Whitewater Kayaking

Whitewater kayaking’s latest news and product reviews.  Paddling Life keeps you informed on what’s new in whitewater kayaks, kayak competitions, kayak industry news, and much more.

Events

That’s a Wrap: Our Man in the Field Reports Gauley Fest is “Beautiful Chaos”

That is Gauley Fest: a little intimidating, a little ridiculous, incredibly loud and absolutely unforgettable. Beautiful chaos on the Gauley.
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Events

Utah’s John Wesley Powell Museum to Induct 3 into River Runners Hall of Fame Oct. 2-3

For all you paddlers out there, the Powell Museum in Green River, Utah, is inducting three historically significant Colorado Plateau influencers to the River...
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Athlete Stories

B-Flow Sessions Podcast Joins Paddling Life, Adds Road Show

Paddling Life is now the official media partner of B-Flow Sessions: The Whitewater Kayaking Podcast, hosted by longtime industry veteran Brad Burden. With the...
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Accessories

Gear I Used on Peru’s Yavero River

What kind of gear do you bring down on a seven-day, Class III-IV kayaking/rafting trip on a river like Peru’s Paucartambo/Yavero? We took the trip from Colorado to find out.
Eugene Buchanan -
Whitewater Kayaking

Good Golly It’s Gauley Fest Time Sept 17-20!

Get ready for some of the best whitewater in the country (Initiation, Shipwreck and Pillow Rock ring a bell?) and arguably the paddling community's...
Eugene Buchanan -
Competition

Carnage on the Cheakamus

Leave it to the Canucks. While Canada and the US are going toe-to-toe battling it out in a trade war, kayakers did the same...
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Conservation

Despite Drought, Colo.’s BaileyFest 2026 Celebrates Best Bailey Season in Years

“What’s 300 cfs…about low side of medium?” I ask this year’s Bailey Fest organizer Collin Remmers. “High side of low,” he responds, as we get...
Eugene Buchanan -
Business

PTC Collab Scrambles After Montgomery Whitewater Center Announces “Temporary Closure” Before Oct. 14-16 Event

The Paddlesports Trade Coalition is scrambling for an alternative venue after Alabama's Montgomery Whitewater Center announced it is "temporarily closing" less than a month before...
Eugene Buchanan -
Contests

Want a Free 6-Day Kayaking Trip to Costa Rica? Enter Amazing Vacations’ Sweepstakes!

Yes, you heard right. Want a free six-day kayaking trip to Costa Rica? Enter Amazing Vacations' Sweepstakes! They’re running an EPIC GIVEAWAY on their...
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Athlete Stories

Geologist Paddles, Studies Mighty Stikine; Releases Film

For Rye Hester, the seventh time is the charm. That’s how many times the kayaker has been down Canada’s famed Stikine River, descending it...
Eugene Buchanan -
Destinations

Flood, Debris Flow at Bright Angel Creek Closes Colorado in Grand Canyon, Phantom Ranch Evacuated

Forget such rapids as Hance, Crystal and Lava Falls. Now rafters have bigger things to worry about on the Grand Canyon. A debris flow...
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Apparel

Kokatat’s New Blast Shorty

Let’s just say I tend to go through shorty paddling jackets pretty quickly. That’s mostly because I trade them away to eager guides whenever...
Eugene Buchanan -
Apparel

Kokatat’s Custom Stoke Drytop

This is one drytop you’re going to be "stoked" about. Kokatat’s new Stoke Hydrus Custom Drytop, available in both men’s and women’s sizing, lets you...
Eugene Buchanan -
Inflatables

First Look: A New Hybrid Whitewater Hardshell/Packraft?

A cross between a hardshell and a packraft for hiking into remote whitewater? Yep, that’s what we thought, too, but that’s exactly what the...
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Conservation

Fall/Winter Outlook for the Grand (from Tom Martin/Grand Canyon Private River Runners)

Running the Grand this fall or winter and wondering what the water levels might be? So are we. Read on for the latest report...
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Athlete Stories

Oklahoma City Hosts the World—and Evy Leibfarth Takes Silver (By Kent Ford)

The lead story from the World Championships in Oklahoma City has to be Evy Leibfarth's silver-medal performance in women's kayak, where she was beaten only...
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Competition

North Fork Champs Highlight Reel Released

It's here...the highlight reel for this year's 2026 North Fork Champs June 9-11 is live, and it's some of the best whitewater event action you'll...
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Paddling Industry News

NRS Launches Vector PFD, the First Whitewater Rescue Vest with Built-In RECCO

Northwest River Supplies has launched the Vector PFD, the first whitewater rescue life jacket to integrate RECCO locator technology, bringing the search-and-rescue system into...
Aaron Bible -
Athlete Stories

Analyzing New Paddling Film Apex

There’s another Hollywood movie out putting whitewater in the limelight. Fifty-four years after the release of the Burt Reynolds movie “Deliverance,” and 32 years...
Eugene Buchanan -
Paddling Industry News

Wave Sport Returns to U.S. Market

Paddlesports brand Wave Sport announced its official commercial return to the United States market as a highlight of celebrating its 40th anniversary. The move marks...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

The Top 10 Whitewater Kayaking YouTube Channels!

“Alright, just one more video...” It's a phrase said by many-a-paddler deep into a whitewater YouTube binge session. Yep, there’s no shortage of epic...
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Competition

Drought Forces Vail GoPro Games to Relocate Paddling Events

Sorry, kayak crossers and creek boaters. Some events have been cancelled and some relocated for June's GoPro Games in Vail, Colo., June 4-7 due...
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Paddling Industry News

Reviewtime 4Corners-style: The Jackson Antix 3.0 vs. the Waka Skuxx

For an inside head-to-head peek at the Jackson Antix 3.0 vs. the Waka Skuxx, take a look at this vid clip by local Durango...
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Paddles

Paddle Technology 101: Offset

When it comes to buying a new paddle there is always a discussion about length and to a lesser degree, about feather angle. Recently,...
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Latest news

Conservation

Ken Sleight, River Guide Who Inspired Edward Abbey’s Seldom Seen Smith, Dies at 97

Ken Sleight, the river guide who inspired Edward Abbey's Seldom Seen Smith in "The Monkey Wrench Gang," has died...
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Films & Books

Dustin, Scott Lindgren Work Water Magic to Film New “Redemption River” Video

There’s a new vid out highlighting Cali’s American River, billed as a faith-based survival thriller. Filmed among the rugged canyons...
Events

That’s a Wrap: Our Man in the Field Reports Gauley Fest is “Beautiful Chaos”

That is Gauley Fest: a little intimidating, a little ridiculous, incredibly loud and absolutely unforgettable. Beautiful chaos on the Gauley.

Must read

Events

That’s a Wrap: Our Man in the Field Reports Gauley Fest is “Beautiful Chaos”

That is Gauley Fest: a little intimidating, a little ridiculous, incredibly loud and absolutely unforgettable. Beautiful chaos on the Gauley.
Accessories

Gear I Used on Peru’s Yavero River

What kind of gear do you bring down on a seven-day, Class III-IV kayaking/rafting trip on a river like Peru’s Paucartambo/Yavero? We took the trip from Colorado to find out.
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Destinations

Help Save the Zambezi’s Batoka Gorge!

Anyone who’s ever paddled the Zambezi River’s Batoka Gorge...
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Paddling Industry News

Dane’s Games: Dane Jackson Sweeps Creek and Freestyle Events at GoPro Mountain Games

Call it Dane Time again. That’s the take-home from this year’s GoPro Mountain games in Vail, Colo., where 21-year-old kayaker Dane Jackson won the competiton’s two most coveted kayak events: The Steep Creek Race and Freestyle Championships.
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Paddling Industry News

Ringing in the New Year, Kellogg Family-Style

Feeling good about your start to the new year? That’s nothing compared to how the Kellogg family rang it in. This year marked the third year that most of the family – consisting of dad Dan, mom Susie, and 12 kids, yes 12, ages 1-18 -- participated in a frigid float the Shoshone New Years Day Paddle...
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