Palm Equipment Blog

10 years on…

Gear 4 Women — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:29:42 +0000

When I was 15 I ran the top drop on the Gamlan (at very low levels). 10 years later, I was lucky enough to find good water levels and sunshine on the same day; so donned my shiny kit to run the river with nostalgic memories of Topos and Schlegels.

The gear has changed, but the line’s still the same…

Recent photo by Chris Eastabrook. Old photo by someone in York Canoe Club (I can’t remember who exactly!).

It’s raining again now… see you on the water!

Lowri

Tyne Tour ‘09

Nick Horwood — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:49:21 +0000

Although many would reel back in horror at the idea of spending a rainy November weekend camping in a field outside Newcastle, team Palm are made of tougher stuff. With a van full of warm clothes and a fleet of kayaks and Canoes, we headed to the historic town of Hexham for one of north England’s biggest paddling weekends.

Yours truly keeping it old skool, Warden Gorge.

Every Year the Tyne Tour attracts hundreds of kayakers from all over the UK, for two days of paddling and to enjoy the now legendary annual Ceilidh. Here are some pictures form the weekend, thanks to Paul Wilkinson.

Several shops and manufacturers temaed up to make a mini retail village.

Saturday night's Party and Ceilidh - Far more fun than you thought organised dancing could possibly be.

The demo fleet of Axioms were out having fun all weekend.

For many the rapids in Warden Gorge are the first taste of whitewater paddling.

A good spot to enjoy some soulful surfing and watch the carnage unfold in the rapids above.

Safe. Tea first.

Tom Parker — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:53:16 +0000

This October once again saw Plas-Y-Brenin play host to the BCU Student Safety Seminar, where Britains’ intellectual cream gather to gain tips and tricks on running a university canoe club from some of the best in the business. As you’d expect at such a valuable event, Palm were there with bells on (not literally, you understand, that would look ridiculous).

Saturday morning was largely based inside, but after lunch, everyone headed out for an extensive selection of workshops…

Open Boating for those who don’t Open Boat…

“And the rabbit goes round the tree…” Nick Horwood and Paul Smith delve into the dark art of ropework.

After the traditional tea and cake, everyone headed off to Q+A sessions, before reconvening in the evening to hear Luke Farrington’s account of the Kayaknam expedition (www.kayaknam.com), aided by ale.

On Sunday, everyone headed for the Tryweryn for a day of workshops, including Safety and Rescue, Personal Skills, Leadership and more.

Dave Hollins.

Safety. Not just a word…

I’ll leave you now with a few pics from the weekend. Many thanks to Tim for coming along and sorting out prizes for the impromptu Saturday night quiz and supporting the event!

What Happened Next? Answers on a postcard to Tim Trew, Palm Equipment. The best guess wins a packet of Custard Creams donated by tomparkercoaching.co.uk

A 100% Recycled Kayak

Palm HQ — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:49:30 +0000

For year’s now we’ve been recycling the waste plastic from our factory; our offcuts mixed with other plastic to become toys, compost bins and carrier bags. Good for the environment? Not bad, but our aim has always been to recycle our waste ourselves - to produce more kayaks.

Well now we can. Our 100% recycled Dagger Fiesta kayak has caused quite a stir over the last month at our 2010 Dealer preview. Throughout the event we’ve been inviting all of our UK dealers to put a boat shell through the “2lb Lump Hammer Test”. A month of abuse later and it’s still going strong. Check out the video.

Evolution of a classic

Palm HQ — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:03:24 +0000

The guys at CKUK Magazine stopped by Palm HQ last week during our 2010 Dealer Preview event.

When our backs were turned they made off with one of the final samples so expect a review in the mag soon. For now though, here’s Paul from Palm explaining the features of the new Extrem Vest (EV).

Click….

Paul Robertson from Palm explains the new EV

Killer Wales

Tom Parker — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:07:02 +0000

Lowri Davies, Chris “North Wales’ newest addition” Eastabrook and myself took advantage of flexible employment and the first rain of the season to get a cheeky mission in…

Lowri Davies. Goedal.

Tom Parker. Gamlan.

Chris Eastabrook. Gamlan.

Etive River Race

Ed Smith — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:34:47 +0000

Back from Slovenia, I met up with Matt Tidy in a well moisturized Glen Etive. Although the rest of the country was looking fairly dry, the Glen Etive micro climate was holding out on the upper side of medium, the most optimum level of the middle section. It seemed too good to be true and it was as the river level dropped slowly the day before and then plummeted over night.

Still, the low level allowed a pretty much carnage free event on the middle section and with little water to spare the level held consistent for a very fair event. Adding to this, the dry skies meant a happy day for spectators.

It was against the rules but we were adamant about using Green boats.

Red Bull provided the smallest pinnacle in Glencoe.

Tim ‘hovercraft’ Hamlet on right angle. Rumor has it he didn’t hit a single rock.

Matt and I coming into view at the rock slide. With no holes in low water, keeping on line was very easy…

… however, sprinting the flats and avoiding rocks was not.

Myself on the dog leg… slight change of plan from coming over the right hand ledge the day before.

Matt on the lip of right angle, definitely not about to boof!

All in all, it was an awesome event and thanks to James everything ran like clockwork. It was great to have a UK event up in the mountains! In the sponsored category Milton and Scutt won followed by Matt and Myself then Small boy and Bob. However it was revealed we had all been wooped by Team White Water Active, the non sponsored, overall winners! Good job guys!

Catch you on the water. Pictures from Slovenia coming soon!

Bitchin’ with the Axiom

matt — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:49:51 +0000

With the spring tides in September Deb P and I took the chance to paddle at the Bitches in Dagger’s new baby the ‘Axiom’. Thursday wasn’t the biggest tide but a glorious day to paddle to the Bitches to surf, and to charge around in the rapids with the seals.

As the rapids built we tried out some old school stern squirt manoeuvres…

…..and then headed to the hole of the soul, for some big ends…

…and finally used some superior speed to surf some waves.

Job done, we paddled back to mainland Pembrokeshire for drinks and a fish dinner : )

Thanks to Deb Pinniger for the images. I’m now in Scotland surfing Falls of Lora, making the most of the recent rain, and preparing for the Etive race. Reporting back soon.

A Paddlefest in the not so wet West…

Nick Horwood — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:43:52 +0000

Hello all

This weekend Matt Tidy and myself, along with a crowd of assorted heroes and villains of the padling world headed up to Fort William for the annual Wet West Paddlefest. Despite the dry weather, dam releases had been organized on both the Garry and Moriston Rivers, as well as a big saturday night party, and fter a truly epic drive up, we arrived in the small hours of saturday morning in time to get our heads down for a few hours before the fun began…

We awoke on Saturday to news that the Falls of Lora were running, so headed over to Loch Etive for a spot of playboating. The Falls of Lora is a tidal rapid that forms of on a falling tide as the water flows out to sea, creating a series of large and varied waves with potential for spectacular playboating. Having seen photos of the waves, but never been before, I was excited to find out if they lived up to their reputation, and I was not to be disappointed.

Loch Etive from the bridge.

Having come prepared for a weekend of river paddling Mat and I were not armed with playboats, however Mat’s new Axiom proved more than a match for the falls, and taking turns in this cartwheeling and surfing speed machine provided enough fun for both of us. There are some meaty whirlpools downstream of the main wave, and after seeing a few dizzy beatings, the extra volume of the Axiom over a full on playboat was secretly quite reassuring when negotiating them.

Matt tidy carving it p on the green…

And Cartwheelin’ in the foam.

As the tide began to drop and the waves slowly shrank, we decided that it was time to head over to the Garry for an afternoon blast, before grabbing a bite to eat and gearing up for the party. After a talk from Max Bilbow about his recent trip to Russia the party kicked off in earnest, with funky tunes laid down, and grooves being fully busted long into the Night. The Morning after arrived far too early as always, and brought with it the promise of a hearty release from the Moriston Dam.

As a Moriston virgin, I was excited to see what was in store, and despite having heard many stories of big downtime and the odd gnarly beatdown, I put my trust in Mat and Luke, blindly following their tails over the first horizon…

The first drop; Go left, then sit at the bottom and watch the wide eyes as those who went down the middle eventually resurface.

Charge left, and grind that shelf; Luke Farrington shows us how…

The upper sction of the Moriston is short and sweet, making it a classic spot for doing a few laps, and the huge number of people on the river made for crowded eddies and brilliant spectator sport…

The longest continuous section, with plenty of spots for potential carnage.

Matt Tidy brings the Axiom in for a perfect landing.

After several laps of the Moriston we headed back to the car for cake and medals, and to embark on the long drive south. This was my first trip up to Scotland for a few years now, and every time I go I tell myself that I should spend more time there. Matt’s staying up in the highlands for next weekend’s Etive race and I’m off back down south for some warm autumn weather and smooth dartmoor granite, but there are still many trips left to cross off on my Scotland list so watch this space…

I look forward to seeing the more southern bit of the paddling community in a week or two at the South West Canoe Show. If you’re interested go here: http://www.swcanoeshow.co.uk/

Cheers,

Nick

Palm’s New Whitewater PFDs: The Extrem, Amp and FX

Palm HQ — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:03:04 +0000

After a long day’s drive we’re back in the UK gearing up for the winter season (you can download our brand new 2010 Workbook from the Palm Website) . Our new range of whitewater PFDs (the Extrem, Amp and FX) will be available in the shops soon but until then here’s a few shots…

Extrem Vest (EV) New Product – A/W ‘09

The Extrem Vest evolution continues, setting new standards in safety and useability. Our flaship front-opening PFD with masses of storage.

Featuring: Flex Formed Foam front panel wraps around torso • Quad-buckle front entry • Large, zipped, padded front cargo pocket with internal divider • Chest mounted zipped knife pockets • Internal rear padded pocket for documents, safety gear or hydration bladder • Tough grip panels at shoulder for boat
carrying • 3D anti ride-up waistbelt • Easy Glide strap adjustment throughout • Continuous loop failsafe shoulder straps tested to 500kg with strap keeper pockets • Removable chest harness with quick release cam buckle and load spreader • Welded O-ring with Velcro retainer • Dual cowtail parks • Solas® reflective detail on shoulders, front and rear panels

Materials: Cordura® 550D/Ballistic Nylon/Vent Mesh liner, Gaia PVC-free foam
Colours: Midnight/Jet Grey, Red/Jet Grey
Sizes: XS/S (65N), M/L (70N), XL/XXL (75N)

Palm Extrem Vest (Red/Jet Gray)

Palm Extrem Vest (Midnight/Jet Gray)

Amp Vest (AV) New Product – A/W ‘09

The next step in river PFDs, a pullover vest offering full floatation with
maximum articulation and dynamic safety features.

Flex Formed Foam front panel wraps around torso • Pullover entry • Large,
zipped, padded front cargo pocket with internal divider • Chest mounted
zipped knife pockets • Tough grip panels at shoulder for boat carrying • 3D
anti ride-up waistbelt • Easy Glide strap adjustment throughout • Continuous
loop failsafe shoulder straps tested to 500kg with strap keeper pockets
• Removable and reversible chest harness with quick release cam buckle
and load spreader • Welded O-ring with Velcro retainer • Dual cowtail parks •
Solas® reflective detail on shoulders, front and rear panels

Materials: Cordura® 550D/Ballistic Nylon/Vent Mesh liner, Gaia PVC-free foam
Colours: Saffron/Jet Grey
Sizes: XS/S (65N), M/L (70N), XL/XXL (75N)

Palm Amp Vest

FX New Product – A/W ‘09

A new, simple, stylish pullover PFD which provides an unrestricted fit
for male or female paddlers.

Low profile foam panels • Slimline zipped front pocket with key ring clip-in
point • 3D anti ride-up waistbelt • Easy Glide strap adjustment throughout •
Continuous loop failsafe shoulder straps with strap keeper pockets • Stretch
Mesh side panels • Reflective detail on shoulders, front and rear panels

Materials: Nylon 420D ripstop/Ballistic Nylon
Colours: Deep Red/Black, Grey/Black
Sizes: XXXS/XXS (40N), XS/S (50N), M/L (60N), XL/XXL (65N)

Palm FX (Deep Red/Black)