You could try canyon gear that make paddling gear to measure. Delia
prizes herself in making gear especially for women. Try www.canyongear
..co.uk or phone her on 01788810076

In message , Kegs
writes
"Charlie" writes:

"Ewan Scott" wrote in message
...
Sleeveless Long John Wetsuit £about £55 for a 3mm suit.

Already got, although I'm looking at buying a long sleeve wesuit top for
cold days and a set of short trousers for hot days!

Don't get a wetsuit top, it will inhibit your movement and quickly
get very uncomfortable, Immersion Research do some very nice thick
fleecy thermal tops that are great in cold weather.

Dry Cag of some sort - that is rubber seals on neck and wrists, and a
double
seal for the spraydeck. I use a reed Chill Cheater whict I think is ace,
my
son hates his with a vengeance though - each to their own. Make sure you
have room to move in it.

I've heard loads about the chill cheaters, but I can't find any shops round
here that sell them. The only other advise I've been told is NOT to go for
a Nookie. A girl I work with got one and it fell apart in a few months.

Palm kit is very good and well cut, and usually well made, it does seem that
Palm and Nookie seem to take turns at being the flaky manufacturer whose
kit falls apart. I have a couple of nookie cags that are about 8 years old
which are stll fine, apart from the fact that the waterproofing has gone
slightly. Peak UK are also worth a look as well, as are Immersion Research.

BA - enough to carry your weight, pocket on the front for odds and sods -
I

Is it just me that has noticed that the more pockets you get the more money
you pay? It's such a negligable amount of fabric used! (Like, why do you
pay more for thongs? Ok, mind wandering again.)

IME, with whitewater BAs anyway, the ones with the most pockets are the
serious whitewater BAs, with a full harness and stuff, that all adds to the
price. Freestyle type BAs, which are cut to allow maximum movement, tend
to be the most comfortable, even the unisex ones, the Palm fusion and Nookie
Playmonster BAs are especially good, IMO.

Paddles, get what you are comfortable with.

I've been using a 60 deg feather, which I'm not greatly happy with but it'll
do till I work out what I really really like. It can be a spare after that.
What is the shaft length relative to? I mean, is it something logical like
the taller you are the longer your paddle shaft length? Or it it just what
you prefer? I guess the guys at the shop can help me with that.

Regarding length and feather, get what you are comfortable with, personally
I think that the shorter the better, with a low angle of feather, but YMMV.
One thing to be aware of, especially if you have small hands, is that if the
paddle shaft is toowide in diameter it can be quite uncomfortable or even
painful after a while, most of the better makes, such as werner, Robson et al
offer a smaller diameter shaft on all their paddles.

Throw bag - 15 metres.

Would you reccomend this even for a newbie? I know how to use it (I work as
a lifeguard) but I'd be worried about carrying it for some strange reason!
Do you think that all adult kayakers should have one? Where abouts do you
carry yours BTW?

I personally think that all whitewater paddlers should own and know how
to use a throwline, I keep mine crabbed to my seat, behind me.

Talk to the more experienced paddlers in your club though, they will know
your abilities better than we do and can give good advice on this.

If you do get one, make sure you retie the loop of rope that goes through
the end of the bag (it makes a handle like thing) with something like a
bowline, and remove any loop at the other end of the rope.

Tow line - if you buy one get an elasticated one - it is far easier to tow
with than the non elasticated type - also, make sure there is a small
metal
crab on the end rather than a plastic clip.

Again, a good idea for a newbie? I'd be really worried about getting one.

Wouldn't bother personally, shoujldn't be towing on moving water anyway,
and on flat water a sling and crab do just as well, and are more generally
useful.

A sling and a crab for hauling your boat up and down embankments. We have
a
2m sling and a self locking crab - if you can find a piece of cork thread
the sling theough the cork in case you drop it in the water.

Where do I get these? Anything that makes my boat easier to carry is good!

The sling you should be able to get from any outdoors shop that sells
rock-climbing equipment, and you'll be able to get a karabiner in the same
place.

These are the most genuine useful bit of kit to have, you can use it as a
makeshift skeg to help a beginner keep in a straight line on fla****er, as
a towing aid (crab though the front grabloop, loop of sling over your
shoulder), to drag your boat around, or secure it to the bank if you are
inspecting a feature, and to provide a belay point in rescue and kit
recovery situations.

Spray deck that fits quite tightly, neoprene is best. - tip, you can run
silicone sealant under the lip of the cockpit to make a better seal - but
it
does come undone - you can also seal all screwheads the same way.

Again, I'm having problems with this one. I can't seem to find a decent
neoprene deck with a small enough waist to fit properly.

Nookie will do special order spraydecks, for little or no premium, IIRC,
so may playboater, both of whose spraydecks are very very good, even if
Nookie's cags are a bit leaky at the moment.

Emergency kit - buy a spare bung for your boat and find some plastic
sealant
of some sort to carry with you. Plus all the FA kit you will need - don't
forget you own personal medication - you might not be able to give someone
else codiene, but you can give it to yourself if you need it.

some gaffer tape is also always useful to have around.

Where the hell do you carry all this stuff? I'd be able to fit it behind my
seat, but how do I keep it there?

most of it can be kept in a drybag that can be crabbed to the seat, if there
are loops there, as in necky and some older dagger boats, or to the back of
the backband. if you deflate the airbag(s) slightlyand stuff the kit on top,
then reinflate them, is shouldn't move too much. throwlines can be stored in
the same way, but shouldn't be in a drybag, just crab them through the handles.
Keep the sling in the same place, or, if the BA pocket is big enough, in there.


--
Dave Manby
Details of the Coruh river and my book "Many Rivers To Run" at
http://www.dmanby.demon.co.uk