Pyranha Kayaks Machno Review

The past week I was lucky enough to get my hands on a shiny new Pyranha Kayaks Machno, the newest creek machine from Runcorn.

The boat had been dropped in Oetz to be shown off and paddled around the famous wellebrucke rapids. (Sickline) But whilst noone was looking we managed to sneak her off for a real life test. Paddling a low and rocky lower Vent. In high water one of my favourite runs, but in low water it is as beautiful as ever, but with more ressemblement to the everyday Irish/Uk rocky ditch, that we are more accustomed to paddling. So I really got to test it without the glam of the big water and big lines. I bounced the Machno around some boulders, and scrapped it over others. I even had to carry her around when the water left the river.
 So here we go a real life review #inaditch

So first impressions as I lifted the boat and ran from the sickline exhibitors area, where it had been left unattended for a few minutes. My first thoughts were of the weight and comfort whilst carrying, the step out pillar, as found on many models has lovely grooves for fingers. Perfect to hold the boat steady on your shoulder and the hip pads were soft and comfy to rest my newly fixed shoulder into... Wait a second pyranha hip pads have never been soft! After dropping the boat to the floor make sure I had borrowed the right boat, I took a second look. The new hip pads are in fact soft and comfortable and the first glimpse of the new thigh braces looked strong and sturdy. With the option of adding the old famous hooker thighbrace. It really felt like all my christmases had just landed at once. Perfect for keeping me anchored in the boat, the seat was the safe comfortable stout seat, and the footrest the solid bulkhead system, as found in the rest of the lineup.
As we hoisted the boat high up onto the roof of my bus, I started to calculate the weight of her. I came up with a simple option, that it was lighter than the Mamba, and probably somewhere just under my large 9r. But in all honestly it felt good, strong metal handles front and rear plus rear broach bars, meant tieing the boat up was quick and easy.

Unloading again went smoothly, noone died or was flattened by a falling Machno. I even heard one person worried it may blow away in the wind. Now she was free, and away from the big water and the prying eyes of Sickline. In this beautiful Austrian Valley, we were going to really see how she behaved.
I sat in to her and knowing the person who had paddled it before me (Baino) is both shorter and a little narrower (not as athletic as me). I did wonder how much adjustment would be needed or if I would ever fit. But even with the Yak Vanguard drysuit I just adjusted the footplate to fit my size 47 Keen boots upfront, and eveything else was almost spot on.
For sure in my own boat I would spend more time adjusting for that truly perfect fit, but for a boat straight off of the shelf, I was straight in and paddling.

The first Machno off the line is typically a Medium. I havent really paddled a medium boat in a while. Not since my old 9rM, being 6"3 88kg im not really a medium size, but I wanted to give it a try.
I was delighted to find that the boat is actually quite a large Medium, holding me and my rescue kit comfortably on the river. The space in the rear is large and perfect for splits etc.
As I bounced over my first rock I thought I was back in Ireland. The rocky runs I've come to love. But in all honesty the Machno took no getting used to. It was like meeting an old friend, and getting straight back into things. With the forgiving rails the boat rolled and slid over everything, without the tripping and aggression needed in the burn, or the 9r.
 The Machno paddled itself. Whilst flat she simply rolled over everything. But engage an edge, and the rail gripped and held its course, threading its way between the boulders with grace and ease.

Having paddled the Shiva a good bit, but finding the Large Shiva just slightly out of proportion.
Im really excited to see the new Machno is a different beast, taking the forgiving lines but making a modern day creek boat. That you really want to paddle. Something to go up alongside the tuna 2.0 and the Mamba / Nomad.
Whether its big volume, steep, or low and rocky I can see the machno working well just about anywhere she goes.

For Irish paddlers the Machno is a perfect choice. Paddling more like the ever popular Mamba, but without the excess weight. For anyone looking for a new boat, I think the forgiving rails with the extra speed will be a great option and certainly worth a try. I can't wait to get her for spin on the Dargle, or Glens.

Machno vs 9r.
 So these two boats are a tough one to break down. The 9r is the king of speed, with the medium twitchy, and a little tail happy. Where as the machno is forgiving, with a sense of safety. Not having to charge at warp 10 into everything.
 But play the Machno against the large 9r the extra length and shape of the 9r makes it faster than the Machno. But for resurfacing and manoeuvrability, the Machno is a joy to play the river. With its safe, predictable lines, and solid thigh position your really part of the boat. Knowing that where you go, the boat is going too.

Personally I couldnt pick one or the other. I would have to have both! As I love the extra speed of the 9rL for big volume and racing but for low rocky technical the Machno would be my baby.
Knowing that when the water comes and things get bigger she will take it in her stride almost reducing the 9RL back to being just a race boat. (which we know she isn't only) Both boats are unbelievably fun to paddle and I would struggle to pick one over the other.

If my arm was really twisted and I could only own one. (Never going to happen) The Machno would take me everywhere.

The trip on the vent was certainly the lowest I have paddled it. Yet still beautiful, with nice carving moves, and tight lines coming alive.
The Machno really loved being on the river, never feeling trippy, or out of her depth. Whilst in the boulder gardens, she worked the river like no other. Manoeuvrable and predictable. Then once you add water and slot drops she lifted and weaved her way. Keeping the bow high and dry.
When she plugged she resurfaced safely and predictably.
 A true 4x4 of the kayak world.

The Machno feels like a boat that can just keep giving! A true, go anywhere boat.
I cant wait to see where this boat goes. When some of the lads with more flexibility than me, start pushing her around.
She is destined to fly, wether the waterfalls of Mexico or freewheeling in the French alps. The Machno is a tough act to beat.

At the getout, I was delighted to see that the boat was extreamly dry, with very little water in the boat was a great feeling.

The boat held its own, and even before getting off the water I think I may have sold a fleet of them!
I think I managed to sneak the boat back into the Pyranha team van with a couple more scratches but in perfect condition before anyone noticed.
Im truely impressed with Pyranha, having snuck this boat into the line up. Something as a paddler and a retailer, we didnt even realise we were missing
 But now, with probably the strongest lineup of boats, from any brand. Pyranha have boats performing at the top level from racing, freestyle, steep creeking and general river fun. Pyranha have built a boat for all occasions, and for any sized paddler.
 The Machno sits perfectly as a creek boat, bumping the Shiva down, and almost out. Once paddled I think many will agree to the far superior feel, and reliability of the Machno.

Thanks to Andy and Pyranha for allowing me the opportunity to get my hands in the new boat. I cant wait to see what the small and large looks like.

Photos by Adrian Durrant, Pyranha Kayaks and Maria Cole

Long Term Review – Palm Equipment Spark Suit

Having been using the Palm Spark suit now for 2 years fairly solidly I decided it was time to put some thoughts into words.
The Spark suit is designed as a lightweight freestyle / freeride suit, because of the freestyle aspect its built as a semi dry meaning as standard it comes with neo ankle gaskets and a glide skin neoprene neck as well as the standard latex wrists and Plastic master Zip.
Palm Say

They have hit the nail on the head!
‘Most comfortable and colourful suit yet’
That's the reason I'm wearing this suit for 90% of my paddling.
The Spark is built from Palms XP3 material so super breathable and lightweight without the bulk of reinforcing you will find on other suits making it a lighter weight suit.
Being a lighter weight suit makes this suit really comfy, the plastic zip gives far more movement and flex than other metal zips or the old TiZip. this extra movement makes you forget you even have a zip giving you full rotation and movement for any strokes.
The new ‘toothed’ zip looks more like your standard jacket zip just chunkier, this makes it much easier to do up on your own. you do have to have some flex but it is very easy to zip yourself up.
Compared to metal zips the flex is just perfect also making it extremely difficult to break (I haven't seen a broken one yet!)

The colour, now this bit is important!
The lime green is perfect, this suit is designed to make a statement and it does, the Green holds its colour well without excess fading and doesn't show too much of the dirt the grey panels take most of the abuse keeping your Greens green you wont need any Daz!
 
As standard this suit comes with Latex wrists and a Glide Skin neck, the latex is essential on the wrists to keep water running down your arms and the glide skin neck is not only super comfy but provides a very good seal, whether its freestyle of creeking the neck gives a great seal, being able to step out dry at the end of the day is a nice touch from a semi dry suit
Me being a bit of a girl when I first got the suit I decided comfort was key and actually sent mine back for fabric socks to be added by the nice guys at Palm HQ and can honestly say its the best thing stepping into the river with warm dry feet, its certainly the best €50 I've spent.

As standard the ankle seals are neoprene cones, same as they use on the Neon pants and traverse bib, these are a semi dry closure as they will stop the bulk of water running up your leg but the neoprene will allow small amounts to pass between your skin and the cuff, if you add a set of neoprene socks you can stay pretty dry but for extra comfort of the fabric socks cant be beaten.
The suit is fairly lightweight this makes it ideal for alpine paddling and generally having fun, on tighter runs or Irish “ditches” I usually add a set of elbow pads both for my own protection and to take a lot of wear and tear away from the suit.

As with all the Palm kit the cut is second to none the 4d cut as they call it just means that they actually though about how a person sits and paddles in the boat, wrapping the suit to alleviate excess baggy areas and to give enough space to allow freedom of ,movement, Some other companies prefer to use a box style cut this means it fits a wider size range of people in a standing situation. when you look at a Palm dry suit hanging they look huge, then when you first put one on you find the excess length in the legs, but once you sit down the magic happens, suddenly that excess is taken into a nice comfortable fit with no pressure on the lower back or shoulders whilst paddling means your suit will not hold you back.

I'm very happy with my Palm Spark suit to the point that I own both this and a Stikine (Palms top end suit) to which I've only worn about 8 times in the same period because I'm so happy with the Spark. the only reason I'll be getting rid of this one will be to buy another brighter one!
See you on the river,
I'm the Man in Green!

Buy your Drysuits HERE at the Great Outdoors Dublin!

Pyranha Kayaks FREE connect upgrade!!

www.thekayakstore.eu

Pyranha Outfitting – Thigh Braces

  Lots of people lately have been purchasing club spec boats and asking about upgrading the boat with thigh braces, this is a really simple job to do and will take about 10 minutes to complete,

By adding thigh braces will give you much better control of the boat especially in moving water whilst edging the boat, it also allows you to upgrade to a ratchet backrest with the thigh braces pre drilled to take a ratchet.

Here's a quick step by step guide to fitting Connect thigh braces into a club spec Z-One

Collect together the tools needed

1 x Drill with 6mm bit

1 x Marker pen

1 x Philips Screwdriver

1 x Thighbrace kit from Pyranha containing

2 x Connect Thigh braces 4 x bolts 4 x plates 4 x washers and 2 x O-Rings

The boat is premarked during moulding for the thigh brace positions, Take the pen and clearly mark the four imprints

Carefully drill the four holes with the 6mm drill bit.

2 are on the top of the cockpit rim the other 2 come in from the sides

Place the bolts through the drilled holes, Long bolts come in from the side and shorter bolt from the top use the washers on the outside with the rubber O-ring on the longer bolt between the washer and hull

Lift the thigh brace into place, Lining up the bolts.

put the flat plate into the longer bolt and tighten gently

Now slide the thigh brace to check movement and push the bolt through the middle hole in the top (number 3 of 5 holes)

Offer the plate with the extended thread to the bolt, flat side first and carefully tighten

Now tighten the outer bolt untill hand tight.

To adjust remove the top bolt and loosen the side bolt carefully slide the thigh brace to the correct position line up the hole and retighten.

Add a sticker to the boat and you’re done!!

A simple addition to create a secure fit for any paddler,

Boat Testing 101

Having working in and around kayak shops for a number of years now including some great boat deals with various brands I've always had people asking me which boat to buy. Obviously as any sponsored paddler number one reason they are sponsored is to sell boats, But on the flipside that paddler is also been sponsored because they know a thing or two about paddlesport,
If you can pull an unbiased view from the paddler then its generally a good voice to hear
Below is a review written by me from my own thoughts of what I've seen, peoples views will differ and I'm not saying this is the definitive, just a personal opinion.
With all boats number one thing to do is demo the boats, most good kayak shops have a collection of demo boats, these are to be tried and tested in a reasonable environment, these are not boats to borrow until you have cash or boat to break as you yours is still shiny. Shops do actually have to pay for boats and they are actually not cheap. For Dublin based shops the usual testing grounds -Liffey -Boyne -Avonmore are acceptable, shops don't like to hear of epic adventures on the source of the Liffey or Dargle when their demos are concerned.
Boats should always be returned clean and in as close condition as possible as when you took it, usual rules would always apply, You bend it you mend it, or You break it you buy it.
When you get the opportunity in a different boat the major points to consider,
Fit
Do you fit in the boat?
Are you falling about inside?
Foot / seat positioning and comfort
Size
Can you engage the edges?
Are you lost in the boat?
Where does the boat sit in the water?             
Nose/tail heavy – Balance with kit
Hull ShapeFlat bottom or round hulled
Rails or not?
This is probably the most interesting of subjects for Irish Paddling, for those paddling in Ireland will know the nature of Irish rivers grade 1-3 generally wider and flatter but as you lift the grades the majority of Irish rivers turn into tight, steep, rocky runs, unlike the bigger volume alpine style of holes and wave trains through large boulders safely under the water. Irish creeks show every rock poking through the surface ready to trip or bounce you.
Boats which have historically sold well in Ireland
Dagger Mamba
Pyranha Burn
Dagger Nomad
Wavesport Habitat
Bliss stick Mystic.
Why have these boats sold so well?
Because they work!
The Jackson Villain S could be added as a late  contender to the list.
The majority of these boats are flat hulled river runners with plenty of volume, the Mystic and Habitat are still very creeky but have enough rail to hold a line the only round hulled boat would be the Nomad,
I feel the Nomad is now a classic and still works as a steep creeker with plenty of volume but slightly shorter than the newer boats making it far more manoeuvrable.
The flat hull offers a solid stable platform to plan your lines from with nice rails to provide a secondary stability to keep the boat riding high while hanging onto a line, then back in the easy stuff you can cruise about the river eddy hopping and ferrying to your hearts content.
The rounded hull allows good stability at any angle like sitting on a soccer ball. On big volume slides and drops the round hull eliminates the rail tripping for super smooth transfers.
Unfortunately some of the bigger round hulled creekers struggle in tight technical Irish Rock Gardens, with lots of volume they just want to bounce through anything you can throw at it but lacking that rail which helps manoeuvre the boat quickly in tight situations. You sometime end up as a pinball bouncing from rock to rock instead of smooth lines
All boats should be purchased for the majority of your paddling and not your single aspiration to run Niagara.
Buy something you can use and enjoy every week of the year, we all paddle to enjoy it.
Boat review time
After a nice few weeks way I had the opportunity to try a few different boats throughout Europe.
A some of you may have read my Large Shiva got stuck in Dublin airport for a few days resulting in a lend of a Jackson Karma Medium from Colm Healy @I-Canoe
I have for a while now been paddling 90 gallon plus boats in the big Villain and then the big Shiva so stepping back to a medium always gave me a sinking feeling. But I was pleasantly surprised. I loved my big villain one of the best boats I had paddled big, safe  and strong,  when I started the new job I had to give up the Jackson as my everyday boat so I was relishing the opportunity to at last try the Karma,
As a boat the Karma was like being back at home the same outfitting and seating arrangements I had been used to for a long time through three generations of All Star then the Rockstars, villains, fun runners,  through 9 Jackson boats previously. On the water the karma was responsive but I found nose heavy after some alterations with the seat she was running nose high in the safe responsive package I had always known, some people hate the outfitting but I love it, taking one fairly big impact, (I was running a slide on my head at the time, not my finest moment) she held strong and safe with no slipping of the ropes a roll in the bottom pool and I was off again..
A super boat, nice and quick in a straight line but responsive.

Jumping back into the round hull of the shiva – (once it arrived from the grasps of Aer Lingus) with the extra volume we could take on any drop, a super safe boat which wants to run the big stuff, skipping smoothly away from the foaming mess at the bottom, unfortunately she does the same skipping fast and true on a big drop as she does in a 3ft drop which without the rail usually ends up charging into which ever rock is in front of you. For tight technical creeking I found the Large Shiva just that bit too big.
For top to bottom, of any easy Irish run the shiva will storm in without slowing. But realistically its a big volume Norway boat, steep big volume the shiva will fly through.
The Shiva comes equipped with the standard Connect 30 with plastic pillars and heavy footrest I did a bit of boat lightening a few weeks ago to drop the weight down
Take a look Here - http://www.paddle4play.blogspot.ie/2013/05/pyranha-shiva-takes-diet.html
So the lightened outfitting held up perfectly, no issues at all the connect outfitting provides great control and security with comfy seat and secure backrest, I padded out the hip pads and shes ready to go, providing a secure comfy fit with good volume and space
I did actually try the Medium and was surprised it was much more manoverable and felt snug without all the excess volume, I think the large is just a little too wide with the knee position still very close not giving you the control to push it over.
For my second trip away after some chatting to friends I took a shiny 2012 Mamba 8.6 with the contour ergo play seat for a spin,
Having never paddled a Mamba previously.......... Ever!
I was in for a treat!

The big mamba was easy to adjust and make it fit me comfortably I left the seat central as straight from the factory, I inserted the extra seat pad and added hip pads and I was ready for the water. ive still to put in the foam heel blocks but these simply velcro in,
One thing with adjusting a boat is to fit it out with what your going to paddle in – if your using creek boots fit the boat while wearing them! it does make a huge difference,
heres some boat outfitting in playboats but gives an idea how to get a snug fit - http://www.paddle4play.blogspot.ie/2012/08/outfitting-kayak.html
So the Mamba,  like being back in a familiar friend, something I instantly felt safe and at home in. The seating was secure and comfy with the new leg lifter offering a snug fit to hold the legs up into the thigh braces.
First time on the water, the Passer in Merano Italy, A cruisey run down from the football pitches to the canoe club, alpine style read and run, waves and holes, with some weir style drops the boat moved around the river well, reacting safely on edge, carving and spining with ease. The big mamba at 89 gallons was as manoeuvrable as a much smaller river runner the flat bottem allowed the boat to plane and carve with the rounded nose and tail offering a great creeking shape, The Mambas first real test was the grade 5 + gorge just above the canoe club, which after a fantastic line utilising Graemes upside down boat the Mamba sailed through,
Check out more about this trip here - http://www.paddle4play.blogspot.ie/2013/06/king-of-alps.html
Racing the mamba was fast and furious with good hull speed and length it stayed on line and in speed, we have seen @Eoin Rheinisch  Paddling the large Mamba at this years Wacko taking the win.

So back to the boat, creeking in the Mamba is an absolute joy to behold, the boat is responsive and stable the mamba gives you a platform to push your limits, I felt I could put the boat anywhere on the river and really trust it to go where I wanted it, the boat wouldn't hold me back, On the Urnasch in Switzerland the Mamba enjoyed Boofs, Flares, drops and tight technical creeking on both slides and drops the Mamba performed well – Even a bit of hole surfing.
Check out the video -

Mamba on the Urnasch

Il definately be paddling the mamba some more this year, I cant wait to try it back in Ireland on familiar waters.
In short, get out their and try some boats!