It’s getting to that time of year again. The winter rains are on their way (hopefully) and with one super weekend of boating under our belts already this season we got thinking about what we always check at the start of the season. So here it is, our top 7 things to check before the...

With the winter season just around the corner (in theory) and with a couple of good weekends of rain already, its almost definitely time to start breaking out the winter cags and drysuits. Before hopping on the water for the first time this season though its probably worth giving your gear a...

With the cost of modern, “cutting edge” whitewater boats being more expensive than ever, many brands have started to introduce some of their trusted and long standing boats into their ranges with a simpler, lighter and cheaper outfitting options; Pyranha have the Burn III Connect...

So paddle expo has been and gone for another year and we’ve now seen everyone’s plans for 2019.  As ever Pyranha have been really busy, some boats we were expecting like the Fusion Duo while some announcements were more of a surprise with some classics getting a refresh  and some...

When it comes to open canoeing there is a wide range of options from various brands but deciding on which boat suits you best can often be a confusing task, particularly if you are looking at getting your first canoe. For new paddlers looking for a canoe to use on the Thames and local canals...

For sea and touring kayakers the search for the best sea / touring Buoyancy Aid (aka Personal Floatation Device/PFD/Life Jacket but we will be saying Buoyancy Aid to stay consistent) can be a real challenge. We’ve narrowed it down to our three favorites for our own ‘Best of...

Did you watch the Rio Olympics? It was a great spectacle for the sport of slalom kayaking and for the Team GB paddlers. As good paddling geeks we watched none stop and noticed that Team GB were wearing something a bit different, their top decks and PFD’s din’t look quite right, Or...

The dry Autum has left us with a low Thames and ruled out our early morning pre work Sunbury / Shepperton paddles and the fun of Slalom in the evening we expect at this time of year. The cold hasn’t helped either but we’ve still been enjoying the river!     Get out your...

  The delivery of Pyranha’s new Machno (Medium now Large to follow soon) has arrived along with the first big storms of the season.   The Machno is positioned between the Burn and 9R with loads of bow rocker, plenty of volume and a wider but predictable hull with soft chines....

  It all started in 1989 as a kayak freestyle competition and that makes the event one of the oldest of its type. It has developed from this first meeting between friends in the Hurley Village car park into one of the most significant freestyle watersports events in the world. The spirit...

So last week we received our first order of gear from NRS and its safe to say we’re pretty excited about what we got! First up we have the two new buoyancy aids, the Zen and the Ninja. The Zen is NRS’ class 5 rescue BA, equipped with everything you’d need to beater your way...

We’ve taken delivery of a Silverbirch Broadland 15 and Broadland 16 this week to add to our demo fleet. Pete jumped into the Cherry Red 15 and took her for a quick paddle earlier today and had this to say ” the Broadland is a fantastic nimble little fellow that works really well as...

Another updated deck from Palm has arrived, the Enduro. This is a great midrange neoprene deck which will be suitable for a little bit of everything from Whitewater, Playboating and even a little bit of Sea Touring. Available in either R4 (Keyhole) or R5 (Bigdeck) with four different waist...

Everyone seems a little more excited about canoeing at the moment, with British makers Silverbirch, Venture and Hou all coming out with new materials and designs the most recent being the Hou Canoes Prospector which arrived on Saturday. The boat is based on the Chesnut Prospector and at...

Tell us why you kayak to be in with chance to win a brand new Kokatat Centurion PFD. Like our Facebook page and simply leave a comment on the competition image starting your comment with “I Kayak Because….” The comments with the most likes will go into a random prize draw on...

Venture Kayaks have been working on a new seat and backrest system for their range of touring boats this winter and the first Flex with the ‘Fit 4’ outfitting arrived today. The headline changes see the introduction of a longer more ergonomic seat pan with a height adjustable front...

We picked up our first Wavesport Diesels in the newly available BlackOut  spec this week, we’ll try and get a video done soon but here are a few pictures showing the outfitting.   The Diesel range of boats are a well designed river runner available in 3 sizes, similar to the...

The 2016 Palm Impact arrived today so here are a few of our first impressions…. For the last couple of years the Impact was the premium whitewater option in the Palm range and remains the toughest driest shockcord option from Palm, with the Orbit Deck also being introduced into the range...

We’ve added the Dagger Mamba in all sizes to our fleet of Whitewater Demo boats so you can now try them at the shop or arrange to take them away to demo. A weekend away is normally £50. To check out the full range and see what else is coming have a look...

So you live close by the Thames (or any river / lake) and you want to get out on the water and have a bit of an explore or get out for some exercise? Why not, Kayaking is pretty easy to learn? Right? and the connection you get between the water and wildlife is unlike any other sport out there....

The new womens Atom Suit from Palm has arrived with us, taking over from the Palm Element in the line up. Palm are one of the leading brands when in comes to women specific paddling kit, and the Atom is complemented by a range of other kit notably thermals and PFD’s that make getting the...

Palm’s latest new product arrived with us this week, the Palm Zenith Dry Trouser or Pant which replaces the Neon pant in the line up. The Atom Pants are due hopefully in January. The Zenith’s are a ‘semi dry’trouser made from Palms XP 2.5 layer fabric with a...

The Silverbirch Covert is now available to demo at Whitewater the Canoe Centre on the water in the Marina or give us a call on 01932 247978 to have a chat about demoing it further afield. We have the Silverbirch Broadland 16 demos on order for Easter 2016 as well as a number of other canoes...

Come and join us on the 28th November for a chance to demo the new range of Venture Canoes made from ‘Corelite X’. Promising a weight reduction of between 4-6 kilos and improved performance and ridgity Corelite X is an exciting advancement in a post Royalex world. We will have demo...

Given we weren’t expecting it until January we got a nice surprise today when the new Palm Atom Drysuit arrived! So new in fact Palm don’t, as I write this, even have it on their website so here is our little overview and a few pictures….     The Atom Suit...