tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347463840298564760.post4146369500074718056..comments2023-09-22T02:08:55.225-07:00Comments on Paddle California: Kayak Review - Jackson Karma part 2Bryant Burkhardthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14962650670783506022noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347463840298564760.post-33891863084756167722013-07-11T20:06:04.740-07:002013-07-11T20:06:04.740-07:00Fantastic write up Bryant, thanks for sharing this...Fantastic write up Bryant, thanks for sharing this. I just found your post after getting my but kicked on my new Karma's virgin run down Cherry Creek last weekend. I'm trying to figure out what I can do to understand how it behaves, and this was the exact write-up I needed to see. Great breakdown on hull types, and how that specifically applies to the Karma. (Glad to see I'm not alone in my questions about it.)<br /><br />Just as you wrote, I found that my timing was off all day; the speed and lack of tracking surprised me. I felt like I was on a slip and slide, paddling up to boofs and eddy fences much higher than I had intended, or landing a boof only to be shot forward further than I expected. I was never quite sure how far the boat was going to travel or if it would hold it's line. Sometimes I would either ride up on a boulder above an eddy and spin out; other times I would back off at the last second but lose my momentum and miss the move. More than a few times the boat wouldn't engage across the eddy line enough, and I would simply blow past the eddy altogether. In short, I often didn't feel in control of the speed or angle of trajectory. <br /><br />And there were plenty of consequences. I manged to blow my line enough times to rack up a heavy toll with the river gods. I pulled my left oblique getting surfed in Unknown Soldier, broke my paddle in half in Ugly Stump, lost my GoPro off the front of the boat while swimming it to shore, and finally get broached at the very top of Horseshoe Falls, only to be dragged down over the rocks into the sticky hole at the bottom to be recirced several times while I fought to swim out of it. <br /><br />You know you've blown your line when:<br />https://plus.google.com/u/0/104630835619963315449/posts/TmcQVjS4SLm<br /><br />At the end of the day, I was beat. But all things considered, I'm thankful it wasn't worse!<br /><br />I'm hoping that you're right about just getting used to it. I do love the higher speed, the fact that it skips across holes, and that the stern compensated really well when I forgot to keep my weight forward. My strategy for the next trip is to take fewer (more purposeful) strokes and perhaps focus on keeping it more on edge in hopes of keeping the boat on track more. <br /><br />If you figure out anything else about your new boat, I'd love to see the update!Jamie Lowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02488211579738271696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347463840298564760.post-69765638818567983482013-05-26T08:22:58.949-07:002013-05-26T08:22:58.949-07:00I haven't played with the seat position but I ...I haven't played with the seat position but I plan to. I've been using it in the middle position and it feels fine - but I do expect that the big back end will be able to handle a little more weight and moving the seat back might free up the nose a bit. Thanks.Bryant Burkhardthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14962650670783506022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347463840298564760.post-42388622925233565062013-05-25T07:35:25.482-07:002013-05-25T07:35:25.482-07:00The Rocker is a very different boat. It's so r...The Rocker is a very different boat. It's so round - I really liked it for some things but it had some drawbacks. On really shallow runs it slid over everything and it just laughed off cross currents. But it was hard to correct if you got off line and was hard to surf out of a hole if you did get stuck. The Villain has the positives of the Rocker without the drawbacks. The Karma is quite different. Bryant Burkhardthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14962650670783506022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347463840298564760.post-78545169068118166732013-05-24T22:09:46.818-07:002013-05-24T22:09:46.818-07:00I was a Villain guy (both sizes) for 3 seasons who...I was a Villain guy (both sizes) for 3 seasons who just swithced over to a med Karma. I agree with all you mentioned but would like to add one other thing that I found with the Karma: Seat Position. Unlike the Villain, the Karma's sweet spot became apparent when I moved my seat all the way back. Before that I was having a hard time getting the bow up on some moves as the Karma's full length edges really dictate how the boat performs while the Karma's huge boxy stern makes up for eveything else. Worth trying if you havnt already. ThxCarl Jackshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16608639076091490638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347463840298564760.post-18578911526509451972013-05-24T19:03:14.802-07:002013-05-24T19:03:14.802-07:00So how would you compare the Karma to your Rocker?...So how would you compare the Karma to your Rocker? I'm considering making the switch from my MegaRocker to a Karma L.Kevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12091558864894265672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347463840298564760.post-5529012853897629432013-05-20T11:22:12.581-07:002013-05-20T11:22:12.581-07:00Good description of the impacts of hull shapes. T...Good description of the impacts of hull shapes. Thanks for that.California Kayaker Magazinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01263443398462972771noreply@blogger.com