Off the Tongue
NEVER TRULY HUNG OUT TO DRY. PHOTO: RYAN CREARY
WELL-WORN MEMORIES
ONE OF THE BEST parts of our job at Rapid is testing new boats and gear. Courier trucks deliver boxes of the year’s latest and greatest apparel and gadgets. In this issue alone we jumped into the Wave Sport Mobius and game-changing Bellyak Play. On page 40 you find a wack of new products we really liked. Turn three more pages and you’ll see four new breathable drysuits we lined up and tested. It’s one thing to have access
to the latest models, fabrics and colors, but it’s another thing en- tirely for new gear to find a per- manent home in my gear bag. In 20 years on rivers I’m only
on my second drysuit. Six years ago I reluctantly upgraded to a new Kokatat Meridian, not be- cause my original Gore-Tex suit was worn or leaked, but be- cause I was logging more river days in my suit than without it and I wanted sewn-in feet and a pee zipper. Underneath, I’m still loving my original thread- bare-in-the-elbows-and-knees Stolhquist fuzzy fleece onesie,
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originally reviewed in the very first issue of Rapid, 16 years ago. When the water warms I
switch to a retro Patagonia short sleeved rip-stop nylon training shell. I traded it for my Ken- wood car audio cassette deck. Patagonia stopped making pad- dling gear in ’99 and cassettes are now defunct, but I’ve yet to replace my favorite shell. Through winter, spring and
fall I wear on my feet a holey pair of original Five Ten Water Tennies and come summer I switch to a pair of resoled Teva Alps (see page 25). For more than 10 years I’ve
been racing open canoe sla- lom. If it weren’t for longer hair, shorter hair and facial hair there would be no way of sort- ing photos taken from 2003 to present—I’m even using the same boat and paddle. The Rapid gear review closet
is full of newer and snazzier versions of these items. The technology today is dryer, stick- ier, warmer, smarter and more protective. But the undeniable
truth is, good gear lasts. And because it lasts we wear it a lot. Because we wear it a lot we get attached to it. We develop systems. We know what pieces layer well together at what tem- perature and in what boats. But we know layered deeper in our brains or maybe in our souls, there is more to it than that. This past Black Friday, Patago-
nia threw parties at 15 of their retail stories across the country, parties they said to, “Celebrate what you already own.” They screened the new short film, Worn Wear. Billed as the an- tidote to the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping frenzy, Worn Wear tells the stories of eight people—people just like you and me—and the well-loved, well-used pieces of clothing that have become part of their lives. As a couple of seasons turn
to 10 and then to 20, I feel the same way about paddling gear as I do about paddling friends. The more rivers paddled togeth- er, more finish lines crossed to- gether and more great memories created together, the more good gear and good friends become part of our lives and who we are. —Scott MacGregor
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