![]() ![]() It's a massive flat plane on the back of the boat, and when it's under, it doesn't resurface easy - single boofs, even big backloopy ones like Champions Killer on the Oetz will probably be fine, but stacked boofs like New Best Tricky on the Fairy Glen are going to be spicy in this boat. Even on this course, I found the tail underwater occasionally when I didn't want it to be, and I could see that being an issue on something steeper. but despite what Bren said, that tail does definitely catch. Firstly, it boofs and skips and planes just like you'd want. Unfortunately I've only paddled it on the Olympic course, but I tried to replicate moves I might do on harder water. Given a big enough wave, I'm confident I could blunt this boat.ĭownriver performance. It's blisteringly fast compared to other half slices, capable of rapid aggressive carving, but also capable of breaking loose for flatspins. and the surf performance of this boat is absolutely unreal compared to any other half slice I've paddled (bar possibly the Spade Bliss). In terms of play potential on the whitewater, it's effortless to get vertical, spin, splat, etc. It's an incredibly dynamic hull, and really comes alive when driven aggressively. but whilst the boat punished you for not having enough edge, it actively rewarded you for being aggressive. What I found was that I really needed to aggressively edge this boat turning into eddies if I didn't want to taily (or bin myself). Jumping onto whitewater, however, and coming directly from the rewind, I immediately found the tail incredibly unforgiving - I don't remember the last time I caught a tail edge coming into an eddy, and bearing in mind that I normally paddle this course in a 47 gallon full slice, but the ripper 2 tripped me up more than a handful of times. Even someone as light as me can taily it easy, and it's not that much effort to get fully vert on the flat. Couple strokes on the flat and you feel like you're up to speed and charging hard. Sitting in it, it feels quite familiar and confidence-inspiring. Also, I was hungover AF when I paddled it so that might affect things too. I don't think I've dialled in paddling it yet, and my opinions may change as I dial it in further (by contrast, having jumped in the Rewind for the previous hour I felt like I'd unlocked most of what that boat had to offer within a few laps). ![]() The ripper 2 is an interesting boat, and I think it's going to be a controversial one - that is one uncompromising design. I'm 65-70kg, and I usually paddle either a Wavesport Ace 4.7 for river running or a 9r2 for creeking, and I've paddled almost every half-slice on the market for at least one demo lap. So I've jumped in a ripper 2 a handful of times now - twice at Hurley in the pre-production, once on Lee Valley Olympic course. ![]() Just saw Bren's dropped a lil writeup of the ripper 2, thought I'd give you an unsponsored perspective. ![]()
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