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? As a Colorado paddler, it’s a little out of your typical wheelhouse. And while I stuffed a ski bag full of nine oars, frame parts, and a half dozen NRS PFDs and wetsuits to bring down to my outfitter buddy Pepe of Apumayo Expeditions, I also paid attention to the gear I’d be using, from paddling apparel to my kayak kit, that stood up to everything from errant monkeys to paddling through waterfall veils in the famous Pongo de Mainique. So without any further monkeying around, here’s a rundown on:
Gear I Used on Peru’s Yavero River
Kayak: Waka OG
“This boat knows the lines.” If so, I’m in good hands. The encouragement comes from Peruvian kayaker Leo Gonzales, who has run the Class V-VI upper Paucartambo five times. I’m just on the lower Class III-IV section, so I should be fine. Especially in this boat. It’s the first time I’ve been in a Waka, those do-everything creekers from New Zealand, now being imported by Evan Garcia out of White Salmon, Ore., and I can the reason for all the fuss. They’re great.
Designed purely “to make a kayak that gives you bigger balls whilst keeping you dry and high and looking fly,” it’s stable, fast and confidence-inspiring, while still allowing you to surf that occasional sweet glassy wave. It’s modeled on the hull of the Tuna 1, adding more rocker while also borrowing traits from the Tuna 2, including a wider design that floats high over big and boily water to keep you out of trouble.Miss a boof? It’ll still get you through”. The extra width also keeps it light and loose on the water, while the shorter length, which might make it a bit slower, makes it easier to maneuver in tight situations. Aggressive rails help you turn on a dime with a sweep, and even manage a flat spin or two on a wave. Fan of self-support? It also has gobs of room for overnighters. I got into trouble only once in it, falling into a hole that a raft blocked in front of me. And while it was the biggest “unintentional” hole I’ve been in in a creeker for a few years, I did a spin and surfed it out, no worries. (Though with my eyes a little wider after, and giving the rafts a little more clearance). And perhaps the best testament? A great deck platform for Maku, the Monkey! Specs: L: 263cm; W: 69cm; Wt.: 22kg; Vol: 95 gal. https://www.wakakayaks.com/kayak/og/
Paddle: Werner 4-Piece Breakdown
This baby’s my go-to for international travel. While I can usually line up a boat, paddles are personal and another matter. And you never want to rely on a hand-me-down from abroad. Even with a roller ski bag full of nine oars, lifejackets, frame parts, and wetsuits for our gear-starved outfitter, I was still able to fit this in (kind of like one of those Russian dolls). It’s stiff, with a light swing weight, with fiberglass, dihedral, blades providing smooth power and value. A custom-shaped reinforcement spine lets you maneuver it quickly when linking strokes —like trying to catch that last-second wave — while its overall lightweight remains easy on the arms after seven days on the water. Plus, it’s Werner, so you know you’re in good hands. Bonus: its translucent fiberglass laminate blade matched many of the butterflies fluttering around (but there was no flutter in the paddle). .Feather Angle: 4-piece – R45/0/L45 or R30/L30 (R45: most popular for river running; R30: for play boating). 200 cm Four Piece Breakdown Specifications: Blade Length- 55 cm | Male Shaft – 63 cm | Female Shaft – 53 cm. www.wernerpaddles.com
Booties: Astral Hiyak
These are my go-to booties for boating, and now my “went-there” booties as well, as I ended up giving them to our raft guide and cook, Luchine. Let’s just say that Phillip Curry does it right every darn time. The Astral Hiyaks offer stability, protection and insulation without the use of toxic neoprene — which makes you feel a lot better about taking them on a jungle run like the pristine Yavero. The quick-drying water-boot grips well with its razor-siped G.ss Rubber™G.ss rubber and FlexGrip outsoles, even on those uber-polished boulders we scrambled up to see a side creek waterfall, and a minimalist design reduces bulk in the boat and the luggage for boating abroad. Other features include hidden laces, and quick-dry canvas with 1060D ballistic nylon. Did they dry each night in the humid jungle? No, but nothing else did either, and what flowed in flowed out thanks to its quick-dry drains. I also like the zero-drop/level footbed with a wider toe box for a little wiggle room. www.astraldesigns.com
Safety Gear: NRS Un-Pin Kit
Thankfully, we didn’t have to use this. But if we did, and a Z-drag was in order (always go with your simplest rescues first), it was nice knowing we had everything we need. An essential kit for creek boaters and rafters on technical rivers, the NRS Un-Pin Kit has everything you need for a simple Z-Drag setup to help recover your buddy’s pinned boat. Compact, easy to stow, it includes a throw bag with rope, prusik cord, tubular webbing, carabiners, and pulleys — everything you need in a literal pinch. Catered specifically to kayak-rescue situations, it also has an included Z-Drag crib sheet that walks you through the steps as a reminder. And don’t worry about it breaking; the rope in the throw bag has a 2,495-pound breaking strength. For raft and cataraft rescue situations, they recommend the full Z-Drag Kit. Bonus: When our too-thorough-for-his-own-good ranger at the Gates of Lodore put-in asked us to pull out and set up a Z-drag system, this quieted him down pretty quickly. $399.95, www.nrs.com.
Camp Pants: Free-fly Pants
These were the bomb, for both bugs and sun and lounging and sleeping. I lived in these daily, under my paddling shorts to thwart bugs at llunch and scouting, and at camp, where they dried lickety-split. Light, airy, and packed with stretch, I even slept in them, thanks to their featherweight, pajama-like feel. Made with their best-selling woven fabric — a recycled blend with an 86% polyester shell and 14% Spandex lining — they also have a bit of uber-plush bamboo for that awwww, perfect feel. Breathable stretch shell. An elastic waistband with drawstring for adjustable fit are great for those nights when you indulge, and a bomber back zipper pocket fits a credit card. Our take? The perfect river- and beach-friendly combo of durability, moisture-wicking, and four-way stretch, for everything from those Beersbie games in the desert to jungle boating. And—perhaps best for paddlers like me who wear them all the time—lasting odor control. Want more options? Try its Bamboo Lightweight Hoodie and Lined Breeze Shorts (we love ‘em all!). www.freeflyapparel.com
Paddling Shirt: Bluesmith Kanaha Hydrophobic Shirt
What can I say? I’ve had this baby for years and still use it all the time. How could I not when its comfy, quick-drying and, dare I say, cute? Itn Peru, it was a Godsend, plain and simple, albeit a smelly one by trip’s end. It was the perfect layer of warmth, sun protection and light weight, whether under a drytop Paddling jacket or on its own. Now, a new recycled version of the Kanaha features Schoeller’s® ecorepel® fabric technology, an eco-friendly, water repellent tech that repels water while breathing. Built to solve the problem of cold, wet rash guards, and sun shirts, the Kanaha performs in and out of the water, best excelling in alternating wet/dry activities. Which is what we faced every day, be it boating, swimming, or ducking behind waterfall veils. Want a saltwater testie? “I’m more excited about it than my first wetsuit I got in the 70s,” says Maui pro kite instructor Reinhard Elischka. I know exactly why. www.bluesmiths.com
Charger: NestOut 4-Panel Solar Charger
When you’re on a seven-day river trip in the bowels of Peru, flying drones overhead to scout rapids and capture footage, you don’t want your batteries to run dry (then again, nothing is really dry down here in the Amazon Basin). Enter the Nestout Foldable Solar Charger, which is what kept our electrical juice flowing on the Rio Yavero. Designed for camping, backpacking, overlanding, river running, and other off-grid travel, the Nestout is foldable, lightweight, and durable, available in two- (1.2lb.) and four-panel (2 lb.) options, with both USB Type A and C ports for multi-compatibility. We brought the four-panel for its extra power, laying it out on shore, atop rafts, and even scootching aside the pisco sour makings on our happy hour roll table to eek a few last photons from the waning sun. While it directly charges everything from phones to drones, we also brought its portable powerbank to create a modular off-grid power system. Simply charge the palm-sized powerbank and charge your items later in your tent or on the rare flats on the raft. It saved our filmmaker’s drone on more than one occasion, and, whenever the fireflies stopped fluttering, fueled our rechargeable headlamps and phones for the journey to the tent in the pitch black of the jungle. But it’s not monkey proof. At our last camp at the head of the Pongo (River Gorge) de Mainique, the owner’s pet monkey, Maku, made it a game to flip the flaps closed. $89.99 (2-panel); $129.99 (4-panel), 4-Panel Solar Charger V2
Lifejacket: NRS Vector PFD (with RECCO Tech)
I brought four of these down in my ski bag for Pepe to give to his Apumayo guides (as well as nine oars and six wetsuits; you didn’t want to follow me at the immigration line). By the end, I wanted one as well. The NRS Vector PFD, the first and only whitewater rescue PFD to integrate RECCO® locator technology, brings proven Search & Rescue technology into whitewater for the first time, blending technical rescue features and unrestricted mobility. Testing the Recco system with Germany extreme kayaker Adrian Mattern, the jacket balances unrestricted freedom of movement with crucial safety upgrades, including dual integrated RECCO® reflectors and an interconnected internal webbing harness for live-bait operations and technical rescue scenarios. It also has NRS’s Orbit Fit System™ and universal Every Body Design™, for a high-mobility, low-profile design featuring precision-cut, pre-curved foam (no gender-specific sizing). It also has a 100% PFAS-free design crafted from post-consumer recycled ripstop nylon and PVC-free foam. But above all its Recco features, I just loved the way it felt, fit, and worked. It tightened and, more importantly, untightened easily, has pockets in all the right places, and fit like a glove out of the box. And Apumayo’s guides loved them as well. NRS.com.
Drytop: Kokatat Stoke
In the jungle, the mighty jungle (try to say that without singing), you don’t need the burlist drytop out there. You need something like the Kokatat Stoke, which you’ll be more than stoked about. The Stoke Hydrus Custom Drytop, available in men’s and women’s sizing, lets you choose the colorways, with nine different colors, for top, bottom and accent, for as many combos as there are waterways to paddle. A simple sizing app determines your fit, for sleeves and torso, with colors appearing onscreen for a sneak peak. On the Yavero, I used it the first four days, when it was still slightly chilly at 3,500 feet in the main whitewater section. As much as I liked the colors (save for when bees liked the vibrant orange), I loved the performance and feel more.
The Hydrus fabric was lightweight and pliable, without restricting movement, and the sizing was spot-on — even more so than my line through the first Class IV. And the gaskets — the bane of all drytops — were supple, smooth, and non-restricting, straight out of the box. When that sudden rainstorm sent other party members to their rain jackets, I was more than stoked to just keep the Stoke on and ride it out. I switched to a paddle jacket on the lsat few days, once we dropped into the warmer Amazon Basin, but loved every uninhibited torso-swinging minute of it. And it’ll make a great addition to colder-climate paddling back home. Info: Kokatat.com
Camp Shirt: NRS Quick-dry Shirt:
Okay, so I looked a little like Crocodile Dundee in this one. I’ll cowboy up and take it. This baby just fit in, day in and out, as a quick-dry, moisture-wicking poly/spandex blend, complete with a mesh-lined vented back yoke and shoulders, which was great in the humid jungle. It’s a button-down, so I felt a tad overdressed, but not in the sun, where UPF 50+ protection still kept me cool. And it stretches with your movements, which was great for all the rigging and de-rigging at camp. You can also roll and button the sleeves on warmer days, and two, top-entry mesh-lined chest pockets secure headlamps and more. The best thing (at least for everyone else): its antimicrobial properties prevent funky smells. Bonus (which I discovered on day 3): the woven NRS label doubles as a sunnies stash spot, complete with a hidden lens cleaner on the lower right hem. www.nrs.com
Paddling Shorts: Bomber Gear Wetsuit Shorts
Yes, I still have a pair of these ancient, wetsuit-lined board shorts from Bomber Gear and I love them (RIP Rick Franken). The Bominations combine board shorts steeze with the warmth of an underlayer of neoprene, which also helps you fit snug into your kayak’s hip pads (especially nice when you don’t know what boat you’re getting). They’re my go-to whenever I’m boating in shorts. The only drawback is they’re a little clammy around the crotch if you’re hanging out in camp in them. And though the board shorts part is a little baggy for my old-school taste (they hang below the knees), it beats hanging out in tighties at the bar afterward. But good luck finding them. Try GearTrade or E-Bay.
Drybag: Sea to Summit Big River Drybag
I love this thing. It’s the perfect size and beefiness to live inside my kayak day in and out. Its 420D nylon fabric is durable and abrasion-resistant, making it perfect for stashing inside a boat.A white interior laminate affords greater visibility, and lash loops allow secure stacking or attachment to watercraft, motorcycles and other equipment. The hypalon non-wicking roll-top closure keeps water out, and the Field Repair Buckles can be replaced in seconds with just a Philips screwdriver. It also was designed with an oval base to save space when packing and prevent it from rolling away. https://seatosummit.com/products/the-big-river-dry-bag?utm_campaign=3-QRY-Conversion-Brand&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google
Sleeping Bag: Rab Neutrino
Available in 32- and 20-degree models, this all-mountain down bag is perfect for everything from a Himalayan trek to a ski hut to, yes, camping in the Peruvian jungle on a river trip. While it was a tad overkill at times (we put in at 3,500 feet and took out at 1,500, so it wasn’t uber-cold), I put the 20-degree version through its paces, bundling up inside on the first few nights and sleeping atop it once we reached the Amazon Basin. It’s the perfect combo of warmth, comfort, and weight. Credit goes to Rab’s L.O.F.T 3D baffle tech, a twisted helix structure that locks down in place and stops cold spots from forming. Longitudinal baffles boost thermal efficiency and side-sleeping comfort, while an anatomic hood, 3D neck collar, and wide foot box let your feet sprawl. A two-way YKK zipper with insulated baffle seals out drafts, and at just 1 pound, 14 ounces, it’s light enough to haul anywhere (Pepe hardly noticed it on his raft). Rab Neutrino
Tent: Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2
This tent was made for river trips, as much as bikepacking and backpacking trips. It set up and broke down easily with one person (even in the dark Peruvian jungle), its vestibules were the perfect size for stashing drybags out of the rain, and its 3D bins overhead came in super handy for drying shorts, stashing accessories, and holding my phone for the 6:30 a.m. alarm. It has a fully freestanding design (which is great for sand where stakes don’t hold too well), fluttered but handled any Andean wind — and, most importantly, when the deluge came on night five, forcing us out of our tents because the floodwaters devoured our beach — it kept everything inside dry.
This owes itself to its Amazon jungle-worthy HyperBead fabric, which is stronger and more waterproof than ever, and a design that lets airflow in and keeps water out. Still, it’s not ant-proof. Just ask Olie, who, that same rain night, set his up unknowingly over a red anthill and forgot to zip it up. Our river name, Urubamba, means “Ant Place,” and they paraded in as if they owned the joint. Wingman that I am, I helped him shake it out, but better him than me. www.bigagnes.com
Paddling Jacket: NRS Men’s Stratos Shorty
It hurt me to do so, but I gave this to my Peruvian kayaker buddy Chawa after the trip and was immediately bummed because I liked it so much. But I liked him also, and he showed me the lines, so all’s fair in the jungle. Designed for core insulation and maximum range of motion, it’s perfect for jungle and other warm-water trips, featuring neoprene GlideSkin™ comfort-neck and arm seals and a comfy waterproof, breathable fabric to keep you dry.
The short-sleeve design frees your arms for movement (especially handy when getting a monkey off your boat), while lightweight Hyprotex™ 2.5 material delivers breathable, waterproof protection. They seem to have nailed the paddler’s cut also, enhancing movement with room to layer underneath. A double-pull, hook-and-loop neoprene waist cinches tight for a custom fit, with a coated nylon, inner double-tunnel keeping your innards dry. Chawa: Can I have it back? https://www.nrs.com/nrs-mens-stratos-shorty-jacket/pz5t
Sprayskirt: IR Kling-on
This sprayskirt is bomber, pure and simple. Which is what you want when you’re boating on another continent. You have enough things to think about other than your skirt blowing, so bring the best. That’s the Kling-on by Immersion Research, which is uber-dry and fits over cockpits easily. An inner layer of tacky material helps the skirt stick to the rim, and it even stayed on when Maku the monkey climbed on my kayak. The construction is as tough as skirts get, and IR practices what they preach, putting their gear through paddling paces most consumers won’t. It’s bomber and a go-to for hard use. I just have to make sure to get the skirt wet before stretching it over the cockpit, meaning I often have to wait to put on my PFD until I’m down at the water. But that’s a small price to pay for skirt security. www.immersionresearch.com
Helmet: Sweet Rocker
Sweet’s Rocker helmet is a high-performance headpiece built for the roughest paddling conditions you can throw (or roll) at it. Thankfully, no coconuts fell on my head, but it would have been ready. The high-tech, carbon fiber-reinforced helmet screams confidence and protection, combining the elasticity of injection-molded thermoplastic with the rigidity and strength of carbon fiber. The result: a shell and liner fine-tuned for different properties in different areas for optimized protection. I like its tight-yet-comfortable fit, as well as added ear and sun protection. It also comes complete with a lightweight neoprene sock extending down the forehead, keeping it in place when taking a beat-down. The only drawback: I wore a ballcap under my helmet for better sun protection in the low-ozone Andes (I hope my dermatologist is reading this), but didn’t take its included plastic visor off, meaning I looked like a double-visor dork in some of the photos. (Read more reviews here). www.sweetprotection.com
If You Go
Want to paddle one of the best jungle runs in Peru? The best time to go to the Yavero is June through August…and tack on some time to visit nearby Machu Picchu, which you drive right by on the shuttle home. For more information, visit PromPeru or Apumayo Expeditions.