Heather Herbeck: Happy in Hero

By Heather Herbeck

Hey Everyone –
Yes, here is yet another quick update on the Hero:
Wow! The Hero is an amazing boat. I didn’t think I would be able to respond to the boat as quickly and easily as I did, being that I have been paddling the Rocker (no edges) for the last couple of years. But, to my amazement, I fell in love with the Hero right away.
I decided to try the Hero out on the White Salmon River sections: The Farmlands (class IV) through the Green Truss (class IV/V), through the Middle White Salmon (class III). I covered about 15 miles of river and the boat handled well through everything. Here are the coolest things I noticed about the boat:

1. The edges didn’t catch on boily/surging water. It rode high through them like the rocker does.
2. The boat has great stability. I braced through a rapid on the right edge of my kayak and stayed upright the entire time.
3. Easy to roll. Like all Jackson boats . . . the boat gives me confidence to hit my roll every time.
4. BOOFS LIKE A MADMAN!
5. Maneuverability – this boat handles pushy water really well.
I’m headed out to the Midwest to try some slides and am choosing to bring along my Hero to paddle. I’m really looking forward to running some big waterfalls and big slides in my new purple Hero.
Thanks JacksonKayak!
Heather Herbeck