2010 Whitewater mini-raft review

gear

review

Scott DW Smith

Robert Zaleski

Jordan Kurt-Mason and the author on the not-soraft-friendly Upper East Fork San Juan in Hyside’s Mini-Me (p. 72).

Mini-raft mayhem Four with a floor

Something different must be in the water. It’s mid-June in Durango, just past peak runoff on the surrounding drainages.

When I go to pick up a raft from 4Corners Riversports and reveal my plan to claim a hairy first raft descent nearby, the 4Corners crew does me one better: They’re already prepping for a burlier rafting first D on another classic kayak run nearby. Later that day I’m at Pagosa Outside, watching a video featuring two of the outfitter’s guides rafting off a 20-footer on Wolf Creek.

Why all this excitement around running two-man rafts in places normally reserved for creekboats? My first R-2 experience was years prior when the only options were a Shredder from Ohiopyle, Pa.’s Airtight Inflatables, or a Hyside Mini-Me, both few and far between in the Rockies. Yet, we got our hands on a green Mini-Me we called the Pickle for a late run on Colorado’s Numbers section of the Arkansas, not sure how to sit, not sure who was driving. We lowsided on every eddyline, we splatted rocks, we boofed, and we flipped. A lot. The next day, I blurted out, “Man, I sure am sore from that pickle!” in the wrong company.

In the correct context, however, amongst experienced paddle rafters, mini-rafts present the ability to run kayak lines. Today, multiple manufacturers are responding to customer and outfitter demand, realizing that shared risk only amplifies the reward of a stuck line in a tiny, self-bailing boat. And even if you’re sticking to calmer waters, these rafts pack easy, allow you to bring along friends and combined with a small frame, make a formidable multi-day or fishing rig.

So we tested the hell out of four slick mini-rafts. Four rivers in five days across Colorado’s Rocky Mountain runoff: high water (7,500 cfs on the Colorado’s Shoshone stretch; 3,000 on the Royal Gorge), technical low water (450 on the Piedra); and stupid water, surfing the West Glenwood wave, and finally, one long ATV ride and a roped scramble into the gorge for a first on the Upper East Fork San Juan (pictured).

— Dave Shively Visit canoekayak.com/gear/miniraftmayhem for the carnage reel and more shots from the test.

70 | canoekayak.com | whitewater 2010

gear

review

Hyside Mini-Me

72 | canoekayak.com | whitewater 2010

No conversation about reduced rafts is complete without a nod to the godfather of this category. Hyside Inflatables owner Dick DeChant introduced a 10-foot “mini bailer” in 1991, but didn’t fully hook outfitters until launching the current Mini-Me design in 2000, opening new realms of rafting possibilities. Much of that credit is due to its light weight at less than 50 pounds and ability to roll up into a tight bundle—meaning you don’t need to be a hero to hoist it solo (or to back-load and boof it). The Mini-Me’s other attribute is a Hypalon construction that can take years of abuse. The Hypalon vs. PVC debate is, however, apparent in the smaller package as it’s not easy to top this sucker off, and in rocky, technical situations, the sides of the tubes (without the rugged, urethane treatment of the floor, which slides over most rocks) have a tendency to stick rather than glance off rocks ala PVC. In big, pushy water one tester noted that “you either have to be super-aggressive paddling it or more passive and reactive, willing to high-side the heck out of it.” That’s because (much due to its light weight, high profile and rocker) it offers the most pure responsiveness of any raft tested, perfect for those oh-crap, tight-move instant adjustments, while still providing a forgiving ride heading sideways through waves—just be ready to react.

Tributary 9.5 SB

($1,899 in 31-ounce, PVC-coated 1670 denier Ferrari polyester base fabric with inner urethane AIREcell system, aire.com) L: 9’6.75”; W: 5’4”; main tube diameter: 18”; 69 lbs., four chambers total—one 11.75” thwart.

Scott DW Smith

Meg Smith

($2,125 in 1680 denier Hypalon tubes, 2520 denier Hypalon floor with sprayed-on urethane chafe, hyside.com) L: 9’0”; W: 5’0”; Main tube diameter: 18”; 45 lbs., four chambers total—one 13” thwart.

The 9.5 sits on the plastic side of the material divide and benefits from AIRE’s solid raft lineage. The combo of welded PVC outer skin with an internal bladder produces a stiff and buoyant boat with a very rigid floor. That means you track true (even with heavier threeperson loads) and punch holes with no taco effect. With a little extra size on the Mini-Me, plus a lot more weight and a lot less rocker, the 9.5 sacrifices that on-a-dime handling for tracking and momentum.

The tradeoff is one of paddler stability: “Even with the high-volume stuff, it didn’t feel squirrelly, and you weren’t overpowering it, or overpowering your partner as easily,” one tester noted, “so being off by a touch wasn’t a big deal, versus always having to be spot-on with your partner.” This also means less flipping, as the slight water seepage in the zippered floor pocket results in a lower center of gravity that counterbalances the tubes to keep it grounded, without adding much additional weight. Rafting regulars will feel at home in the 9.5, which also handled its own during a rocky, low-water line down Meat Grinder on the Piedra, making quick turns and turning quick strokes into punched holes—all to the welcome zing sound of PVC sliding over rocks as the boat stayed on line.

whitewater 2010 | canoekayak.com | 73

review

Jack’s Plastic Welding Fat Boy

Meg Smith

Scott DW Smith

($3,367 in 35-ounce, PVC-coated polyester, 42-ounce, doublewear layer on bottoms of main tubes, jpwinc.com) L: 10’0”; W: 5’5”; main tube diameter: 19.5”; 72 lbs., eight chambers total—three 9” thwarts.

Speaking of PVC connoisseurs, Jack Kloepfer’s Aztec, N.M., laboratory keeps turning out innovative inflatable solutions. “We can build one of anything, so we look for customer feedback,” Kloepfer says. “A ‘new’ product is just a variation on themes for the customer.” The new Fat Boy is certainly one of a kind and paddled most like a variation of a cataraft of the boats tested. The nearly 20-inch tubes provided cat-like, point-and-track characteristics. This Fat Boy carries momentum and operates best on big, fat water. The tubes ride deeper for unequaled side-to-side stability, while the high rocker and high end profiles (20 inches of tube on 10 inches of end rocker) minimize getting swamped by waves, but carry the bow up and over sudden punchy holes (versus blasting through or skipping over them) for a jerkier up-and-down ride. The tradeoff in rocky, low-water situations, is that the tubes catch on the occasional rock you might expect to skim over. Those main tubes are also where you’re sitting, as the trio of mini-thwarts on the high-riding (and sometimes slow-draining), drop-stitch floor are for bracing feet rather than distributing paddler weight. You’ll be hard pressed, though, to find a more durable build than the heavy-weave, welded material Jack’s warranties for 10 years. And if you’ve got any specific design tweaks in mind, you know who’ll take your call.

Sotar SL Liquid Elite

($3,968 in 40-ounce, 3,000 denier urethane, sotar.com) L: 10’6”; W: 5’6”; Main tube diameter: 21”; 72 lbs., seven total chambers—two thwarts. Also available in a 10’6” x 5’2” ST Classic Elite version with 19”, non-diminishing tubes, $3,545.

Sotar’s SL Liquid Elite sets the bar for small raft performance. The SL Liquid blends super-light and stiff characteristics and a symmetrical, diminishing tube profile in a way that results in sharp and responsive handling, instant acceleration, easy boofs, and to our surprise, an uncommon kind of big-water resiliency. “It almost feels like you’re cheating,” one tester said, noting how we skipped over some big holes, normally expected to pack a jarring punch. “We couldn’t find a big enough hole to stop it. I’d definitely take it down Gore Canyon.” The design innovation here is a lot of construction packed into a 72-pound package: The main tubes taper from a huge 21-inch diameter in the middle section into seven-piece bow and stern sections with gradually diminishing diameters down to slight 16-inch ends (which results in a foot of rocker). Similar to AIRE’s classic and comparable Puma, the Liquid Elite (though much lighter, much pricier, and a foot shorter) can handle a fourpack of paddlers and didn’t lose much in performance with 425 pounds between two paddlers up front—however, the low-volume floor tends to ride a little low with the larger loads. You’ll also forget about what we dubbed the “Hamburglar”-style colors when you’re running new lines you never thought raft-able.