Whitewater
Latest Whitewater
Best Inflatable Kayaks For 2026
When I was 16, I started my first season as a safety kayaker for whitewater rafting trips. Each trip I crammed myself into my...
Ultimate Guide To Dagger Kayaks
Dagger is a well-respected American kayak brand that’s been making boats for decades. The history of Dagger kayaks begins with whitewater. The company got...
Top Five Up-And-Coming Whitewater Athletes You Should Be Watching
The pace of progression for young kayakers is skyrocketing. Thanks to programs like Keeners, Yaku Churi, World Class Kayak Academy and Paddle Tribal Waters,...
Hey, Whitewater Boaters: This Is Why No One Understands You
“Idolizing hard whitewater leaves out what the vast majority of whitewater paddlers do,” expedition kayaker and author Doug Ammons wrote 10 years ago in...
5 Expert Tips To Improve Your River Running
Too often, no matter whether on a big play wave in a spring creek, beginner and even quite seasoned paddlers run straight-ahead-Fred green runs...
Best Packrafts
The greatest innovation to paddlesports in the past two decades is perhaps the modern packraft. Sure, ultralight inflatable paddle craft have been around as...
The Rapids Are Real, The River Isn’t
Can you imagine what it would cost to build a river? This question was floated by environmentalist Mark Hume when I interviewed him for Rapid magazine over...
9 Pros On What Boaters Get Wrong About Gear
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...
How To Buy The Best Hard Paddleboard For You
Inflatable paddleboards are everywhere you look these days, and it’s understandable why. These boards have opened the world of SUP ownership to condo dwellers...
Whitewater Buying Advice
Ultimate Guide To Dagger Kayaks
Dagger is a well-respected American kayak brand that’s been making boats for decades. The history of Dagger kayaks begins with whitewater. The company got...
Best Packrafts
The greatest innovation to paddlesports in the past two decades is perhaps the modern packraft. Sure, ultralight inflatable paddle craft have been around as...
How To Buy The Best Hard Paddleboard For You
Inflatable paddleboards are everywhere you look these days, and it’s understandable why. These boards have opened the world of SUP ownership to condo dwellers...
Everything You Need To Know About Buying A Creek Boat
Creek boats have come a long way since 1973, when Tom and Jamie McEwan attempted the first descent of North Carolina’s Linville Gorge in...
Kayaks For Her: What To Know When Buying A Women’s Kayak
Female paddlers shopping for their first, or next, kayak can be forgiven for wondering where all the women’s models are. Nearly every outdoor pursuit—think...
Best Pyranha Kayaks For 2026
Based in the U.K., Pyranha celebrated 50 years in the kayak-building business in 2021. A lot has changed since Pyranha’s 1971 prototypes first hit...
Best Jackson Kayaks For 2026
Jackson Kayak was founded in 2004 by Olympic champion and professional whitewater paddler, Eric Jackson. At its inception, the company focused exclusively on building...
Best Inflatable Canoes For 2026
Space is at a premium in so many aspects of modern life. Garages fill to the point that vehicles are relegated to the driveway....
Whitewater Reviews
Whitewater Canoe Review: Esquif Ocoee
Today is February 2nd. Actually. I’m basically Bill, a bitter weatherman forced to cover the same breaking news in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, again and again,...
Inflatable Kayak Review: AIRE’s Spud & Tater
We don’t typically review seven-year-old boats. These last few years have been extraordinary times, and the Tributary Spud by AIRE, first released way back...
Whitewater Kayak Review: Jackson Kayak Flow
In a world where nine-foot-long, high-volume creek boats and half-slice river runners have taken over, the Jackson Flow diverges. While other boat categories push...
3 Top Creekboats Go Head-To-Head
Somehow, creek boat designs continue to evolve. Paddling steep, difficult whitewater has never looked or felt smoother with moves like leaning boofs and skipping...
First Look: Jackson Kayak Unleashes The Flow (Video)
Jackson Kayak has taken the success of the recent Gnarvana and built it into a smaller, more nimble river runner built for your favorite...
Whitewater Kayak Review: Pyranha Scorch
The Pyranha Scorch hit the market in 2021 as a successor to the classic Burn. Billed as a boundary-smashing river runner and creek boat...
Whitewater Kayak Review: Zet Chili
Boatercross, or extreme slalom as it is referred to by the International Canoe Federation (ICF), is taking the international race scene by force. The...
Pyranha Ripper 2: Field Test With Bren Orton (Video)
Earlier this year, Pyranha Kayaks released its highly-anticipated Ripper 2. The new half-slice kayak is an evolution of its popular predecessor, the OG Ripper.
When...
First Thoughts: Werner Stealth And Covert Paddles (Video)
Whitewater paddlers have caught on to the stroke power benefits of blade-forward offset, and with this we are seeing more paddles incorporating the design...
2 Top Whitewater Paddles Go Head-To-Head
Sure, the kayak is the main attraction, but for whitewater kayakers, the paddle is doing all the work. And that means it is a...
7 Best Whitewater Helmets For Safety, Style & Comfort
This summer, we hit the river for a roundup of the best whitewater helmets, seeking out the latest in lightweight design and protective power....
River Safety & Rescue Gear: Your Head-To-Toe Guide
Whether you are brand new to whitewater or are a seasoned paddler, it’s important to know what gear to take along to prepare you...
3 Pieces Of Rescue Gear Worth Spending Extra On
Pop quiz. Which three pieces of paddling safety equipment would you choose to spend a little extra on? Take a minute to think about...
5 Top Women’s Drysuits Go Head-To-Head
We’ve come a long way since the rain-jacket-adaptation drysuits of the late 1970s. The first leap towards a more inclusive drysuit offering for paddlers...
4 of the greatest river running essential no one talks about
I couldn’t even begin to guess who figured this out first. I grew up on a farm, and it never occurred to me while...
Kokopelli Showcases Recon Packraft, Animas River Bag And Delta Inflatable Dry Bag
Kelley Smith with Kokopelli Packraft takes us through the new Recon Packraft targeted at avid whitewater paddlers. The Recon differentiates itself from the rest...
More Whitewater Stories
Skills
5 Expert Tips To Improve Your River Running
Too often, no matter whether on a big play wave in a spring creek, beginner and even quite seasoned paddlers run straight-ahead-Fred green runs...
Accident Debrief: Inside A Veteran Boater’s Scary Swim
Shane McManus reckons he’s run Big Splat on the Lower Big Sandy 500 times. Almost every time he runs the West Virginia classic, he...
How To Get In And Out Of A Kayak In 6 Steps
As the owner of a specialty kayak retailer, AQ Outdoors, my team and I are often the first information source for many people who...
Why You’re Not Winning The River Permit Lottery
Permits for the United States’ most iconic river trips are difficult to secure, and it’s no surprise why. Data from the U.S. Forest Service...
Pro Boaters On Why Expeditions Fail
Even the pros know that not every whitewater expedition goes as planned. From overlooked prep to unpredictable weather and challenging team dynamics, a lot...
How To Score A John Day River Permit And Plan The Ultimate Trip
Standing on river left at Clarno Rapid, I watched the water tumble over a wide ledge, forming a hole that stretched from bank to...
How To Score A San Juan River Permit And Plan The Ultimate Trip
The San Juan River holds a long-running record of drawing life to its waters within an extremely arid region of the Utah desert, and...
How To Score A Middle Fork Of The Salmon River Permit And Plan The...
Some rapids sit front of mind for every boater who’s paddled the Middle Fork of the Salmon. Eli Kretzmann, 14-year professional river guide and...
Trips
Our Favorite Paddling Trips You Can Do
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Source To Sea On The Lifeline Of India
Regardless of where you’re from, you’ve probably heard of India’s Ganges River: It is one of the world’s longest rivers at nearly 2,700 kilometers....
10 Best Paddling Trips For Summer 2025
Sometimes headlines can be deceiving. Rather than highlighting specific trips, our list of best paddling “trips” for this year showcases regions with multiple world-class...
Your Guide To The 9 Most Magnificent Kayaking Destinations In Minnesota
Known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes, it makes sense there’s a lifetime's worth of incredible kayaking in Minnesota. From the vast horizon of...
15 Best Family Kayak Trips In The World
The longest, most scenic or ambitious kayaking expedition in the world still cannot compare to the joy of paddling with your family. There’s something...
15 Of The Most Beautiful Places To Paddle In The World
The question we faced in curating this article was simple: how to list the most beautiful places to paddle in the world without playing...
16 Of The Best Places To Paddle In America
The United States of America is a paddling hotbed for good reason. From the iconic wilderness of Alaska to the mysterious mangroves of the...
How To Score A John Day River Permit And Plan The Ultimate Trip
Standing on river left at Clarno Rapid, I watched the water tumble over a wide ledge, forming a hole that stretched from bank to...
News & Opinions
Behind The Scenes On The Photo Of A Lifetime
“It was kind of a dream that all fell together,” says photographer Riley Seebeck. Getting this photo was a seven-person, six-hour mission that pushed...
Greatest Whitewater Descents Of The Century (So Far)
Sure, it’s only been 25 years. But that’s a lot of water under the hulls of the world’s best whitewater paddlers. To help chronicle...
Top Five Up-And-Coming Whitewater Athletes You Should Be Watching
The pace of progression for young kayakers is skyrocketing. Thanks to programs like Keeners, Yaku Churi, World Class Kayak Academy and Paddle Tribal Waters,...
Hey, Whitewater Boaters: This Is Why No One Understands You
“Idolizing hard whitewater leaves out what the vast majority of whitewater paddlers do,” expedition kayaker and author Doug Ammons wrote 10 years ago in...
The Rapids Are Real, The River Isn’t
Can you imagine what it would cost to build a river? This question was floated by environmentalist Mark Hume when I interviewed him for Rapid magazine over...
9 Pros On What Boaters Get Wrong About Gear
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...
Inside India’s First All-Female Kayaking Revolution
In April 2023, eight women launched their kayaks into the icy waters of the Himalayan Ganga River. Led by India’s top female kayaker, Naina...
Jon Turk’s Life Lessons For Digging Deep
An errant hydraulic grabbed the stern of my kayak, stood me into a tail stand, and then pulled me down, down, down. The boat...
