Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Liquidlogic Biscuit Testing on the Ottawa River


Classic Ottawa Scenery

There is a slideshow to all the photos at the bottom of the post.

It was sooo dry here in the south that I decided to drive up north to paddle in Canada. They had been getting lots of rain and even as recently as a couple weeks ago Buseater was in so we knew we would find something good to paddle. Even at the in between levels that we were looking at on the Ottawa there were plenty of smaller play spots to test on. So it was a good start for checking out the Biscuit protos.


Setting up the new boats

The crew was:
Me: (43) Once I knew how to playboat, a little, but now I am an off the couch playboater.
Yonton: (young punk) He is a fantastic playboater who has made the finals in several world championships, but also a little off the couch.
Justin: (older than Yonton) Justin is more of a river runner but also a good playboater.
Beaz: (old as dirt):) Beaz is my old paddling buddy from travels in the past. His claim to playboating fame is '97 Worlds in an Open Canoe and poster boy for Perception in a Super Sport.
Marlow: (young punk) Marlow, well you all know Marlow. He is one of the top wave paddlers in the world.


CJs House Along the River

We were lucky enough to be able to stay at Camp CJ (Cindy Jamison's) place along the Ottawa river. Its easy paddling distance to the main two runs and super close to Garburator and McCoys. It was perfect. Thanks CJ.


Ed wheeling

Afer driving all day we did stop off at the Black River to paddle at Hole Brothers at a horrible level. Not sure why we did that but hey a day on the water is better than a... We had the whole crew from Hudson River Rafting out in the boats. The wave was slow and not very dynamic but folks were able to do some stuff and it did turn out to be a good testing of how the boat did on smaller, slower features. It showed me that I need to work on the speed a touch more and probably make the ends a bit more slicey but that was about as much info as I could get out of this spot at this level.


Yonton working the blunt

Once we got to the Ottawa the levels weren't perfect but there were several smaller spots that were really fun and our first day on the river was a really fun evening paddle as a storm rolled in over the plains. There was a slow wave hole that was perfect for mellow surfing, spins, and blunts. And a very good little play hole that were getting most hole moves to work. It was here that we really figured out that this thing is very good in a hole. Its super well balanced and likes to be vertical. It was a little shallow for big loops but there were lots of good loops and McNasty type things going on.


Under cool stormy skies

Then we noticed just on the other side of the island from the smaller play hole there was a bigger faster spot that was giving up some blunts and good fast cartwheels.


The sun came out the next day


Justin Wheeling

After the first couple of days testing on the Ottawa we all felt pretty solidly that this thing was great in the hole. We were able to test it in several different types of holes and actually found a couple waves that were a little bigger as well. And our thoughts at the Black were confirmed on the slower waves. "I would like it to be a little faster on smaller slower stuff." What was surprising though was how well it took off on the bigger stuff. On the two bigger waves that we were able to paddle on the Ottawa the Biscuit started to speed up, and it got loose as hell.


Speeding up on the bigger waves


Yonton clean bluntin'

Here is the slideshow to all the photos. There are somewhere around 40 shots of our time on the Ottawa testing the Biscuits. If you have anything you would like to see let me know. Or if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Later
Shane

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

The Liquidlogic Biscuit: Prototype Number One

So the word is out. The Biscuit Protos are fresh. Marlow Long took a bite out of the first ones out of the oven. Here are some photos and video at Skook.


Fresh Hot Biscuits


Launching an Air Biscuit :)


Cleaning his plate

Click Here for the Video

I finished the second protos for the Outdoor Retail Show and now I finally have a chance to get away from the shop for a bit of testing. Yonton, my old buddy Beaz, and Justin are all headed up to the Ottawa for some fun. The levels are off for the big Ottawa waves but the play should be decent, and word has it that High Tension is coming in soon. So it should be a good test of more normal playspots, and a good wave. I will post more as we go.

Cheers
Shane

Monday, August 11, 2008

Something else new from Liquidlogic



Now that we have had a kids boat for a while and I have paddled with my brother and his kids a bit we started to realize that there aren't many good whitewater paddles made for kids. So we've jumped in. We have started development of a kids whitewater paddle. A few things that I have seen that are really important for a kids paddle and haven't really been addressed are making a kids paddle that is light enough, the shaft is small enough, and is a nice performance paddle so that kids can get the same feeling from a paddle that you or I have. Most importantly though it seems to me like we should put some cool graphics on it. What do you think?

Sunday, August 10, 2008

The Remix XP not your normal kayak.

So if you have checked out the blog some you have seen that i like to do fun overnight trips with friends and family. The one I do fairly regularly is on the Chattooga river. Usually we just do two days and one night trip over about 16 miles. Ok so my point is we have now come out with a boat just for it.

The Remix XP





Woody is in love!

There are two sizes. A ten footer and a nine footer. The whole idea was to make a boat that folks can paddle whitewater well, but also work on the flats. It has a drop down skeg that makes the XP track super straight, and then you can flip it up out of the water and she then handles like a big whitewater boat. It also has a large storage hatch in the back and we are working on custom dry bags to pack her perfectly for overnighting. You can even get cup holders for this thing in the 24 and 12 oz. sizes.


The Drop Skeg



The 24 oz cup holder and spring loaded skeg lever! Yeah Baby

Here are a few shots from the Chattooga








The Show goes on Day 2
So if you are out there in your creek boat doing overnight stuff its like going backpacking but going out in the Remix XP is like car camping you can bring it all.
Woody and I tested her out a bunch on the Chattooga. Section 4 was never easier. Paddle the river and then flip down the skeg and cruise the lake. Awesome.
Shane

Saturday, August 09, 2008

The New stuff from Liquidlogic

Its show time ya'll! Almost as many kayaks in one place as Gauleyfest and a lot more people milling around kicking the tires on all the new stuff out here in Salt Lake City Utah.





First things first we haven't had a new playboat in a few years and I have started developing a new one for next year. Its called the Biscuit for several reasons. For one reason my dogs are named Biscuit and Tater I think some of you know them. Biscuit is, shall I say, high energy, and full of spring.



Another reason for the name is of course one of the favorite foods of the south, your down home basic butter biscuit. Delicious, light, fluffy and starting in Febuary they will be made fresh from scratch daily. And finally I just like the word, Biscuit, it just says goodness to me.





The Biscuit will come in three sizes, and all the stats are still prototype stats but right now we are looking at 6'3", 6'1", and 5'11" in lengths. 26, 25, and 24" in width. The volumes are close to 45, 55, and 65 gallons.



The design criteria is fairly simple and I have some time to work on it. The first round of testing went really well, in fact better than ever on the first try. There are still things I want to improve on but so far so good.



The thing is fast for the lengths, loose as hell, big pop off the wave, and lots of volume for loops, and its comfy, yeah I know a little much, but I am psyched so far there are some things that I will be working on to improve but i have time to get it exactly right.





I started the first proto earlier this year and spent a bunch of time paddling it out in Colorado. Marlow Long has been out paddling it all over Canada on the big stuff including lots of time out on the Buseater wave, and he also took it over to Skookumchuck, and we send a boat over to the UK as well for young master Piers Bucknell has been ripping it up as well. There isn't a ton of photos and videos yet but that will be on the way. Here are a few shots from the show and from the road there will be much more to follow.



The Outdoor Retail show is going really well except for the fact that theres lots of cool stuff to look at its pretty tough on the legs and throat to stand and talk kayaking for 6 days straight. Hope to see you all out there.
Shane

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