Apparel

When the river starts pumping, it’s time to break out your spring and summer wardrobe. For us here at PaddlingLife, that means living in one outfit: dry top, helmet, life jacket, board shorts and water shoes, be it booties or a full water shoe. The last of this list is what this review is all about. We beat the streets to find the best treats for your feet.

Palm USA has launched a Shopatron-powered online store for Palm Equipment, Europe’s leading paddlesports apparel brand, to make it easier for customers to order product through regional paddlesport retailers.

All sorts of things in life are random…acts of kindness, currents out of nowhere grabbing your stern, even hitch hikers bumming shuttle. To celebrate sheer randomness, Paddling Life brings you this month’s Random Goodie Bag, a sampling of gear and accessories that has come across our transom over the long winter months. Included in this indiscriminate line-up: Fluid’s newest surf kayak, Bomber Gear’s K-bomb spray skirt, and Wanderer Imports’ Maori Hei-Matua necklace for river-running juju.

Christmas is here. And we’ve got a few tips for all of you last minute shoppers scrambling to get the right gifts for your paddling partners. We asked Bend, OR pro Kim Russell, 19, what she uses for gear, and what she’d give to the whitewater junkie in your life.

Get your loose change together – gear prices drop with the falling mercury and it’s starting to get cool out. A new drytop will keep you smiling well into winter, and PL helps you through the choosing process by pitting two tops from the ends of the spectrum against each other: Peak UK’s Deluxe HD and Kokatat’s Rogue Gore-Tex. Set for this year but want to know what next year will bring? Check out the freshest NRS top ever.

The Paddling Life editors recently went through some of their favorite accessories in the gear closet and came up with these fine offerings. There's plenty of quality whitewater equipment out there this spring. We'll keep you updated as more goods flow through our closet. For now, feast your eyes on these must haves.

Kokatat’s highly regarded GORE-TEX Meridian dry suit ($1,000) is specifically designed for kayakers, and now, women.

Before you disregard Royal Robbins clothing as preppy street garb, remember the man who made the brand. Robbins completed more than 30 first descents from Chili to California, including Devil’s Postpile of the San Joaquin, an overnighter that is tough by today’s Class V standards.

We love rivers. We know gear. So here's our Spring Picks, including Pyranha, Dagger, Jackson and Liquidlogic WW kayaks; drysuits from IR, Kokatat and Palm; and a review of Yakima's SkyBox Pro. Every piece thoroughly tested. That’s why it’s here. We like it. If it was up to us, we’d own it all.

Joe Carberry recently visited Portland, Oregon on a gear testing trip and the water was gushing. Bloated waterfalls and steep waves were par for the course, as were cold hands and ice-cold beer. Following is a run down of the gear he abused: Helemts--The Sweet Rocker S1; paddles: The AT 2; Palm Torrent Drysuit; PFD: Salus; Boat: Liquidlogic Ronin