Hi all

plus 1 for aqua sports I have been buying from charles for 15 years

Edited by mattwave - 27 May 2012 at 1:46pm

Nothing says I love you like a new Kokatat drysuit.

That is a good ques. without a simple answer. Most here would agree taking a boat for a test spin, even in flat water is essential. Sitting in it in a show room helps, but getting in the water is important. Fit is everything, and trying a few rolls can tell you a lot.

Fact of the matter is that despite all the boaters up here (PNW) the showroom scene is limited. Aquasports in Redmond is one place you can sit in one and also for a small fee demo a boat off site. But naturally their inventory is not exhaustive and there are some models, or even manufacturers that they don't carry. Not their fault, there is such a diversity of boats and the costs of shipping and storage makes overhead an issue.

For example when I wanted to demo a Liquid Logic Freeride, I was told that the nearest place I could do that was the River Store in California!

So I would suggest first establishing what type of boat is appropriate (river runner, play boat, creeker or x-boat that does some play some river running), then looking at the offerings in that limited range and seeing who has what in stock. Figure a trip to Aquasports and a trip to someplace that carries Liquid Logic (Leavenworth?) or even a trip to Alder Ck. in Portland.