Comprehensive Guide to Choosing the Right Kayak

Whitewater Kayaking is a remarkably intense sport. It not only requires considerable skill and concentration it also calls for an exceptional understanding of the water dynamics and a strong ability to control fear and stress. Irrespective of the inherent danger and paddling's difficulty, after several water sessions, it is exceedingly easy to get addicted to this adrenaline-fueled water sport. Whether you have been using your friend’s extra boat or you have just still learning how to roll a boat, selecting a new whitewater kayak can be an exceedingly difficult task, with so many options in the market. With that said, when selecting the right water Kayak, there are usually several factors to put under consideration. Before making the decision, a visit to the local Dagger dealer is highly recommended.

Selecting a Whitewater Kayak

The Type of River
The most important factor to put into consideration, when selecting a new boat is the type of river that you may want to paddle. It is important to note that rivers vary widely; from meandering rivers with class, II waves, to the extremely rocky creeks with numerous waterfalls. Thus, you need to establish the river types that you will be meandering. If you are limited to lazy rivers or small waterways, then you may best suit in a river runner or a play boat. On the other hand, if you reside next to huge steeps, that sports huge rivers, then a long boat, a river runner or creek might just be what you need.

Types of Whitewater Kayaks
Understanding the different types of whitewater kayaks as well as their characteristics is also important when selecting the correct type of whitewater kayak. With that said, here are the various types of whitewater kayaks.

1. Playboats-Apart from being the shortest whitewater kayaks, playboats are also designed to not only surf the water but also to allow the paddler to perform surface and aerial tricks such as spins and cartwheels.
2. River Runners- River runners are the most versatile all-mountain boats in the whitewater sporting world. They are a cross between creeks and play boats.
3.Creekers- Creekers are the largest whitewater kayaks. They are engineered in such a manner that they can charge exceedingly hard over, huge, frothy rapids as well as drop water waterfalls and technical creeks with numerous hazards.
4.Long Boats-Long boats are essentially exceedingly long river runners. Apart from being 12 feet long, longboats are usually extremely fast down rivers. Together with speed, the length amalgamated with a considerable amount of bow rockers offers excellent maneuverability and extra volume.

Size
Selecting the right boat size is as important as selecting the correct boat type. Every Kayak manufactures usually provide the recommended paddler weight for each of the boat sizes. When considering all these recommendations, it is exceedingly important to remember that you will also be sporting plenty of gears, which can get wet, which can easily add from ten to fifteen pounds. A rule of thumb, when observing the recommended paddler weight, always size up because a whitewater boat that is exceedingly small might sit exceedingly low in the water, thereby making it difficult to control and rather sluggish.

Conclusion
Like a majority of activities, kayaking is not inherently dangerous. However, it can be unforgiving due to a lack of skills, attention to the surrounding and judgment. Always put on your lifejacket at all times and avoid drinking or indulging while kayaking.