Whitewater Forum: 2012 Creek Boats
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2012 Creek Boats

Printed From: ProfessorPaddle.com
Category: General
Forum Name: Whitewater Forum
Forum Discription: Open Discussion Forum. Whitewater related subjects only
URL: http://www.professorpaddle.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11749
Printed Date: 28 Mar 2024 at 6:32am


Topic: 2012 Creek Boats
Posted By: James
Subject: 2012 Creek Boats
Date Posted: 08 Mar 2012 at 12:07pm
I have seen plenty of chatter but no substance on the new creekers for 2012.

Lets have it from folks that have the experience in various boats to give solid feedback.

1. Liquid Logic Stomper
2. Pyranha Shiva
3. Prijon Pure / XL  (I am pretty interested in this one)

A funny side note, No one tell JP http://www.eskimo.de/ - but it looks like Eskimo is not making kayaks... temporarily?

Oh and Prijon says that their website is slow, but only because it is like good cooking, you need to wait for the quality and care that goes into their products.. AHah gotta love the spin on that. I feel for ya Prijon, Chinese spiders and data miners like River Brain can smash your server if allowed. Good luck with that, all while we keep parsing the USGS like a crack head on MLK.



Replies:
Posted By: septimus prime
Date Posted: 08 Mar 2012 at 12:18pm
I would love to tell you about the stomper I ordered 6 weeks ago, but I have yet to get it.

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Jon Shell Bee


Posted By: STLboater
Date Posted: 08 Mar 2012 at 12:46pm
We just did our creek boat review this past weekend.  The boats we paddled were...

Shiva M / L
Stomper 80
Mamba Creeker L
Bazooka

I had the opportunity to paddle the Shiva and the Stomper.  Will add a blurb in the next couple days about it, long story short, I own a Shiva and I want a Stomper.  I don't want to exchange them, I just think both should be in my life.


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Kayak Academy Whitewater Instructor


Posted By: Ellingferd
Date Posted: 08 Mar 2012 at 2:25pm
I went from an Everest to a stomper 90. I like the stomper a lot. The first few laps down Robe the first thing I noticed was how much less I had to paddle. I felt like, and I still feel like, it requires about half the effort the everest did. It boofs really well. Cant say I have noticed the supposed "land and leave" feature that is supposed to occur when you boof a big hole, but I havent gotten stuck in any big holes as of yet.

Something interesting about the boat, that I am not sure I like yet, is how much rocker there is. This is probably what makes it boof well, but it definitely gets thrown off line from time to time in bigger water, not nearly as bad as the jefe used to be, but doesnt track as well as the everest. On the other hand, it turns a lot easier, which is nice.

Bottom line, compared to the everest I would say both boats are about equal in how much I like to paddle them. The reason I would always go for the stomper though is the plastic and the outfitting. The outfitting beats the hell out of pyranha, especially with the back band lifting out of the way now, and it is way less likely to catastrophically crack after a year like my everest did, at least from what I have seen in Liquidlogic boats over the years.


Posted By: jP
Date Posted: 08 Mar 2012 at 8:13pm
Originally posted by James

Prijon Pure / XL  (I am pretty interested in this one)

It's an interesting looking boat, but kinda peculiar: it has a "fish form" shape, essentially. As opposed to the "swede form" shapes most of our modern creekboats are derived from.

Originally posted by James

A funny side note, No one tell JP but it looks like Eskimo is not making kayaks...

Dude, you think I don't know? Trying to get a rise out of me huh? Maybe you should visit the vietnamese restaraunt I just opened up:
Pho Q
I still just might be in a new one next time you see me. Of course, with the frequency you hit the river, I guess Eskimo could be making new boats by then.

Originally posted by James

all while we keep parsing the USGS like a crack head on MLK.

Don't you be diss'n my man MLK, now....

I'm just playin, but still...
I need to make better use of my time.

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🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋


Posted By: jP
Date Posted: 08 Mar 2012 at 8:21pm
Now that Shiva looks pretty rad. I just wish it was a touch more narrow and a tad longer. Then they'd have really done something new. Still, its a new shape. I think I might get one over a Burn. But I'll probably get another Salto first.

The thing is:
*No pillars
*Awesome handles instead of those little metal pins behind the seat.

With those two features alone, it could almost be shaped like a clawfoot bathtub- I don't care. If its a modern creekboat at all and it floats, it'll be pretty good.

Stomper looks sharp. For the LiqLogic lovers out there, a Remix/Stomper quiver would do nicely. Those two would really compliment each other. Excessive rocker isn't my thing though, personally. Hard to get away from, these days though.

Awright-now I really gotta go do something productive

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🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋


Posted By: irenen
Date Posted: 08 Mar 2012 at 9:14pm
I'm a big fan of the Stomper so far, I have the 80 and while it's 17 gallons more than the small Burn I was boating, I don't feel a big difference in terms of maneuverability, while it does seem to ride higher and be more forgiving in terms of not catching edges.

That being said, I don't feel like I have a wealth of experience when it comes to talking about boat performance, etc.  Chris Ohta (who does) wrote a good in-depth review of his Stomper 90 last year, here's the link:

http://chrisohta.blogspot.com/2011/10/liquidlogic-stomper-90-review.html - http://chrisohta.blogspot.com/2011/10/liquidlogic-stomper-90-review.html



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It's all fun and games until someone loses a paddle.


Posted By: STLboater
Date Posted: 08 Mar 2012 at 11:19pm
Shiva - This boat was tough to figure out.  I messed around with the outfitting a little bit, paddled it a few times and it just didn't feel "right".  It was tough to track, it felt like it wanted to spin out and it was difficult to control.  On that note, it was easy to turn the beast, and the boat is significantly different than my Huka.  I then hopped in the stomper on CC Stilly.  Dang.  The first run I felt like i had been paddling the boat for years.  It was consistent, predictable and I felt totally comfortable in it.  I literally told my crew that I wanted to sell my Shiva and get a stomper.  It carried speed well up and over holes, and just being so darn predictable is so important in WW.  It could maybe use a little bit more volume on the stern, but not a big deal if you are going up and over.  On our third run of CC Stilly, I decided to hop back in the Shiva.  I wanted this boat to work since I own it.  After paddling around a little bit, it felt on.  The run was just as good as the prior run in the Stomper.  The shiva tore up the holes, caught the eddies, and made some very tough lines.  I had to take back what I said about trading the Shiva for a Stomper, I love the Shiva as well. 

The big differences between the boats are this...

The stomper you can hop in and it feels like home.  The boat is easy and extremely user friendly.   Also for the first time I landed stern first on a boof - it boofs super hard.  The stomper is fun, consistent, and I would say an average of a lot of good designs, not like the new Shiva breaking some ground with a pointy front and a fat ass.

The Shiva is a more aggressive design.  To keep this boat in control you need to paddle on the more aggressive side, and focus on keeping you points of contact engaged.  Specifically pressure on your feet in my case.  If you do this, the boat rips hard, boofs well and has some serious swag.  The most impressive thing that I have found with the Shiva is that when punching / boofing some big holes, the stern volume helps rocket you out of the hole.  It feels like you are surfing a wave from the ocean, very cool feeling.<3 it.


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Kayak Academy Whitewater Instructor


Posted By: tiziak
Date Posted: 09 Mar 2012 at 6:33am

Hmmmm.

 

I've been fortunate enough, unlucky enough to be paddling different boats all winter.

So far, from August until now, I've boated:

 

Medium Burn

Large Burn

Medium Shiva

Heffe Grande

Nomad 8.6

Dropzone 8.6

Stomper 90

 

I took the Stomper down North Fork Payette and was impressed. It handled very well and boofed well, but I didn't think it held a candle to the Drop Zone from Big Dog. Then I broke my two Drop Zones and was very sad.

 

Charles at Aquasports let me demo a medium Shiva on Robe and I rode the flow down for three days. 5.5 down to 5.05. I really liked the way the Shiva handles.

 

One of my loudest complaints about my Burn was that I would constantly bang my knuckles and fingers on the hull of my boat as I was initiating a forward stroke. My arms are not long enough and my form was poor enough that bruised knuckles ensued. It would distract me and sap confidence. The Shiva is much narrower at the hips and knees. My hands are no longer sore. This shape is also what aids in the speed difference. Its shaped more like a wedge; with the widest portion of the boat at your hips and behind your back instead of around your hips and your knees like the Burn's shape.

 

Also, the edges directly below the seat on a burn become razor sharp after a season or so on a creek and I have ridiculous scars on my thumbs from rolling and shaving a layer or three of skin off every time I rolled. The Shiva still has these edges but they are less aggressive. That being said the side of the Shiva are higher than the Burn so its easy to get stuck on your edge while you're bracing in a drop.

 

The Shiva is very forgiving! It turns very quickly so when that bow does move on its own its very easy to get back on line. I think that a little bit of a harder time tracking is a good price to pay for the speed increase and the increased rocker. The nose seems to pop out of holes and features.

 

The Shiva boofs well, if you have a good boof. Its definitely not an auto-boof boat like the Stomper or the Drop Zone. Its longer, more plastic in front of you with a lot of effort to get that front end out of the water. Longer boat also means more plastic in the water: bigger surface area for water to mess with. So if you get sideways, hold on! I’ve gone for a few hole rides on Robe in the Shiva, the one at the bottom of Last Conversation at 5.8 held me twice in the same day and gave me quite a bit of a ride. The Shiva feels very stable when you’re side-surfing.

All in all, boats fit people differently and what works for me might not work for you, Try as many boats as you can before you buy.

 



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If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.

Daniel Patrinellis
360.434.4616



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