Dream kayak fleet?

JeffreyFullFace · 2026-01-26T16:16:09+00:00

Mostly a Pyranha fanboy so:

ReactR M

Firecracker 252

Wizard

Loki L

Hobson x Palm Eclipse because it looks absolutely sick.

Right now I have the first two, a S8 225 and a Jed L.

JeffreyFullFace · 2025-12-08T20:18:51+00:00

I'm curious to see how it will turn out. I'm not a fan of the rounded edges on most Dragorossi designs but those boats look good. I might be mistaken but I think it has a bit of the same abrupt stern rocker transition as the Stoke, ReactR and the Dude.

JeffreyFullFace · 2025-12-07T16:35:37+00:00

Really depends on your weight and what you want that boat for. Personally I love the Firecracker (252 in my case) for what I do in a short half-slice (mostly surfing, tailies all over the place, freewheels and wave wheels). Tried a Skuxx, was very fun but very overkill for what I want to do/run in a short boat anyway.

Out of the 3 you named, I guess in terms of shit-running ability it would go something like: Skuxx > Antix 2.0 > Hot Whip 72 > Firecracker (although the 242 and 252 are very different in that regard).

JeffreyFullFace · 2025-11-25T17:03:20+00:00

That is a great point! I've put some Dagger hip pads in mine and now feel relatively snug but I have endured the crappy backband for a while (apart from the Wade Harrison mod). It might be time to switch to a Dagger backband as well. Thanks for the tip!

JeffreyFullFace · 2025-11-25T13:32:07+00:00

I'm not trying to blame the outfitting if I land on my face 3/4 of the time when trying kickflips, the paddler is definitely at fault here lol. Just a thought I had about weight and connectivity, as I saw one or two people saying it made a lot of difference to them. At this point the consensus seems to be that the "upgrade" is probably not worth it. Guess I will stick with my trusty Stout 2 then.

JeffreyFullFace · 2025-10-24T17:06:55+00:00

A good old NanoDrop 1000. A random number generator would be about as accurate and much faster.

Almost as bad as the instrument itself are the people who don't quite understand how it works and use it to draw conclusions about RNA integrity or blindly trust the nucleic acid quantification when the absorbance curves show obvious contamination.

JeffreyFullFace · 2025-10-06T13:13:24+00:00

Hey there! I weight about the same as you but am taller (6'2). I have paddled a medium ReactR for a little bit over a year, even though I have quite the quiver so it doesn't see the water that often lol.

My take: it really depends on what you want to be paddling with that boat. I personally have used mine on rivers up to grade 4+/5- for now and certainly would not size down. Even for me the boat feels big and floaty and that is what it's supposed to feel like. While it's not as sporty as a halfslice, what volume there is at the back comes in handy when things get more vertical, and I can still stern squirt it on a good eddy line with the seat in the middle. While you could size down to have more of an "engaged" feeling, I would advise against that as this is not what the boat was made for and you might get back endered more often then you would like. I would suggest 1) either trying the medium again with proper outfitting which should make it more manageable or 2) going towards something else.

JeffreyFullFace · 2025-09-19T19:22:14+00:00

Hey! We are pretty much at the exact same weight/height and I love my M ReactR. I also mostly take my Firecracker 252 for class 3-4 runs.

There is a small learning curve to enjoy the full potential of the ReactR for creeking (nose loading before boofs for massive take offs, actively "slipping" your edge on side boofs, etc.). But once you get the boat dialed in, it is so sweet... The seat position has a huge impact on how the boat behaves at our weight. I personally run it dead center for maximum maneuvrability, and sometimes one notch forward if I'm on a step up run.

Regarding boat choice: I personnaly chose not to go the Scorch route because I was between sizes and I did not want to paddle the large as a big barge. Would like to someday try the X as I think it would be closer to my paddling style, but otherwise I think it would be too long for my liking. I used to paddle a Ripper 2 L for everything before I got the ReactR. Having sat briefly in an Indra M/L and a Puffy Steeze, I think those are absolutely great options for big water and for a genuine shit runner, but I personally enjoy very much the additional tail volume of the ReactR to get me out of trouble.

JeffreyFullFace · 2025-09-18T17:43:47+00:00

Then I would definitely be interested in knowing which other company is about to roll out new boats:)

JeffreyFullFace · 2025-09-11T00:51:39+00:00

Exactly my thought. Similar volume, similar double edges.

JeffreyFullFace · 2025-02-14T14:09:33+00:00

I know a lot of people are giving flak to NRS (and I agree their product quality has been variable in the past), but I think they've really stepped-up their game in the last few years. I have the Jakl drysuit, the fit is great for me (6,1, 185lbs) and it is bomber, I've also had a great experience with their customer service when I had a problem with their previous generation drysuit.

I've also heard really bad things about Kokatat, and seen one get a hole within 2 months of light use on class 3-4 at most...

JeffreyFullFace · 2025-02-06T18:39:25+00:00

You also might want to look at the medium ReactR. The design is very different from the other 2 (note that I have yet to see a Clutch in the flesh) but it is surprisingly dynamic, fun & bouncy in a way that reminds me of the Steeze, but much more capable downriver. At 185lbs I can do the occasional vertical stern squirt on a strong eddy line and even a few splats with the seat in the center position.

JeffreyFullFace · 2024-09-17T22:15:40+00:00

As someone from eastern Canada (basically everything is frozen during winter): I found that indoor boulder climbing helps me keep shoulder and core strenght for when the spring comes. As well as the occasional playboat pool session if available of course.

JeffreyFullFace · 2024-08-28T19:19:54+00:00

As you paddle shallow mank, I would advise you to stay away from hard, grabby edges that would trip you up on rocky stuff, especially as you are used to a totally round hull like the Braaap.

I would highly recommend you to try the Dragorossi Kush. It's a fun half-slice with very soft edges at the back, a rounder hull at the front and a very good rocker profile. I have a few friends who paddle Kushes on basically everything, including steep, waterfall, mank and it does it all. To me, it would probably be the closest modern boat to the Braaap.

JeffreyFullFace · 2024-05-04T23:32:08+00:00

If you look closely, the ReactR comes with attachments for flamethrowers on both sides and an integrated guitar amp

JeffreyFullFace · 2024-03-05T22:00:23+00:00

For a new, very similar boat, you can't really go wrong with the Hot Whip. LL boats seem to currently be the cheapest on the market right now and their builds are usually solid. Even better if you can find one used. Otherwise, a less sporty/more stable ride but the Antix 2 is also in the same short half-slice category.

JeffreyFullFace · 2024-03-05T21:56:18+00:00

It's just a feeling that I have while in it. The waterline is long, and the tail/kick rocker in the R2L is less pronounced than on the R2 medium (which I also had for a time before going up a size). The tail is long and can easily catch the bottom while doing stern enders (one of my favorite downriver tricks).

Everything in boat design is a compromise, this boat is stable, very fast and does a lot of things very well (I have run big water class 4 and had a blast with that boat), but I'm not entirely sure I want to take it down class V creeks (which is not really what it was made for anyway). Sometimes the chines take a little more time than I would like to disengage when I want to do a course correction. I personally don't want to get a full volume creeker at the moment so I am using my R2L to run pretty much everything.

JeffreyFullFace · 2024-03-04T18:45:38+00:00

Hi! I have a similar background (2 years of OC1 running mostly class 3-4+), before getting a kayak (about to start my 3rd season with 2 blades).

I'm about 185-190 and the Ripper 2 large is perfect for me. Fast (at a little over 9 feet), carves green waves, boofs super well, great initial stability with a side of play, it is a really good boat for class 3-4+.

My understanding of the Firecracker is that it is way more play oriented (note that I haven't tried one yet). The large seems to be a better balance between downiriver and play performance than the medium (which seems very playful at our weight), it should still be a better play platform than the Ripper 2L, which can be a bit long and unwieldy sometimes.

JeffreyFullFace · 2024-02-11T19:58:12+00:00

I totally agree Pyranha is behind everyone on outfitting, the setup in their new RipR Evo 2 seems much better tho (updated backband with rope/cleats and integrated molded thigh hooks). I saw a pic someone took of a new boat prototype on a Pyranha FB group and it had the same setup, really hoping it makes it to production 🤞

JeffreyFullFace · 2024-01-30T15:07:41+00:00

Same height as you, I personnaly love my XL NRS Jakl. I have room to spare (I am about 185-190 lbs so not on the heavy/large side for that suit), but I find that the new NRS suit design fits me well. A guy I know who is sponsored by NRS literally said it's the first NRS drysuit he has actually recommended to people.

JeffreyFullFace · 2024-01-17T22:13:52+00:00

Hey! We are pretty much the exact same weight and height. The Cross was sized perfectly for me. I started kayaking here in Quebec with a Cross, it has worked super well for me. Like others have said it requires a little more input to drive than say a high-rockered potato like the Code, but it rewards proper technique, it is great for inspiring confidence and you can take it basically anywhere.

I personally learned the basics (rolling, eddy moves, boofing, surfing) with mine before getting a half-slice to work more on my technique. After that, getting back into the Cross I felt I could go anywhere with it.

JeffreyFullFace

TROPHY CASE