Whitewater Kayak Review

NECKY
ORBIT FISH
Length: 6' 6"
Width: 24"
Volume: 55 gallons
Weight: 34 lbs
Paddler’s Weight:
143-198 lbs
Price: $1,049
www.necky.com
*Model Tested

Knight
Comfort: My knees sat high, and toes had plenty of wiggle room. Maybe this boat was a little too comfortable. I felt like I was disconnected from it, as opposed to being one with it. The seat seemed to be placed too far back, but a screwdriver would take care of that. Moving the seat forward, however, is a bit of a chore.

Stability: It was very stable when I was sitting and surfing waves. When I was throwing cartwheels, however, the boat seemed a little off balance, like I was sitting too far back in it. The stern sliced through much more easily than the bow.

Speed on a Wave: I’d expect it to perform exceptionally well on big, well-shaped waves. It has plenty of rocker and speed to grab heavenly air. Unless you adjust the seat, however, the excessive bow makes throwing blunts more challenging than in the other boats.

River Running: If what you value in a playboat is the ability to get you through the whitewater so you can surf the waves, this is your boat. If you value the ability to play when the river has nothing significant to play on, this probably isn’t your boat. It’s hard to throw cartwheels in the flatwater, stern squirt, or stall. And the stern seemed to catch in eddy lines and small hydraulics.

Performance on a Feature: The Fish is a relatively big playboat, which allows it to get aerial with comparative ease. It is moderately difficult to throw blunts with and fairly easy to loop.

McKibbin
Comfort: I think I had too much room. I was able to get in and out really easily.

Stability: I don’t mind the low-volume stern, but it had too much volume in the bow for me. But running a river, it was good, although the stern liked to catch eddy lines and other subtle hydraulics.

Speed on a Wave: I caught the waves I wanted, but I edged right off as soon as I got on.

River Running: Overall, I thought it was pretty good because there’s plenty of volume up front, although I don’t think it’s designed for running rivers. The stern tended to catch.

Performance on a Feature: I had a lot of trouble in holes because all the volume is up front and there’s too little in the back. On a wave, I had a hard time transferring edges.

Schier
Comfort: It was too big for me and semi-cantankerous for having 51 gallons of volume. I was swimming around in it.

Stability: It had excellent stability, the most of all the boats I reviewed. I don’t know how they made it so stable. End to end, side to side, it felt like it was seeking equilibrium. It felt glued to the surface. That was my big impression of the boat.

Speed on a Wave:Excellent. This boat is pretty fast, but I thought it felt lumbering and cantankerous, like trying to run in a foot race with galoshes on. I was trying to do things inside the hull and my body was flailing around in it. The boat does things and you’re along for the ride.

River Running: I ran a Class IV+ in it, and I was glad to have the lateral stability. I spun around backward in a big, pushy hole, and that lateral stability saved me.

Performance on a Feature: I couldn’t get the bow underwater. It wanted to stern squirt a lot. It had good playboat characteristics. I couldn’t get it to do much, but I did get in a half spin, which to me means it’s a good spinner.