Eric Clapton would be proud. German kayak maker Prijon just released its newest creeker, with the provocative name of, wait for it…The Cocaine. PL gets the inside line (so to speak) on the headline-making moniker…
“The message of our boat name is: You don`t need any drug, but just this boat,” says the company’s Rita Prijon, when reached in her offices in Germany. “If you start paddling this boat, you will love it and get dependent.”
In defending the name, Prijon references a popularsoft drink. “In contrast to Coca Cola, which in the beginning had real cocaine in it and still uses the drug name, our boat doesn’t have any reference to real drugs,” she says. “But it shows you that a sporting activity in nature—with the right material and design — gives you any fantastic feeling in the world you need.”
As far as feedback from the name, she adds that, yes, there has been some, but that they’re sticking to their guns. “We already got a few outraged inquiries for the use of this name, which surprised us,” she says. “Evidently, nobody minds that people consume coca cola almost every day, and even buy it regularly for their kids.”
“The kayak name Cocaine,” she adds, “ is not at all meant to consume or buy any real drug, but the opposite: the use of this kayak is enough and all you need.
“And it’s similar to many other kayak names from other brands, like the Bomb, Bullet and Whisky.”
As for its purity, it’s nothing but high-end. The boat borrows features found in its previous creekers such as the Pure XL and Cali and modernizes them to make the boat competitive in today’s market. New design features include a longer length, sharper edges (dare we call them…rails?) and a squared-off stern.
Cocaine Specs:
MATERIAL: HTTP
LENGTH: 275 cm
WIDTH: 65 cm
WEIGHT: 21 kg
VOLUME: 305 L
COCKPIT: 86 x 51 cm
PADDLERWEIGHT: 65 – 95 kg