When you’re on the water as much as the pro whitewater paddlers we polled below, you see a lot. The good, the bad and the ugly. We asked nine pros to weigh in on the most common mistakes they see on the river when it comes to gear and equipment. Are you guilty of any of these? Here’s what the pros had to say.
9 Pros On What Boaters Get Wrong About Gear
“Nose clips are crippling paddlers. You have to open your mouth to breathe. It makes no sense in bigger rapids.”
—Mariann Saether
“It’s hard not to bring too much gear on a road trip or international paddling adventures. The annoying part is that it’s a time-suck dealing with it, stashing it and worrying that it may get stolen out of a vehicle or storage spot.
The best trips I have done are the ones where everything I bring goes with me in the kayak. The good news is that all that extra gear makes for great barter or, better yet, the opportunity to donate to your adopted paddling community.”
—Ben Stookesberry
“Assuming everything that ever happens when using something new is 100 percent the equipment’s fault and not focusing on potential user error.”
—Dane Jackson
“They don’t wear a protective layer over their drysuit socks.”
—Natalie Anderson
“The backband. Most kayakers would put their backband up to the back of their necks if they could. If you keep the backband low but tight, it keeps you in the boat nice, but then you have much more range of motion when paddling. If you want power, you need to use more than just your skinny little arms.”
—Dave Fusilli
“Small creek boats for women or small paddlers. You can be small and paddle big kayaks.”
—Nouria Newman
“Simplicity is best. When you’re starting, it’s easy to complicate your gear, bring too much and not have a great system for ensuring you have the right stuff for the river you’re jumping on.”
—Mike Dawson
“Believing they need something specific and consistent to perform rather than believing they can adapt to anything they need to.”
—Benny Marr
“Paddlers think gear is more important than it really is, and paddlers don’t think about how important gear is. What I mean is people stress out and invest too much into pieces that aren’t crucial.
For example, do you need a top-condition spray skirt? I would say no for 99 percent of paddling. Do you need a nice drysuit? I’ve used wetsuits in some remarkably cold weather. However, here’s the flip side: lives are on the line. Being warm is not just a matter of comfort. If you have a wetsuit instead of a drysuit, you better be absolutely sure you can hike out or deal with a long rescue. Throw ropes need to deploy and hold.
What I’m trying to say is people don’t always have an accurate picture of what their gear will do. It doesn’t have to be the best, but even if it is top of the line, you have to know exactly what its limits are and stay within them.”
—Leif Anderson
This article was published in Issue 73 of Paddling Magazine. Transform and roll out. | Feature photo: John Webster
