#001 - New paddler kit purchase guide
Hi there!
Welcome to my first post :)
This is a guide on what kit to purchase as a new paddler - focusing on beginner paddlers- who have already joined a club and are keen to paddle mainly whitewater. For other disciplines you can drop me a comment and I'll help out where I can!
This is based on my experience as a member of a university paddling club over the last 5 years, things I've learned working as an outdoor instructor and chatting to other experienced whitewater paddlers.
While many clubs can provide good quality basic kit, this wont be true for every club, chat to the people you paddle with for their opinion too - this is just a general guide on the importance of different items of kit and how you should prioritise them. As well as some personal recommendations.
1. Thermals
The most important thing for your safety while paddling - especially in the UK, is staying warm, thermals are (mostly) really cheap and the difference they make to your comfort and safety while paddling through the rainy winters cannot be understated. There are a lot of options for the thermals you can wear while paddling and how you can wear them (layering).
As a newer paddler you will likely be wearing a club wetsuit for the early days so non-bulky thermals are ideal, Decathlon's skiing thermals are a really good cheap option, I personally own 3 sets of them and use them year round even with having a drysuit. Or for a little bit more money fleece lined rashvests are the best you can get for under a wetsuit. Being able to wear a thicker thermal alongside them on the colder days is a great plan - or layering multiple thin thermals under a wetsuit works too!
Generally thicker thermals/fleeces are a bit too large to get under a wetsuit comfortably and its more important to have a tight fit on your wetsuit than be able to fit chunkier thermals. If you are moving on to dry kit instead of a wetsuit thick fleeces and thermals are great. Personally I have 2 thick sets of thermals I use regularly
- Full set of Peak stretch fleece base layers
- Decathlon's hiking fleece
The peak fleeces are my favourite by far, super comfy and warm however this is very much reflected in the price, Peak often have a few bits on the clearance/sale rail sections of their website where you can pick these up for great prices! On the other hand the decathlon fleece performs really well for a fraction of the cost - It gets a bit itchy when damp though and it takes a disturbingly long time to dry out if you get it wet.
Importantly every one of these thermals is non-cotton based which is the most important thing when purchasing thermals, cotton and paddling don't mix, cotton soaks up water and becomes incredibly heavy while also not providing any warmth when wet. Polyester/synthetic thermals is 100% the way to go.
2. Shoes!!
One of the most common places for a whitewater kayaker to get injured is on the side of the river, rolling an ankle and spraining it is not uncommon especially when kayaking is notoriously not very comfy on the ankles. You can get fantastic river shoes such as the Palm gradients or Astral Brewers but as a beginner these are a bit excessive. You really have two options
- Good neoprene boots - these provide ankle support and decent grip for the level of flexibility they offer
- Trainers with a good amount of tread - a lot of us are guilty of using the shoes that we have trashed through ordinary use as river shoes and while this is often 'good enough' shoes with no tread are unsurprisingly terrible on wet rocks (from experience). Buying a cheap pair of trainers that actually still have tread is a pretty inexpensive way to upgrade your footwear.
- Neoprene socks are also super handy - obviulsly they haven't got much grip and they will wear down fast, but they are great for fitting into playboats easily and also great as a protective layer for future kit (drysuits/drytrousers). I tend to alternate between Peak and Decathlon ones.
3. Safety Critical Gear - Helmets and Buoyancy aids
So hopefully you're now a little bit warmer and with a club wetsuit and cag (waterproof spray jacket) this should be good enough for most of the year. So what should you buy next?
Most people agree that upgrading a piece of safety gear is the way to go, a good helmet will provide a much comfier fit - A snug fit on a helmet means it wont be wobbling around which is much safer, most good helmets will be a little bit warmer than a typical club helmet which is a nice side bonus! Importantly with a personal helmet you are aware of any impacts taken to the helmet - making it easier to judge if it is time to replace it.
There are some interesting articles comparing a lot of the helmets on the market these days such as this one which investigates various designs abilities to prevent concussions - Virginia tech study -However any such studies should be taken with at grain of salt as the testing for whitewater helmets to be certified is much more rigorous and complex than that carried out in most studies.
Any major brand helmet will have been tested extensively so should be appropriate, the key players in the helmet game are
Sweet protection used to have a really brilliant warranty system, where if you broke your helmet under normal use cases you could get 40% off on a replacement directly from them, however it seems they have stopped shipping to the UK so this may no longer be a thing for us, that said my sweet wanderer is the second comfiest helmet I have ever worn (My Gath RV is even comfier but not really a great choice for whitewater) and I will use it until I need to replace it, where I will likely still replace it with a new wanderer. The rocker is also great and I know a lot of paddlers who love theirs.
WRSI's counterparts the current and current pro are also really great - Though a bit larger on the fit and a bit trickier to setup - but more adjustable because of it. If you have a larger head they're a pretty good choice!
On a bit more of a budget? For a cheaper and slightly more basic helmet you can't go wrong with the likes of the Palm shuck, Peak freeride, they're all a little bit more bare bones than the likes of the Sweet and WRSI helmets so missing some of the cool safety features these helmets have but you can always upgrade as you progress to harder paddling.
One other thing worth noting is the deciding on the style of whitewater helmet you prefer there are 3 main styles/cuts available
- Full face - e.g. Sweet rocker full face.
These provide protection around your lower face - the highest level of protection you can really get, Ideal for rivers that are fast and rocky but pretty bulky and very expensive! Well worth it for the peace of mind though.
- Full cut/Half cut - e.g. WRSI current pro/Sweet Wanderer
A Full cut will cover the side of your head - over and around your ears. Compared with the half cut you're adding a bit more protection and some added warmth for very slightly impaired hearing and a tiny bit of extra weight
You can also get baseball-cap style helmets with a hard visor however I personally wouldn't recommend these as the integrated visors seem to be a weak point of the system. Please don't try to use a bike/skiing/motorbike helmet on whitewater - they aren't tested to the same specs, and often perform poorly when wet.
The best advice for finding the right helmet for you is to try on as many as you can - be that visiting a shop or by trying on all your friends helmets - Fit is the most important part of buying a safe whitewater helmet.
This may seem like a joke but a buoyancy aid pocket is the most accessible storage space you will have while paddling and even as a beginner this allows you to bring some snacks for the river/store any medication you might need/store your phone to get pics on the river or contact people if need be. Plus as you progress, if you want to work on safety it will allow you to gradually add accessible safety kit - knives/karabiners/slings etc.
Some buoyancy aid's have multiple smaller pockets - like my personal BA the Peak river guide. Some instead go for one large pocket - the new NRS ninja looks like a really good choice for this style. Some need to be put on over the head and some have zips to allow you to put it on more like a coat. Just like with helmets you should try as many as you can and think about how you personally want to use it and decide on the style you want.
Worth noting is that as a beginner you likely don't need a quick release belt as this shouldn't be used unless you are trained to use it in the situations you will need it. Personally I would suggest getting a buoyancy aid with one but removing the strap - so you can reinstall it in the future. Or buy one without it and if you decided to get into safety stuff later on then buy a new one.
4. Dry kit - Cags, Dry-trousers and Dry-suits
But what about when it gets even colder? Most club cag's are semi-dry at best (meaning they will have latex wrist seals and a snug neoprene neck seal) These are good but generally wont stop much water coming through the neck in the case of a swim - Which as a beginner you ideally want to be swimming sometimes, messing up and swimming is part of learning and we're all between swims. But obviously that means you're going to get wet and in winter in the UK that likely means you will get cold eventually. Club cags in particular are often going to be a bit beat up which doesn't really help the problem.
So what's the solution? How do we stay warm when it gets colder? Proper dry kit is the best answer. there are 3 main types these are
- Full Dry Cags - Latex neck seals and wrist seals normally pretty reasonably priced and can be used year round however water travelling up into the cag is very much an issue so most people will use a dry cag with either a club wetsuit or....
- Dry trousers - These work alongside your dry cag to make a pseudo drysuit essentially allowing you to buy in two instalments, when properly worn they should perform incredibly similarly to a drysuit. However fabric sealing two things doesn't generally work quite as well as waterproof zips and for that reason...
- Drysuits - are one of the best purchases to make as a paddler and if taken care of well, washing and storing them properly and servicing them/repairing them as needed you can get quite a few seasons out of a drysuit. However with that being said they are (justifiably) often very expensive and second hand drysuits often have a lot of issues.
If you aren't quite sure paddling is for you/aren't sure how much paddling you will be able to get done in a given season going the cag route is your best bet, adding drytrousers if and when it is needed - but if you are committed and know you will be able to paddle a lot a drysuit really is the best bang for your buck and you will almost certainly not regret your purchase.
What about brands? In the UK you have quite a wide range of options to buy from with the best kit currently seeming to be made by Immersion Research (IR) with Kokatat, NRS and all performing fairly close to the same level just below IR. For a slightly more budget option Peak, Palm, Sandiline, Nookie, Yak and Typhoon all perform well but you will likely have more issues with any of these suits than the top of the line suits. Personally I have a Peak back-entry suit which performed absolutely fantastically for 2 years of pretty heavy use but over the last year or so has had a number of issues that I have had to sort - Though it is also possible to get your suit serviced even after warranty expires by every drysuit manufacturer I know of, and there are some great services around for getting quick fixes done - rubberman in particular is infamously speedy and good for replacing seals with turn around times of often less than a week!
In the UK you do also have the DamX suits produced by DAM watersports, these suits are fully customisable and are available for really good prices! You'll just have to contact them to get a quote but everyone I know who has one loves it -Its one of the leading contenders for my next suit!
5. Other stuff! Boats, Paddles, Decks, Gloves and Dryrobes.
When you get started there's a lot of things you want to buy but from my experience most of them aren't as critical as you may think!
Most clubs have loads of boats and generally your best plan is to try out as many different boats as you can before purchasing anything. What you like on your first day of whitewater may well not be the best thing for you to learn or alternatively you may get better and decide you want something different from your boat, be it creek boats, half slices, full slices, playboats or any of the things in between. However if you desperately want a personal boat keep an eye on facebook marketplace - there are loads of pages dedicated to second hand boats - in a future article I'll give some suggestions of what to look for when looking for a used boat.
Similarly clubs have paddles that are completely adequate for beginners - while full carbon is much nicer to paddle with than a nylon bladed paddle, trying different lengths and feather (angle between blades) to find what works for you is a process that takes time and you really shouldn't rush it.
Spraydecks are a super critical bit of kit but again almost every club will have plenty spraydecks which even if a bit worn and holey will perform fairly well. If you want a personal for cheapish I would highly recommend a playboater workdeck - they are as far as I can tell the best spraydeck you can get that is not a rand deck (which are crazy expensive but amazing!)
I personally prefer to let my fingers fall off than use gloves, I like to feel my paddle and feel connected to it. But some people are opposed to getting frostbite so your best options are probably buying a pair of neoprene pogies or open palm gloves - both of these allow skin contact on your paddle while keeping your hands warmer.
A slightly more recent addition to the kayaking world is dryrobes. These are fantastic bits of kit, fleece lined giant waterproof coats that are perfect for standing beside the river in British winter weather while waiting for a shuttle to happen. They also double as something to change in which will keep you well covered and warm. The only reason I don't put them higher is I prefer changing fast with a towel and getting into warm dry clothes ASAP. That being said they are super useful and a fantastic multipurpose item - you can get the name brand but a lot of other dry-robes perform just as well for a fraction of the cost
Towel robes on the other hand are nice to change with especially at the beach, but don't provide the same utility as a good dry robe - If you don't believe me go stand in the rain in a towel robe!!
Conclusion
There's load's of other kit you can buy and most of it is really useful, but as a beginner a bit unnecessary and you'll probably discover more as you venture further into the world of whitewater anyway!
As a beginner you should be focusing on your personal safety - warmth and better personal safety gear than what you club has available should be your main priority.
If you have any questions about any of the kit mentioned drop a comment and I'll try get back to you as quick as I can!
Enjoy your paddlin, Andy out
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