddles before here is what you need to know; They are designed and hand built in Germany from the highest quality materials, to offer you the highest levels of performance. Lettmann was founded by Klaus Lettmann and they have their roots in competitive sport. No wonder, founder of the enterprise, Klaus Lettmann, was white water racing champion of the world. And his son and successor, Jochen Lettmann, is several times canoe slalom champion of Germany and got the bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Barcelona.

 Lettmann paddles are used today by many competitive paddlers, whether in polo, whitewater racing, slalom, or extreme racing. Local paddlers Steve 'Ugg' Whetman  and Ed Cornfield swear by their Lettmann paddles, and UK extreme racer Pete Scutt uses his while competing in the Etive river race and the Adidas Sickline.

Lettmann Ergo pro Extrem LCS70 whitewater paddle

Lettmann paddles are hand made, laid into a mould and then vacum formed, to ensure that the paddles contain the perfect balance of materials to resin, for maximum strength and minimal weight. The blades and shaft of Lettmann paddles are made as one piece, making them stronger and lighter, with a single joint in the centre of the shaft.

 

Lettmann Ergo pro LCS50 whitewater paddle

Lettmann paddles are available with Lettmanns Ergonomic shaft. The Crank shaft has a 'pistol' style grip that helps to naturally align your hands and wrists. This causes less stress and fatigue helping you to deliver more powerful strokes. The blades are also in front of the centre line of the shaft, which makes smoother and easier to control power strokes, while allowing you use a lighter grip.

Lettmann Ergo pro LCS50 touring paddle

The Profile blades feature a foam core, which helps to create exceptional stiffness and performance. The 3-D profile is based on an aeroplane wing. Like a wing, as a fluid passes over it creates pressure differences between the two faces, resulting in a super efficient power delivery. Draw strokes and bow rudders become super smooth and clean strokes. The foam core profile also has inherent buoyancy which helps improve rolling and bracing.

Lettmann Nordic WW LCS70 wing paddle



We will be stocking a range of the Lettmann paddles for both whitewater and touring paddlers in a range of different constructions.

The LCS70 Extrem construction is the top of the range construction, that has Carbon and Aramid blades and a Carbon shaft.

The LCS50 construction has Carbon and Glass blades and a Carbon Shaft.

We will be stocking the following range of paddles.

The Ergo profile Extrem LCS70 Whitewater paddle

The Ergo profile LCS50 Whitewater paddle

The Ergo profile LCS50 Touring paddle

The Nordic WW LCS70 Wing paddle

For more info, or to try out a set of paddles pop into our waterside Exeter shop, or call the shop on 01392 219600

Pots Rodeo and Boater Exe up date.

Its all looking very good for next weekends Exeter Uni canoe Club event at Flower Pots- Mill on the Exe.


Mill on the Exe are putting on a Beer and Burger deal and will have drinks promos on the night. Don't worry as this year they have bought extra Hot Chocolate in to cope with demand.

Yak Adventure equipment will have a selection of drysuits for paddlers to test. Try out their new Titan suit along with some more of the range.  You may have to have your photo taken though!
There will be discounts available on the suit on the day and also vouchers for discount after the event.


Win a Titan drysuit on the upcoming Facebook competition. Keep your eyes on this page: Yak Adventure Equipment.

Booming Sounds to keep you amped up and ready to rumble provided by Sound Events

This years event is raising money for the Devon Air Ambulance. A very usefull serivce for paddlers who need help in remote locations. It is also a very expensive to run service and is funded by donations. Please dig deep and fill the collection buckets on site.
You can find out more about the Devon Air Ambulance Trust here: www.daat.org

Pots Rodeo Saturday 4th Feb. Mill on the Exe  www.potsrodeo.co.uk

Another happy customer.

 Just before Christmas we sent another shiny kayak on its way to the water. This one was a beauty as well.

 The pictures don't do it justice as this P+H Cetus HV was stunning. The blue and black worked really well and the finish was impeccable. With a glass and Diolen layup this Cetus was a great weight and nicely durable. It even had a foam stiffener laid into the hull inside the boat. Which you can see inside the cockpit as a white strip.

 Factory fitted with a towing cleat and bullseye ready for towing and rescues. We then fitted a Silva 70p compass for further sea worthiness.

 Custom graphics finally set this Cetus HV off a treat. All ready for its soon to be very happy owner!

 Stunning and shiney black and blue. The black is not always advised for sea boats as it does show the scratches, this one was fitted with a keel strip to help keep it in good nick, the keelstrip was coloured to hull to keep it all looking smooth.

 Left hand side skeg slider controls. A skeg is still the most popular option on sea kayaks instead of rudders.

Colin, super pleased with his new P+H Cetus HV. What a great match to his van!  Colin used the P+H kayak customiser tool on the website to check out his dream boat. http://www.phseakayaks.com/

Order a P+H Cetus online today: P+H Cetus

Gear Trippin'!

Trippin'! No, not psychedelics but moving your kit about. Sea to Summit are an Australian brand that have some really neat transportation solutions. Infact their canoe and kayak range is called Solution Gear.
Ewart has been testing the Gear Trip Deck bag and is loving it.

"So my trusty Nookie dry bag finally got binned. It was over 5 years old and was showing it. Thrown in the back of the van, dragged around Europe and kicked around Newbridge car park. It didn't get any love but it held up well. New kit bag time it was. The next in line was a very nice Ortlieb Rack pack. This now serves as my main kit bag. However I always have too many bits of extra kit in it. Spare thermals, socks, gloves etc.
Which is always handy to loan out if someone forgets something.  The only problem was I kept chucking my wet kit back in the bag with all the spare dry stuff. I needed help". (yes, we know that Ewart).

 Enter the Gear Trip from Sea to Summit. We first saw these last Autumn and thought they were good.
The idea is that you can store all your wet kit safely inside your kayak and it drains into your boat at the same time. The bag is made up of a nice ripstop nylon on the top and base with mesh sides for draining. A strong shock cord helps keep it on the cockpit rim and there is a nice big handle to pull it off and to carry it.

The gear trip fitted to a Wavesport Habitat 74 creek boat. You can see the handle at the front and the shock cord coming out the back. There is a slider on the shock cord to keep it tight around the boat.

Sea To Summit Gear Trip open

Here you can see the mesh sides to the bag that allow the drainage into your kayak.

A two way zip means you can open from either direction. There is plenty of room for every day paddling kit. Inside you can see Ewarts Palm Fuse cag in the LTD edition Harlequin colours and a Yak Descent pfd. Also inside are some Five-Ten Water Tennies, Yak Moray dry pants, Sweet Saviour thermal, Yak Toki thermal, Palm Ti soxs, Sweet Rocker helmet and a Playboat Pro team deck. Every thing Ewart needs for a day on the river. There is space for more as well. Then when you get home you can just chuck it in the bath, rinse off your kit and then carry it outside to hang up.

Over  all a great kit bag. £44.95, instock and ready to rock. Click to buy here.

More Exe Big Paddle pics

A few more pics from the Exe Big Paddle back in October. Showing yet again what a great day it was.

                                                      Signing during the prize giving

                                                          Carboard construction madness.

                                  Ewarts dad Peter gets back on the water for the first time in 20 years.

                      The guided tours were popular. The Exe above Topsham is perfect for all paddlers.

 Some cardboard canoes lasted better than others. The unseasonally good weather made swimming a lot of fun.

Sun, water and kayaks = massive fun! The Perception Expression and Dagger Alchemy are just perfect touring boats for this kind of water. Stable, responsive but not twitchy, fun and comfortable.  Ideal for begginers or even those coming back to paddling after a long break.

 St James, or Salmon Pool weir. Nice and easy in the summer levels. This weir is easily portaged if you dont want to run it (get out on the pontoon river right above the weir and put back in using the steps below. Just out of shot to the left).

This is all part of the Exeter canoe loops routes. Download the Exeter Canoe Loops map.

the Rivers Source, A white water symposium

The Rivers Source is a new event being hosted by leading white water coaching  and guiding company Gene17 Kayaking in January 2012.

A.S Watersports will be hosting a repair workshop on the Saturday afternoon/evening.
During the workshop you will be able to learn how to fix your boat if you have split it. Workshop style repairs, when you have all your tools and repair materials and river bank repairs when its just what you have with you.

Get information on what to carry and how to use it.
In the second part of the workshop you can have a go at fixing your own kayak. If you haven't broken it it we will supply lots of pre-split plastic for you to try your new found welding skills.

See the info below more more details and how to book.

Always one to open new doors, Gene17 will start the New Year with a brand new event, The River’s Source, a coaching event for White Water Paddlers. This Symposium will be organised along three themes; Paddler, Club/Business & Industry and of course hosted in Devon, at the prime location of the River Dart Country Park.




We’ll invite all the leading providers, industry contributors and experts from far ranging fields. Work shops on white water kayak design, or a Q&A session about the legal position of a coach or club leader, starting a club or developing a competition/coaching programme, the list will be extensive and inviting.



We’ll offer the Symposium to day visitors and weekenders a like, see the River’s Source – a White Water Symposium for details. Symposium news along with other news from Gene17 can be found at Gene17Kayaking Facebook Group Events and our Twitter feed.

Booking info and full programme: the Rivers Source

Big "O" Film Show this weekend! Friday 2nd December

The Gene17 Adventure Paddlers weekend at the River Dart Country Park in Ashburton Devon is always one of our faveourite kayaking events. It has grown and grown and is now probabley the biggest gathering of white water paddlers in the South west and also with exception of the Student rodeo one of the biggest in the country. Usually blessed with good water levels (not looking too bad so far this year) its a great chance to hook up with firends old and new to share ideas about trips, get information on any aspect of an expedition and have a jolly good social.

The Friday night see the the Big O Film show. Olaf Obsommer is one of europes best ww paddlers and an amazing film maker. Come and see for your self!

Friday 2nd December’s entertainment, Olaf’s Adventure Kayak Movie Show in the Ballroom at the River Dart, for 19:30 to start at 20:00, online booking, £7.50 or £8 at the door.



The BIG-O movie tour programme takes about 90 minutes. 5 films will be shown, plus Q&A sessions.



From the Big O Studios the Adventure Kayaking Show trailer in English



Here’s the programme:

Ecuador – Jungle Adventure

Olaf Obsommer is fascinated by the primeval forest with all its plants and animals since a long time. When he and his team faced the challenges of »the gorge of holy waterfalls« on Rio Upano, things started to get serious. For Obsommer one of the pinnacles of his paddling career: »Rio Upano is Ecuador’s biggest head stream of the mighty Amazon. I brought home tons of amazing footage from South America, wild animals and spectacular scenery from this trip.«



Galapagos – Big Boss on holidays

Olaf shares his trip of a lifetime to the last paradise on earth with us. Sea lions, marine turtles, albatross, iguanas and many more exotic animals will fascinate the audience.



Mexico – a real river god

On their never-ending quest for the ultimate river god Olaf and the A-list of international kayaking travelled to Mexico’s Agua Azul. Here they found amazing whitewater, committing waterfalls and indescribable landscapes. Not only the whitewater paddlers will be thrilled by this segment – also the landlubbers will feel the adventurous spirit of this trip.



California – shattered dreams

California is known as the eldorado of steep creeking action. Every ambitious kayaker dreams about a trip to the High Serrias in the »Golden State«. But sometimes the weather just pees on your parade. A severe winter with a lot of snow issued a totally new challenge to the group and the boys had to learn that not every wish comes true.



Canada – Tatshenshini River

The »Tat« is a must-do for every canoeist. Approachable only by boat this remote river flows through the Canadian territory of British Columbia and Yukon. Grizzly-Bears and white-tailed eagles line the banks, majestic glaciers cover the surrounding mountains. After the Tatshenshini joins the Alsek River this crosses the US border and flows into the Pacific Ocean. For this trip Olaf teamed up with some friends to enjoy the rough beauty of North America and to shoot footage for his latest adventure documentary. This time it was not about the extreme but about the divine natural setting.

The New Dagger Mamba 8.1, Spitting venom and ready for action

Straight out of the oven at Dagger Europe and now lurking in a corner of the AS Watersports shop, (ready to strike at any passing whitewater paddler) its the new Dagger Mamba 8.1. The design team at Dagger took the already successful and very popular Mamba range and have refined it to make it even better than before.

Spitting venom and ready for action, the new Dagger Mamba 8.1

The new Mamba features some neat and subtle differences from the original, all aimed at making the new Mamba quicker, smoother and easier to paddle. Whether you are just starting out in whitewater paddling, or a gnarly creeker the new Mamba ought to be on your hit list.

The New Dagger Mamba 8.1, looks fantastic!

First up the size/volume. All of the new Mambas are now slightly larger than the originals, this means that they fit a wider range of paddlers, and have a bit more room for comfort too. The popular mid sized Mamba the 8.1 will fit a wide range of paddlers from 70-100kg, while the larger 8.6 now fits 80-118kg while the smaller 7.6 fits paddler upto 77kg.

New Mamba on the left, old Mamba on the right

The hull shape has had a few small tweaks as well. The rocker profile has changed, with a slight injection of extra volume in the stern, to keep the speed up and also to keep it stable when punching through holes, crossing eddy lines and boils and exiting drops.

The Extra volume, and tweaked rocker in the tail. Extra speed and stability

Also on the hull the rails have been lifted slightly, this allows better edging, more forgiveness and the rails are less likely to trip over rocks or obstructions. Yet it will still carve in and out of eddies and across the current, and it will still snap into the smallest of micro eddies.

Over view of new and old. The New Mamba on the right and the old one on the left.

The New Dagger Mamba range has something to offer everyone on the river. There are three sizes to fit a huge range of people and there are two levels of outfitting. The river spec Mamba has an easy to adjust seat, and a welded hull stiffener, that allows you to move the seat forward or back by around 10cm. As well as the standard hip pads, full plate footrest, ratchet adjustable backrest, adjustable thigh braces and grab handles. This spec is great for paddlers who are looking at getting their first river runner, or clubs and centres who want an easy to adjust boat to fit a wide range of paddlers.
 Then there is the Creek spec, which comes with Daggers tough rotomoulded seat and bow stiffener. This spec is designed for the creek boaters and hardened whitewater fans. The extra strength and stiffness that the solid seat offers is a vital safety factor when you are planning to rack up the gradient.

Let Simon Westgarth tell you more about the new Mamba

 

New Dagger Mamba Overview - Coming Soon from James Bebbington on Vimeo.

The New Mamba is currently only available in the 8.1 size and in the adjustable spec, but fear not the boys and girls at Dagger are working feverishly to get the rest of the sizes and the full range of outfitting ready. We are expecting to see the rest of the range coming in early next year.

 You can check out all the specs on our website - Dagger Mamba River and Dagger Mamba Creek



Burn vs Shiva, Pyranhas big boats go head to head.

With the new Shiva gettting ready to roll off the production line this winter you may be undecided which boat is for you.

Heres a little more on how to choose the right boat for you.

Burn V Shiva (Rails V Round Hull)
It’s all about the paddler really, how do you paddle and how do you like your boat to respond?

The Burns hard, carving rails give a precise and controlled feel, letting you drive around the river easily and the flat hull lets you surf and ferry with style. Do you like to make every little micro eddy? Work the river and enjoy a stylish and technical run? Then the Burn is probably the one for you.

The Shiva on the other hand has a rounded hull, soft stern chines a massive rocker and loads of volume. These features give you softer landings on big drops, rear driving force when you want it, awesome boofability and resurfacing capability. If you are running big drops and pushing harder lines the Shiva is the one you want.

Shiva – Ultimate Steep Creeker

Features
Rounded Hull – Forgiving - Gives softer landings on big drops.
Smooth Stern Chines - No rails to trip you up but the chines gives driving force when you need it.
Progressive Rocker - Easy to Boof and Flair over features.
High Volume Bow & Stern – rides easily over features, resurfaces quickly.
Stern release edge - Allows really fast lines for drive. Low profile deck – Easy to roll.

RRP £949.00

Burn – Precision Creek Machine

Features
Flat Hull – Dynamic - planning surface for surfing and ferrying.
Hard Carving Rails – Precision carving capability around the river.
Aggressive Rocker – For great boofability.
Medium volume bow and stern – Punches through features.
‘V’ed deck – sheds water and resurfaces with control.
Reprofiled deck – Easy to roll.

Staff member Ewart getting to grips with some tight steep technical paddling in the Pyranha Burn.

That's what Pyranha say. We think if you are paddling in the South West either boat will be good but the Burn may just have the edge as we just don't have any big water falls but we sure have some great technical paddling.

Burns are instock in all sizes, and we are able to offer some great prices for these instock colours.

RRP £949.00 Very special offer: £799.00

Call now to see what colours we have instock

01392 219600

Dart Loop Maps

We are now stocking some very pretty maps of the Dart "Loop" by local artisit and paddler Julie Perren.

We have this version and soon will have a version with descriptions of the major rapids.

Call now or buy online by clicking the image above

Watermark Experiences

Watermark Experiences Weekend, River Dart Country Park, Ashburton, Devon.

12th-13th November 2011

Our friend Debs sent some info over about her new project with Matt Tidy.

Debs has run a few youth trips now and this looks like a great project.

Here's a bit more info. Spread the word.

Twice World Freestyle Champion Deb Pinniger and internationally renowned whitewater kayaker Matt Tidy are planning the official launch of their new Community Interest Company: Watermark Experiences, at the River Dart Country Park on the 12th-13th of November 2011.
Watermark Experiences offers an ongoing programme of unique and challenging kayak adventures for young people aged 12 to 23.

We would like to invite young kayakers, clubs, youth groups, schools and their volunteer coaches to this free event, offering a chance to meet up with the Zanskar expedition team who have recently returned from India, and to discuss Watermark Experiences adventures for 2012. There will of course be some fun on the water and a limited number of free-guided river trips.
We hope to see you there.
For more information on this launch weekend see our web site
Or e-mail

Sweet Protection specials back on.

We have extended our special offers on Sweet Protection soft wear and selected helmets.
Sweet gear is designed in one of the worlds premier white water destinations, Norway and tested world wide by a high flying test team including Rush Struges and Mariann Saether.

Sweet use Gortex Pro shell and Performance shell fabrics. The Pro shell has a super tough outer with a highly breathable membrane. Designed to keep you comfortable in all conditions.

Performance shell, as used in the Shadrack is a lighter more flexible 2 layer fabric. Better for the high activity of freestyle and playboateing or just the paddler who keeps on moving.


This kit is awesome to to give it the recognition it deserves we are offering some pretty amazing prices..
Click the banner to see the awesome deals on offer.
Or call in store and talk to one of our sales staff.







Click the button to see what we've got.

Sealect Designs Anchor trolley kit

Sealect Designs have a new Anchor trolley kit coming out this winter. With the trolly being such an important part of anchoring it helps to have a good one.
When Ryan from Sealect showed it to us at the Kanumesse show in Germany we knew it would be a great addition to our Kayak fishing accesories range.





The kit has very thing you need to fit it and it all comes in a nice resealable box which is usefull for outfitting bits and bobs, spare parts or even putting tackle in.
Pre order online now for early December delivery.

Order here: Sealect Designs Anchor trolley kit at A.S Watersports

Putting the boot in, with the new Liquidlogic Stomper

We've just been lucky enough to get our hands on the new Liquidlogic Stomper 80, so we thought we'd give you a quick run down on this great new kayak.


Many peoples first thoughts are, "It looks just like a Jefe, whats the difference?". Yes, at first glance you'd be hard pushed to spot any difference, but if you look again a few subtle changes will start to emerge.




Starting with some of the small differences, on the inside it still sports the fantastic and comfortable 'Bad-ass' outfitting, but it has been tweaked. It is possible now to flip the whole backband up and out of the way, allowing easy access to the rear of your kayak, great for getting your gear in and out, whether its your lunch, rescue gear or overnight expedition kit!

Comfy 'bad-ass' outfitting

The new flip over backband

Easy access to the back of the Stomper

Another small change that you might not spot straight away is the rear deck. The sides of the Stomper are softer and more rounded than the Jefe. Meaning water is less likely to load up on the rear deck, making it easier to paddle in boily, confused water.

Softer rear deck profile

But the biggest difference by far is the hull. The Stomper features a Semi-planning hull, with a flat central section, and softer higher rails. The Rocker profile has had some changes too. This makes the Stomper faster, and easier to turn in all situations. Combined with a more rounded sidewall this makes the Stomper easy to edge, and stable on edge too.

Semi-planning hull, with softer higher rails

So, if you are looking for a new creek boat, or just looking for your first river runner the Stomper is the boat for you. Stable, fast, easy turning, great boofing, comfortable, tough and with 5 attachment points.

The Stomper is available in two sizes the 80 and the 90.

The 80 is suitable for paddler 50-95kg and the 90 is suitable for paddlers 77-122kg.

Check out the Stomper in our webshop