The Red Bull Rampage is known as one of the most full-on free-ride mountain biking events in the world. KHS pro-team rider Bradon Sweeney decided his full-suspension bike just wasn’t extreme enough for the course. Before the 2023 event, the mountain biker dropped the Red Bull Rampage course in a kayak.
The Red Bull Rampage course drops as much as 600 feet within three-tenths of a mile. To put that in comparison to some of the steepest whitewater paddled in North America, the South Branch of the Feather in California plummets around 600 feet in a little over a half-mile.
@bradon_sweeney Couldn’t find any water 😢 #fyp #kayaking #sports ♬ Toxicity – System Of A Down
Sweeney opted for what looks to be a Sun Dolphin Aruba recreational kayak as his boat of choice for the steep, no-flow run down the face of ochre cliffs in Virgin, Utah. The Sun Dolphin sports plenty of volume to create a large surface area and ride high on the sand. It also looks to have some round, forgiving edges. But it was an interesting kayak choice for the Red Bull Rampage course, considering the lack of rocker.
We would have recommended a boat design utilizing a rounded bow shape and tons of rocker for these steeps. We’d also encourage Sweeney to wear a life jacket, as we do for any paddling endeavor. In this case, for some padding as he’s rag-dolled across the desert rock.
