Pyranha Recoil Review
Monday, October 30th, 2006This weekend I picked up my new Pyranha Recoil Med. I was able to paddle it on the Nantahala for its first run. I immediately felt comfortable in this boat on the water. It felt very balanced and appropriately sized for me (5’10”, 165-70 lbs). Initial stability was very good, but not so good that you had trouble edging the boat as in other boats I have tried. Secondary stability was also very user friendly. I did not get much chance to truly test the play or river running ability of this boat, but what I did leaves me with high hopes for the future.
The Recoil seemed to park itself on surfers wave and not want to fall off unless I did something to make it. I also caught another wave on the fly and the Recoil just sat right in and wanted to surf and carve very well. It seemed very balanced for cartwheels and other vertical play moves. I am sure a more proficient playboater than myself could really throw this boat around nearly as well as any full on playboat out there.
As far as getting down the river goes there is not much on the Nanty to really test the river running ability of this boat. The best thing I can say is that I was able to catch both micro and macro eddies of the falls with the ease I haven’t felt in a while. Most under 7ft playboats require some work to make the ferry from micro to macro, but the Recoil cruised right across and acted like it was a 7’+ boat. The stern never seemed unpredictable or have any tendency to want to squirt you on any little thing like many of the more dedicated playboats. In addition this boat is one of the easiest rolling playboats I have tried. Some playboats can be quirky rolling, especially in funky water, but my experience with the Recoil is that it snaps right up on command even with a less than perfect roll.
My Recoil is outfitted with Pyranha’s new Rapid + outfitting. I felt I should address this for any that are skeptical about this new outfitting. Although it does not have some of the bells and whistles of other outfitting, this system is very effective. The seat and backband were very comfortable. My hippads were only temporarily installed but did the job nicely. It is a notably more simple system than Pyranha’s Connect 30 or other manufacturers but don’t read this as less effective. This system provided me with all the control and comfort I could ask for.
If you are in the market for a playboat and want to still be able to get down the river with relative ease the Recoil may be just what you need. I look forward to paddling it on some harder runs to better test its abilities, but for right now I couldn’t be more pleased with this boat.
Todd Z. – Cameron Village Shop
