ejects the boat into the air. Linking ends felt bal- anced. The length of the boat and even placement of volume made for a smooth hole ride."—Brendan Mark, Dagger.
"The double edge makes the boat carve like a well sharpened knife on Thanksgiving! The swallow tail helps the boat stay in a steady carve on the face of a green wave and helps it not to spin out were other short boat would. It was definitely one of the fastest and better carving boats tested."—Eric Gautier, Pyranha.
"Nice feeling slippery hull, but the lack of volume gives it the low riding feeling when vertical, so flat- water stuff and loops are not so hot. Faster for- wards… you fall off the wave backwards."—Eric Jackson, Wave Sport.
"While nowhere near as fast as the Air or the Vibe, it was still faster than the rest of the boats out there on the wave. Where this boat shone was general paddling. It was the fastest boat I tested just pad- dling around, which helps with river running and attainments. The outfitting was a let down; I needed three tools to adjust the outfitting! On the river, this is absurd"—Corran Addison, Riot.
Rapid bottom line:
While the Pyranha only scored the highest in one category—all-river—it scored very well in the rest. Its lowest score in outfitting is due to lack of foot room and multi-tool multi-set up, but it works. In the new frontier of specialty boats the S6 is as close to an all-rounder as they come.
Riot AIR45 length: 6’ width: 24.5” weight: 29lbs volume: 45 gal
With Lachine Rapids’ huge green features as the breed- ing ground for Riot’s freestyle boats, its no wonder they’ve had a string of hard carving aerial boats. A few years ago we would have said the Air was edgy and unforgiving, today it carves/edges and releases better than anything in its class. Riot is the only company using a flexing system rather than rigid thighbraces and the entire outfitting system adjusts without the use of tools.
A Bounce: Great speed on edge to carve and bounce. B Pop B Hull Speed
A+ Carving/Edge: Narrow feeling hull; low, sharp edges.
A+ Release: Unmatched. A Looseness: Super loose and edgy. C Slice/Hole play: Short stern, not balanced. C All-river: Little rocker, no stern volume.
C Outfitting: Molded seat must fit you and fixed back- band doesn’t float with body.
Pro Quotes
"Having more volume in the front of this kayak than in the back really effects how the boat cartwheels; the stern doesn’t have the same volume as the bow keep- ing you out of the water. I don’t think the Air was built to excel in a hole, it’s designed for wave surfing."— Joe Hitchins, Bliss Stick.
"This boat is an amazing bounce machine; the lack of rocker makes the boat hard to really get on the bow for the bounce but the speed it generates makes up for it. I
like the Air but felt a little speed could be taken out of the boat and put toward a bit of rocker, especially in the tail."—Billy Harris, Necky.
"The best flatwater loop boat out there due to the big bow and itsy bitsy stern. The edgiest boat tested while not any looser than the others. Carves well, and in the running for the fastest. This is a wave boat, certainly you can take it into holes but don't buy it if you want an all-around boat."—Eric Jackson, Wave Sport.
"The Air was easily hucked into the air but difficult to get a good pop in the hole because the bow would sub out from lack of volume. I liked the way the boat would carve; you could really dig the edges into the wave and it would hold."—Brendan Mark, Dagger.
"The Air 45 is best at helixes. Its edge to edge release is great, and the short stern makes the helix rotation really fast overall."—Patrick Camblin, Liquidlogic.
"The Air was by far my favourite boat partially because I designed it for the way I paddle. I favour speed, acceleration and crisp carving and turning over butt bouncing. However, for the purpose of the test, I made the effort to sit on my ass and bounce into the air. I was quite surprised to find that the Air did as well as the best boats."—Corran Addison, Riot.
Rapid bottom line: Carving itself doesn’t score in comps but it’s the ripp’n soul of paddling, and more recently the launch pad for huge aerial moves. Just look at its scores for carve, release, looseness and bounce: the Riot Air, like all their boats before it, is a straight A, big feature soul performer.
2003 Fall 31
Paddler: Billy Harris, Necky
Paddler: Joey Hitchins, Bliss Stick
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