Ryan Stuart, explore's gear editor
Ryan Stuart's tell all blog spot on his gear addiction and life and times as explore magazine's gear editor
Surf ski testing in February
Don Irvine paddling Think Kayaks Fit in the Strait of Georgia.
I am a jack of all trades, master of none. While some like to focus on one sport, I like to dabble. I can whitewater kayak and canoe up to class 3 or 4, climb a 5.10, bag peaks that require rope work, sea kayak in a swell, run pretty fast, mountain bike most trails, bottom turn a surfboard in head high waves and get down just about any run on a pair of skis. But I'm no expert when it comes to placing gear or boat dynamics or what makes one crampon better than another.
So, when I’m testing sport specific gear I like to call in friends and aquaitances with more experience. Not only does it add to the number of opinions I can base my reviews on, it adds expertise that I don’t have.
Case in point is surf skis. These are long, thin, unstable and super fast sit on top kayaks. They are used for flat water racing and for fun offshore in surf, where a skilled surf skier can ride a swell for miles.
I’ve surf skied a few times, but usually end up falling over, so when I wanted to review Think Kayak’s newest surf skis for the explore gear guide I called in Don Irvine. The former flat-water kayak Olympian is now an avid surf skier. He’s also my brother-in-law. We went out together to demo the two boats Daryl Remmler, the owner of Think Kayaks, brought over for us to try. Check out Daryl's photos from the test.
We’re paddling in front of Don's house in Comox, on a beauty winter day. The Strait of Georgia was relatively calm (thank goodness) and the Coast Range was caked in fresh snow (it was actually snowing in town the day before). Don’s insight was invaluable.
Thanks Don and Daryl. Watch for the review in the May issue of explore
Do you have any other questions about how I test gear? Or about surf skis in particular?
I've seen the flat water racing canoes (the ones you kneel in) that will basically tip if you aren't going at some minimum speed. Is that the same for surf skis? i.e., is it ever possible to just rest and float in the water, or does there have to be constant forward motion?
Rob M
February 20, 2008 at 7:32 a.m.
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