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BOATER STATS 43% Buy a new boat every two years 46% Own two or three boats 68% Have been paddling for seven or more years


MILESTONE


Going Vertical Freestyle paddlers have taken moves to a whole new level. Hot moves are the loop, air loop, space Godzilla, tricky woo and the matrix—huge moves on top of waves rather than the squirt and hole-boating moves that previously dominated the scene.


MILESTONE


Creeking Revelation Since 2001, creeking has been defined by the evolu- tion of safer, stronger boats. Modern creek boats have pillars and reinforcement to meet the durability and safety demands of today’s creekers.


BEST VERTICAL PLAYBOAT


Riot Disco This boat ushered in a new era of whitewater kayak design—the spud. Once again, Corran Addison’s forward thinking presented a new trend. Able to pack more rotation into a single stroke, the Disco paved the way for a new breed of short boats and a new quiver of tricks.


BEST SLICY PLAYBOAT


Wave Sport X If the Fury came too soon, the X was right on time. It’s the boat that really made planing hulls popular. Slicy, flat-bottomed boats began to appear on the market after dominating at the 1997 World Champi- onships on the Ottawa River.


BEST MODERN CREEKBOAT


Dagger Nomad Almost 10 years old and still among the industry’s top creekboat designs. Revolutionary rescue features like extra grab handles, along with a stable design with a low center of gravity, pushed the confidence level of creek boaters and redefined what could be accomplished on the steeps. The Nomad would go on to carry Tyler Bradt off of 186-foot Palouse Falls in 2009.


WHAT YOU HAD TO SAY:


“Good outfitting with safety features built into the bulk- head design” —Terry, Columbus, GA


BEST AERIAL PLAYBOAT


Jackson Kayak Star Series With multiple redesigns, the 2010 series received the greatest amount of praise in this survey. With the end of the squirt as a staple playboating move, high volume sterns ushered in an era of aerial tricks and the Star series became the winningest playboat of all time.


WHAT YOU HAD TO SAY:


“Perfect balance between volume, stability and length.” —Kyle, Austin, TX


WORST VERTICAL PLAYBOAT WORST SLICY PLAYBOAT


Prijon Alien Its tell-tale cleavage on the bow and stern decks gave it a distinctive other-worldly appearance. Known for near 90-degree edges between flat hull and side- walls, this boat is notorious for leading paddlers to get worked. Adding to its list of foibles, it had a raised seat, making it exceedingly tricky to roll.


Wave Sport Transformer The Transformer got great performance reviews, but its namesake gimmicky inter- changeable nose and tailpieces would ulti- mately prove to be its downfall. The ability to change performance by lengthening and shortening the kayak lead to missing pieces and too many people who just didn’t get it.


WHAT YOU HAD TO SAY:


“What was up with those bolt-on ends that nobody ever used?” —Steven, Calgary, AB


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