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By Stephen Wright

This past weekend Rollapalooza once again proved that it’s the coolest pool session in history with hundreds of paddlers who braved the snow for it! EJ, Nick, Dane, Ruth, and some jerk loaded-up with 14 JK boats for this event, including the only 2 Heros in existence. 8 hours each way was no problem for Jessica’s diesel Sprinter, which averaged 20 miles a gallon–even fully loaded! Rollapalooza is organized through Great Outdoor Provision, which is a fantastic JK dealer with employees who care about the paddling community and have the entire JK line. There was plenty of time to demo boats, or take clinics from some of the best paddlers in the world. We all had the opportunity to teach rolling, performance strokes, looping, freestyle, and more.

In the pool, lots of people had the opportunity to demo the new Hero and the consensus is that it’s the easiest rolling kayak EVER…from 130-230 lbs paddlers zipped all over the place enjoying the stability, maneuverability, and ease of rolling (though 200 and up will really like the Superhero better). It’s wild that the Hero did so well in a swimming pool–those kayakers are gonna be blown away once they get it on a creek!!! The Star series once again became the freestyle boat of choice, with all our demo boats out all night cartwheeling, bow stalling, and looping continually throughout the evening. I was psyched to have hit the largest flatwater loop I’ve ever thrown there–head stayed totally dry and my stern cleared for a flat landing!!! What a great night!

Live from Rock Island, TN,
Stephen Wright

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