Best products from r/whitewater

HIGHLY Recommend this book: The Guide's Guide

I own the earlier, non augmented version, but it's the same book. This was written by a very successful company operating on multiple rivers in California back in the day. The owner retired and they now only operate on one river.

Anyway, some of this stuff is clearly specific to they way this company did things, but the core values and organizational systems presented in this book are the gold standard for being a good guide. The book covers everything from customer interactions and meal prep to river signals and basic hydrology.

It's 20 bucks on Amazon. The company I work for keeps like 15 copies of it and would pay you three hours of work if you read this book in your spare time. I've read it multiple times for my own refresher in the spring, and have my own copy now.

EDIT: Woah, I just read about this new version on Amazon. The augmented version is like twice as long as my version (140 pages vs 316 pages). Sounds like they added a ton of material about Swiftwater Rescue and such. My book does not have all that. Mine is the old 1980s version. The newer version also has river stories, games, and riddles, and a lot more. Basically, it is the book I have, and then another books worth of content added about being a good guide. Haha. I'm gonna have to buy the new one too! It sounds like this update was in 2005, so there will be updates to what is in my book to keep things current I guess.

They rent rafts for the lower Youghiogheny. I've never seen so many paddles just floating down the river! safety boaters were sticking extra raft paddles down their pfds. It seemed lots of people had no clue what they were doing and really needed a guide. Idk maybe it's changed. Upper part is pretty sweet though more like a creek than a river.
New River in WV I believe is higher CFS, meaning cubic feet per second. I met many folks there with little experience, but wanting to learn. Many of the larger outfitters will have trainings for prospective guides. We were allowed to camp on company property.
Many of the guides I knew did not have a raft guide certification, just first aid/CPR. I had one better, wilderness first responder. ACA Swift water rescue is a great class to take.
You should also think about taking a rafting trip as a customer on a few rivers. You will get to talk to the guides and will get great local knowledge. Try calling a few outfitters and tell them your story. They will know where you are coming from bro, was that the AT you hiked? Haha, buy this book, it's about kayakers but it's really great to explain whitewater: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0897320506/ref=pd_aw_sims_3?pi=SL500_SY115&simLd=1

Seriously, replace them for your boat kit. There's a lot of overlap with rock climbing, and any safe climber will tell you that exhausted gear like this should be retired from your active kit because someone might inadvertently use it.

I know the situations where you'll need a 23kN carabiner on the river are vanishingly small, but you don't want to risk it. Corrosion is insidious, too, and you might not be able to tell how much strength has been lost by visual inspection. If you've got a biner on the river or crag, it should be able to be used for all original purposes (even if it's marked) so that you don't accidentally use a bad biner in a critical situation.

If you're going for non-survival use, PB Blaster is insanely useful, as any mechanic working on cars in cold-weather climates can tell you.

Conceivably, if you're a dab hand with a blowtorch, heat and vicegrips could get the job done, but you really, really, really can't use them for anything safety related if you do that.

Read up on freeing stuck bolts on cars; I think it's your best bet. Don't use those biners in your gearbag, though.

Thanks for the info!

>$1300 per person for everything.

Ah, interesting! We've been quoted about $1800pp (for 8 people)... obviously there's a lot of variables, so I'll look deeper...

>great for a single or couple to sleep on

A dumb offtopic question, but for a couple where exactly do you sleep?! All the rivers I've rowed the boats have been loaded to the eyeballs, and I'm much taller than a boat is wide...

>cocktails each night

Interesting! Any particular cocktails that seemed to suit Grand trips? :)

EDIT: one last question, do you have book suggestions? I was looking at getting:

• Belknap's Waterproof Grand Canyon River Guide All New Expanded Edition
  
• Colorado River in The Grand Canyon Map - 4th E-RiverMaps
  
• Day Hikes from the River: A Guide to Hikes from Camps Along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon
  
  ... but wasn't sure if the two maps were both necessary...? What'd you take?

I just want to put in a plug for the Little Martin LXM. It's body is "high pressure laminate" - aka formica, so you could pretty much use it as a paddle and it would be ok. It's small and has a short scale, but it's still big enough to play comfortably, and - unlike, say, the Martin Backpacker - it sounds remarkably good, balanced and loud. I've had it down the Colorado a couple times in the soft case it comes with, then in a roll-top dry bag. Survived without issue. I seriously love the thing.

There's good advice here.

I'd also recommend reading Nealy's illustrated book. I found this four years in and wish I'd had it from the start: http://www.amazon.com/Kayak-Frontier-Intermediate-Whitewater-Technique/dp/0897325893/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

good luck and enjoy.

You're blessed with one of the largest and most active whitewater clubs around: Coastal Canoeists (www.coastals.org). Though mostly based in Richmond, They are all over Virginia. Carolina Canoe Club (www.carolinacanoeclub.org) also paddles Virginia a lot. Look either of them up on Facebook as well. All of the great West Virginia paddling around Fayetteville and Summersville are within your reach too. There's a HUGE retailer not too far you, Appomattox River Company (www.paddleva.com), that may likely also have used/demo boats at a good price. Hopefully you already know about the informational resources of American Whitewater (VA listings here: http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/state-summary/state/VA/). A now aged, but still useful guidebook for VA is http://www.amazon.com/Virginia-whitewater-paddlers-guide-rivers/dp/B00071FAOI

Thanks you all very much. What I've gathered from this is if you have the cash a quality dry suit is the by far the best option, where a wetsuit is best only if you don't have the cash or you don't take the time to repair your gear. My next question if you all have the time is what's the difference between these dry suits and why is one twice the cost of the other?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SEZEXFG/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_E5TBwbJZV87DG

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006ND21E6/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_R4TBwbS2EC5H6

look at ken whiting book "whitewater kayaking" https://www.amazon.ca/Whitewater-Kayaking-Ultimate-Ken-Whiting/dp/1896980309/ref=dp_ob_image_bk

for river rescue this book is really good https://www.amazon.ca/Whitewater-Safety-Rescue-Essential-Knowledge/dp/0762750871/ref=pd_sim_14_6?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=MHFWX122X998Y99609AN Its a good book. I had it reccomended to me and I reccomend it to others

for video channel check out calgary aquabatics channel https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrLrUmPL86mZsfO_4q120nDDZ5HmMXChK

or Ken when whitings paddling.com

The best accessory, some SWR training in some form or fashion.

If you're going to have a throw rope, you need to have a knife to cut that rope if it gets tangled around you (also how else are you going to spread some peanut butter?)

A whistle should be attached somewhere you can easily reach it and use it. The something that can break is best like the spiral bungee bracelets.

A small first aid kit like this can be nice to have, but I keep mine in an additional drybag since I don't trust the zipper seal.

I would just make sure to not strap a bunch of non-locking carabiners or straps all over the place. I'd try to follow the clean line principal as best as possible. People do die from equipment entrapments, so make sure anything you add to the outside of your pfd has a purpose and if needed, can be released easily (a weak string breaking can also work).

Idaho Whitewater by Greg Moore and Idaho the Whitewater State by Grant Amaral are awesome resources. PM me if you end up around the panhandle or near the Payette. We'll probably be running Marsh Creek Saturday or Sunday on our way to the MF the first weekend of June if you want to join us. [Edited for hyperlink formatting]

Hey one of the bama boyz, I'm from bham! I honestly just didnt wear anything on my hands most of the time but when I needed something and I couldn't afford poagies I got a pair of these which fall apart after a winter but are pretty affordable and warm https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0029YI6QU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_YWmWDb9XVQ724

Some text resources they might be a little dated but they're still great:

Colorado Rivers and Creeks:
https://www.amazon.com/Colorado-Rivers-Creeks-Gordon-Banks/dp/0964539950

Whitewater of the Southern Rockies:

https://www.amazon.com/Whitewater-Southern-Rockies-Stafford-McCutchen/dp/0979264405/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1494345565&sr=1-1&keywords=evan+stafford

I'm a huge fan of the Wenoka Squeeze Knife. It's a very good knife (originally for diving, but I know a bunch of purple who use them rafting) and it doesn't come out accidentally. People lose the Gerber and NRS knifes frequently.

The stainless steel model with a blunt tip is more popular, but I saw The titanium version for cheaper a while back and bought it.

Kayak! The New Frontier, by William Nealy. Best book to learn kayaking technique (and a little of the culture too).

I have several different brands of dry bags. This is my favorite:

https://www.amazon.com/SealLine-Baja-Dry-Black-5-Liter/dp/B01N2WNZ5R/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=sealline%2Bbaja&qid=1566415443&s=sporting-goods&sr=1-1&th=1&psc=1

Kayak: The New Frontier by William Nealy is definitely a solid purchase.

http://www.amazon.com/Kayak-Frontier-Intermediate-Whitewater-Technique/dp/0897325893

You can buy this book on Amazon. I'm not sure if you are trying to get one in some other way, but I left you the link.

https://www.amazon.com/Guides-Guide-Augmented-Reflections-Professional/dp/0977277402