Hi all :-)
Really nice to be writing about kayaking stuff again, always makes me want to just rush out and go paddling, yes, even in these crazy temperatures were all experiencing in the UK at present. Still, we are british and we have all grown up suffering as kids on mince pie paddles, mostly warmed by the vats of whiskey and schnapps these types of endeavours tend to attract!
Well, I have been using my new Lightning Freeride full carbon paddles set at a crazy and experimental feather of 0 degrees. I was out teaching with Tyler Curtis in the Summer and he was rockin out the 0's and was raving about them. I have been creeping towards 0's over the years but not quite made it all the way..... UNTIL NOW! I had a story but I will not waffle on about it. In short, my paddles arrived in bits after a renegade courier decided to drop an engine on my blades during transit. I was due to leave for Nepal in a week or so and grew increasingly concerned about leaving for the trip with no paddles. Robson, wasted no time and turned two sets around for me in a week to arrive JUST before I left for the white water capital of the World. Amazing turn around and was well worth the wait.
The paddles made it all the way to Nepal with no issues and I christened them on the Trisuli river just outside of Kathmandu at the start of November, ( seems like yesterday ). The new set took me a few hours to get used to. I found myself missing strokes by over rotating the shaft and a few little things that took my muscle memory time to figure out but that is the same every time you switch blades. Anyway, once I had figured them out, well, there was no going back. I love these new paddles. I loved them anyways when they were on 12 degrees but now, they ROCK. Why I did not get on this earlier, i don't know! I feel strong and confident going into whatever I come up against. Between the new blades and the new boat, im really finding the fun again from paddling. Really trusting the kit you use is a massive factor when away from civilisation, paddling big volume rivers.
Lightning paddles are a strong contender in the World of White water kayaking, proving their strength, flexibility and style on waves, steep creeks and big volume. With such a wide range available, I am personally looking forward to what the future holds and to be able to try them all out in some more World class kayaking locations. Bring on Corsica at Easter. For anyone interested in coming on our creeking mission don't hessitate to contact me for further details! catmooke@hotmail.com. Lightning links from my 2012 school missions include.
http://youtu.be/ro8LSlu4rPc - Canada
https://vimeo.com/55303304 - Nepal
See you all soon!
Matt Cooke
Endless Summers Kayak School
Team Lightning :-)
