big person slalom kayak

[MaxTexan]

Any suggestions for someone looking for a slalom kayak for a person 6' 3", size 12 feet, 34 inch in seam leg?

[RomanLA]

I asked Fluid if they were going to make more sizes in the Donsa. They said they were only going to make the medium. Which I thought was a bit of a contradiction, since the name kinda implies there would be a small and large.

[okieboater]

Prijon a few years back had a plastic slalom kayak, check their home page.

[knu2xs]

The difficulty with slalom boats is not so much the length but weight. Slalom boats typically are targeted toward the 150-160 range with the medium cuts. Still, I range between 165-175 and paddle an XL cut, which is still a little big for me. Tyger from Atlanta paddles a Galasport boat from a couple of years ago, an XL cut and although he has to be careful of his stern, it does just fine if paddled correctly. Tyger played football for Georgia a few years back, so he is no small fellow.

If you are looking for a plastic boat, they are kind of hard to come by. The only one I know of currently being imported with any type of regularity is made by Galasport. These boats are imported by the US National Team Coach, Silvan Poberaj. Having seen them a couple of times, they look to be something around a medium or large cut.

[MaxTexan]

thanks for the comments so far. I truly regret to say that my days of being less than 200 pounds are gone. If I get to 210-215 range I will be happy.

I get the impression that Fluid will oonly have the Donsa in a medium.

I will follow up on the other hints.

[knu2xs]

Don't be afraid of a composite boat either. From personal experience, of the newer boats, Vajda's hold up the best. If you are looking at boats a few years old, I have coached kids in the old Prijon boats and been incredibly impressed with the beatings they have taken. If you ever run across an Impact boat, these are among the best built boats I have ever seen. They were built by John Brennan for a few years out of Durango, CO. I watched some kids absolutely abuse those boats with no ill aftereffects.

True, composite boats do break, but they are repairable. I just finished working on mine, but I paddle at the whitewater center here in Charlotte most days. This place is really hard on boats. During normal paddling on a natural river, provided you do not make a habit of bouncing off every rock on the river, most people are surprised at how tough composite boats really are.

If you are interested in a New Vajda boat, the US importer is Joe Jacobi. He now lives in Ducktown, TN, but travels a lot as the Executive Director for USA Canoe and Kayak. Still, he is pretty good about returning emails. If you would like his contact information, please feel free to send a PM.