About myself

i have been paddling 13 years throughout the world.mostly teaching kayaking and photoboating and creeking when i can.have paddled in norway, nepal,usa, Canada and other places.

About the test environment

I paddles the Scud on class 3-5 creeks, some ow voloume and others pushy, The rivers included,kaituna at open gates, Wairoa in flood, high water rangatiki and other north island rivers.

Review

I have been paddling rivers for the past thirteen years, and during those years I have never found a creek boat that I’ve either enjoyed or felt comfortable kayaking in, often deciding rather to paddle my playboat.This has all changed with the release of bliss-sticks newest creation the SCUD.

The first time I jumped in the SCUD I immediately loved it., with the same hull as the RAD 185 it feels totally familiar to my playboat and now i do not have to change my paddling style to accommodate a creek boat, which use to be a constant source of frustration. I have been paddling the SCUD for a few weeks now and have been kayaking in a variety of class 5 water from low volume creeks to pushy whitewater.

I found the scud to be in its element in low to mid volume rivers, it turns easy, holds its line nicely, plays well, carves beautifully, and mostly what I love about the scud is it feels and reacts very similar to my playboat and instantly feels familiar to me when I jump in it. The SCUD boofs amazingly and rises to the surface quicker than any boat I have ever paddled and is just great fun to paddle.

The scud has great potential for a diverse group of paddlers. It will enable beginner and intermediate paddlers to kayak a class above what they are currently paddling in their playboat and still have loads of fun playing. When it comes to harder and steeper class 5 the SCUD is in its favorite environment feeling more like a body extension and safe.

On the down side I feel the scud does not handle higher volume rivers so well and lacks top end speed for crucial ferry moves, however all boats have their characteristics and it is a matter of knowing the boat and this certainly has not stopped me kayaking and enjoying higher volume rivers in the Scud. I feel some of the instability of the scud comes from the high side walls which I found to trip me up when the river starts to get pushy.

Conclusion

Over all I love the scud and think it’s a great boat, although the steep side walls makes it alittle triply on higher volume rivers, I can deal with that and the positives far outweigh the negatives, its great fun, comfortable and like I said before feels so familiar, great!.