POUROVER
Big Dog hunting. PHOTO: NEIL WRIGHT
STATE OF FLUX kayak insider
BIG DOG KAYAKS SHAKES UP THE WHITEWATER KENNEL
Honda Racing fairing kits, a Guinness record- setting English Channel kayak crossing, motor- cycle land speed record attempts and bench- mark-setting whitewater, sea, surf and squirt kayak designs. What do these things have in common? For the players behind British upstart Big Dog Kayaks, it’s the seeming contradictions that are the strengths of this emerging brand. Big Dog’s line-up of eye-catching kayaks
benefits from the diverse pedigrees of its de- signers. Popping up on English boating forums as “3wisemonkeys,” co-owners Peter Orton and Jason Buxton and sales manager Andy Whiting are all former members of the British freestyle kayak team. Orton and Buxton are also ex R&D department heads at P&H and Pyranha, re- spectively, while Whiting was involved with Riot and Peak UK. The company’s stealthy launch into a severely
depressed market in the spring of 2009 sur- prised many industry pundits, but Orton stated
he was excited by his fledgling brand’s fresh, if inauspicious, start: “It will live or die entirely on the strength of what we do.” Three seasons on, the Big Dog website bills
the brand “Britain’s fastest growing whitewater kayak company.” Cheeky. Although the boats are still scarce in North America, Big Dogs are creeping across the pond with containers of Or- ton and Buxton’s popular Valley sea kayak brand. So what are Big Dogs like? Former Riot front-
man Corran Addison says they look like Dag- ger bred with Fluid (actually, being Corran, he writes on a U.K. forum, “Dagger had sex with a Fluid!”). The functional, no frills outfitting in our test boat used a twin ratchet backrest, aggres- sive thigh grips and a full plate footrest to adjust for a positive fit. The Flux is Big Dog’s offering in the one-boat-
does-it-all “playful river runner” category. The combination of full volume and a planing hull is reminiscent of popular river runners like the
DIGITAL EXTRA: Click here to watch a video review.
Diesel, Mamba or Remix, but the Flux’s highly rockered hull has a feel all its own. Forgiving rails make for effortless crosscurrent charging, spinning on a wave and rolling, but less-than- snappy eddy turns. Keeping your weight
ward. Driving aggressively from the bow avoids washing out on eddylines. An ancient Chinese proverb states: A dog in a
kennel barks at its fleas; a hunting dog does not feel them. Raised on lean times, Big Dog isn’t whimpering at its biggest hurdle—getting butts in the boats. As Orton, Buxton and Whiting dog- gedly attack the North American market, expect to see more of these puppies in the future. —Vir- ginia Marshall
BIG DOG FLUX M / L LENGTH ..................................................7’3” / 7’7” WIDTH .................................................24.5” / 25.5” WEIGHT ..................................................34 / 36 lbs PADDLER ............................100–190 / 150–240 lbs MSRP $1,049 US
for-
www.bigdogkayaks.com
CHILL OUT river 411
KTFLC is the ultimate rule of Raft Cooler Management (RCM). RCM is an obscure yet evolved science, and the rule stands for Keep The F’ing Lid Closed, often yelled loudly from camp kitchen to beer-getter. Here is a summary of the science to date: air and water = melting, so eliminate both from the cooler. Line the bottom with block ice—it stays frozen longer than cubes (al-
though you’ll need some of those for mixed drinks). Drain the coolers when the ice starts to melt. Freeze food in advance and pack the coolers tightly. Duct tape an inventory to the lid so items are easy to find (remember KT- FLC), and pack smart so coolers are emptied top-down, one at a time. Keep the lids strapped down at all times, and lay a wet wool blanket or
20 RAPID SUMMER/FALL 2011
reflective sheet on top during day hikes so they don’t heat up in the sun. Leave a cheap thermometer inside each cooler to ensure it stays below 7°C/45°F. If it gets warmer than this, redistribute the important items to other coolers and scarf the rest. A bout of food poisoning swiftly dampens the communal enjoyment of rafting. Certificates and diplomas are avail- able in RCM. Contact your local degree-granting institution for details. —Jeff Jackson
PHOTO: MAXIMILIAN KNIEWASSER
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