Pyranha Boat Reviews

Pyranha
Pyranha web site
http://www.pyranha.com
Impex
http://www.impexkayak.com/pyr/theboats.htm

Rodeo kayaks

Attak

An entry level (ie basic) playboat, costs around £350.

At first glance, its design looks prety radical, however it has much more rounded features than higher spec'ed playboats; which shows in its indefinate feel. (Ie it tends to bobble around like a Spud). The Attak is ridiculously short; it front loops on flat water! At the same time with its rounded edges its quite forgiving.
The Attak is a bit of a handful to cartwheel under control but comes in its own as you flat spin and reverse blast. The Attak blasts like a squirt boat, at 45degrees, amazing...
Comfort wise, you get buoyancy block and foot rest which you fit yourself, fixed seat and thigh braces and a prety feeble backrest. However armed with a block of foam, some Karrimat and a space weekend... Oh yes No drainage plug :-( Overall its a good fun boat, very forgiving and reasonably cheap. Still for my money I would pay the extra 100 quid and have an RPM.

Chris Wheeler.

Storm 

Designed as a no compromise top end playboat, costs around£600, and comes with the latest XR outfitting. The central rack is a stiffener for the hull to keep it flat. This boat really does perform, although at first sight it seems to lack the razor sharp edges of the Vertigo, they are all there, just measure the radii. Its short length (235cm) and its flattened ends mean that you can flat spin the boat into position and cut the wave quite easily. It makes cartwheeling look a sinch. The Storm comes into its own when you flat spin and reverse blast, because the rockered hull fits short waves like a glove, the flat central hull acts like a surf ski, and the anti trip rails are very forgiving..

If you want a radical short pointy boat, the Storm wont disappoint. So does the Storm edge the Vertigo, Chris couldnt spilt them.

(Review by Chris Wheeler)

The engineers and designers at Pyranha have stormed the market with a hot new rodeo boat called, appropriately, the Storm. The Storm is wide, flat and huge in the center. It has super-slicey ends that exemplify easy initiations. The hull looks similar to the Vertigo, but the sidewall gets wider above the waterline making the boat much easier to roll. It's a good thing too, because the Storm clocks in at 26.25" wide, by far the widest ride on the river. At first, the width reflects scary visions of bashing elbows and grinding knuckles, but you will find the Storm friendlier than you would think. Measuring seven-foot, nine-inches and packing a volume of 57 gallons, the Storm is one retentive little package. This boat will perform any of the new hole-riding moves, but you might not have time to breathe in-between expressions. Things happen quickly in this tumbling machine, so be ready. Fire up that stroke rate if you expect to get this boat on a wave--the Storm is slow, slow, slow. But what else would you expect from so much width and so little length? If the wave is steep and you can paddle onto it, however, the Storm has a few secrets to tell. Utilizing a mirror-flat planing surface, double-chined edges and innovative releasing grooves, the boat lets paddlers skip and spin across green water like no stone you've ever seen. The Storm comes with Pyranha's new super adjustable XR seat system, outfitting is comfortable, and the boat will most likely excel for larger-sized boaters. (Review by John Trujillo)

Rapid Runners Canoe club
Kayak magazine and kayak information for Canoeing in the UK.
(c)ParrotSoft 1999

Compiled by Ian Robertson. If you wish to update/remove any links please email
Ian or yakky
Last Updated 14th April 1999