Let's start with helmets. Shred Ready's Super Scrappy helmet has some sweet details that make it easy to use in instruction programs. The size inserts are easy to put in and take out while the HOG (Hands Of God) Retention system rocks! One helmet can fit a huge range of different size heads with very little effort.This year we have chosen to go with Astral Tempo 200 PFD's and IR Zephyr splash jackets.
Astral is "what's hot" in personal floatation. They are stylish, comfortable and with the front zip, easy to fit different body types. Immersion Research is another company that is hip, stylish and functional all at the same time. Although the Zephyr jacket is somewhat simple in design, the 2 layer waterproof material and antimicrobrial mesh liner make it great to use day after day with back to back clinics.
Snap Dragon skirts are great for instructional programs for a number of reasons. They are easy to put on a lot of different sized cockpits so we can put our guests in Dagger boats, Pyranha boats, Liquid Logic and so on all with the same skirt that is easy for the guest to put on themselves. Also, you can order them with an additional implosion bar which gives beginners an extra ejection bar to wet exit from the boat. The biggest plus is that their grab loops are color coded to size. Makes it a no brainer when you're teaching a bunch of people each day.Personally, I've never paddled anything other than Werner paddles. The diversity of their line makes me question if I will ever need to paddle anything different. Bent shaft, small shaft, different lengths, different blades, different feathers, so many options to play with and try. Later, we'll post some thoughts about differences in paddles. The zero degree topic is one that we play with a lot. Our fleet of paddles this year consist of 194 and 197 Werner Desperados with both 45 degree and 0 degree offset.
Within our five year plan, we hope to be one of the largest kid's whitewater instructional programs in the nation. To kick start this notion we've started to aquire kid specific gear.
We've purchased a full line of smaller Jackson Fun series. This enables us to accomodate younger paddlers with a fun and comfortable experience.
Then there is the whole issue of boats. I'm not even going to venture into the discussion of what boats are better for instruction (if all comes down to what fits, what's comfortable, what works for the individual) but I will say that a long stack of pretty, new, shiny boats sure does make me giddy. New toys!
Speaking of new toys, the camera I've been using for all of these blog posts was purchased because of its waterproof quality. The Pentax Optio WP 7 megapixel set up has been fantastic for underwater stills and video. Last week I went to the Botanical Garden and found out just how great this new toy is for everyday, above water shots as well. Here's a few examples.
