Bellyak Play Review

Our neoprene-mitted hands slap in the air and we slither onto our boats, stoked to be seeing our home river from a whole new angle. Paddling head-first on the Bellyak Play gives a fresh perspective to a familiar run.

With its boogie board-meets-playboat look, this lay-on-top design turns heads as it carves you headlong into the fun.

All the usual principles of whitewater apply: get some speed, hold your angle and if you don’t tilt into your turns, you’ll bite it.

At first glance, the Play might seem like a hard-to-control way to get downriver, but as I start goofing around in current, I find the boat’s stability and maneuverability confidence inspiring. Even better, I’m happy to discover that the full and rockered bow protects my head from oncoming rocks. Almost eye-level with the waterline, I feel less like a boater and more like a river creature.

Designer Adam Masters made his first Bellyak prototype by chopping a playboat in half and filling it with foam—he wanted to add challenge to class III and IV runs by paddling prone. The idea has caught on.

Masters says most people picking up Bellyaks are hoping to spice up their home runs or they’re newbies, wanting to try whitewater without the fear of being trapped in a kayak.

When I first flopped onto the water I wondered why the neoprene paddling mitts that come with the Bellyak don’t have stiff plastic for more water grip, but I soon learned why they’re floppy. Within nanoseconds of a swim, I could quickly scramble back on-board using the easy-to-grasp handles, conveniently located all around the boat.

The instantaneous exit makes it a great ride for beginners, building strong links between on-water mistakes and sudden swims.

Not being attached limits the boat from running big, pushy whitewater but Bellyaks are great for park and play surfing, and low-volume beginner to intermediate runs, says Masters.

My home river is drop and pool and between sets I try sitting up to paddle to the next rapid. It’s nice to get up for a stretch, but stability and directional control are compromised when I’m kneeling—Bellyaks are definitely best used prone.

All that hand paddling is a workout, and the soft mitts, which help fine-tune the boat’s direction by allowing me to feather in current, don’t contribute much to flatwater speed.

At just 30 pounds, portaging the Play is a breeze; the boat is easy to hold under an arm or drag using a handle.

Just like a playful otter, I find myself running the same section of river over and over again, careening in and out of eddies, surfing head-first and jet-ferrying this way and that, using only my neoprene paws to get around.

This article was first published in the Spring 2014 issue of Rapid Magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.