“In-betweener” Boats

 I am personally new to the whole “in-betweener” kayaks myself. Before I got an Antix, it was either playboat or creekboat. Id tried few here and there, but its never the same as actually having one to paddle regularly. To be honest I thought they were sort of overrated. What can you do in a slicy boat that you can’t do in a playboat? Or why paddle a slower boat on a harder run and miss out on more speed with moves? I was wrong. When I got the Antix I had so much fun trying stern squirts everywhere, realizing how truly bad I am at them and pushing the limit of what I could do with a 7.5′ medium volume boat compared to a 9′ high volume machine. It was clear that I had been overlooking a whole different style of kayaking. I now have the MixMaster as well and now understand why the stoke behind slicy boats is so high. The MixMaster is a way to bring play everywhere while still having speed and comfort. The MixMaster is easier to cartwheele on flatwater for me than a playboat and also needs way less of a seam to stand up. This for me makes almost and eddie line awesome! Although the MixMaster is longer than a regular playboat the volume is more dispersed so your boat is touching more water. This allows you to feel more current, making things you already know slightly different and probably more fun. Surfing also feels much different because with the slice you have just as much control, but you’re not tempted to to whip around tricks like loops or blunts, instead I’ve been finding myself just as stoked on doing simple carves and spins. The MixMaster is a really cool design, and in my opinion there is a reason why that similar design has stuck around over different boats. If you have never hopped in what I call “in-betweener” boats, maybe give it a go, variety is the spice of life.

Antix-

Mixmaster-

– Tommy Piros