I wasn’t there when Wade took my personal Ringer (he called it a demo, but it is outfitted for me (160 pounds, 5’7″)) out, which is perfect since I wasn’t there to influence him in any way. Joe Ball took my Ringer from Columbus where I wasn’t paddling it, since I was training for the World Championships in my Rebound, to Montgomery Whitewater Park. I am glad Wade got in it! He does a good job on the reviews. His verbiage, assessments, opinions, etc. are his own. My goal is to create next-generation kayaks that break the mold and do what other kayaks can’t do, and do the same things better. Being in the carbon fiber realm is the best way to do that right now. Carrying and paddling a Ringer that is 1/2 the weight of a plastic 1/2 slice is a no-brainer. Anyone who “wonders” if it really performs better because it is carbon fiber, the answer is “NO”. I really performs better because it is 1/2 the weight, is stiffer, and the design is better for fast downriver paddling, easy downriver paddling, and surfing. It is on par with most others for squirting and better than some. It isn’t the smallest stern on the market, so the squirting depends on your weight within the boat’s range. The boat isn’t for everyone. #1- you have to have $3,000. It is twice as expensive as a new plastic boat. #2- you have to have a river with water in it, not just a manky rocky river, or be really good at staying in the flow. #3- you have to be willing to fix it (which is super easy- see this blog– ). If you can’t spare 30 minutes to maintain a high performance boat every once in a while, don’t get one. I haven’t had to repair my Ringer or Rebounds yet, ever. and they have seen some good use!
My personal Ringer shown here is the one that Wade reviewed in the video below.
I slid into the water with my Rebound off the rocks over 1,000 times since October of last year. “how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll tootsie pop?” If you don’t know that reference, you probably are not old enough to own one. 🙂
Watch Wade’s Review. What he hasn’t experienced yet is running big water, surfing, or running vertical drops. This boat skips out from drops like crazy- faster than any boat before it (which is from the bow is so wide and planing, FYI- 4 hands as Wade says, and the rocker profile). Surfing- nothing surfs like this- not even close. It is faster and many times looser than other boats. The swing weight is so low that it responds when surfing like nothing else.
here it is on a smaller wave:
See you on the water!
🙂
EJ