2010 All-Star- not just for the pros

January 12, 2010

The 2010 All-Star has far exceeded any expectations of just how good it could be for the top paddlers in the world competing in competition. What I am most excited about going into 2010, is just how much more fun and easier it makes playboating for the beginner playboater as well. I could go an talk about all of the attributes of David Knight and my best playboat design we have ever made, but I’ll let those out there buying them to the talking…

Just to get excited: watch this video before reading further…

All-Star Review

October 3, 2009

Dear Jackson and Co.,

Thank you for making the 2010 Star Series. I am 51 and have paddled about every kind of playboat out there. This boat has a different feel and personality and has added new fun to my playboating and will up my game.

Mike Dorsey

P.S. Congratulations on your World Cup Series!

2010 All-Star review from Colorado Boater Chris

August 28, 2009

Very cool to get a detailed review like this…

Subject: 2010 All-Star

Hi EJ!

My name is Chris, and I first met you a few years ago when my wife and I attended separate clinics you did on the Potomac when you came down for Potomac Fest. Ever since I started paddling my first All-Star in 2006 I have really enjoyed the boat and credit it for helping me become a better paddler. Just before purchasing the 2007 All-Star 2 years ago a miracle happened 🙂 and I won one at Gauley Fest. I can still remember the shock and standing on top of your RV! As soon as I heard about the 2010 All-Star I knew I had to have it. I’m so fortunate to live in such a great paddling area (just north of Washington D.C.) and have very convenient access to the Valley Mill kayak shop and school. Monique Hubshman inspired me to first paddle the All-Star back when I didn’t really think I could handle a play boat, and since then I haven’t looked back. It’s been the best thing that has happened to me in my kayaking "career". Everyone at Valley Mill is phenomenal, and now since Jim Buley has been running the shop the opportunities to attend various forms of training and classes are so numerous, which between this year and last year has really helped me improve much, much more than in previous years. This year Jim Hubshman has been running a freestyle clinic and sharing his expertise, which has really helped me improve and move towards a number of playboating goals I have.

Well, my blind trust was well founded after getting the new All-Star without having the chance to try it out first, because the boat is awesome!! Each time they keep getting better, although I’ll say that the 2007 model is a really tough one to beat. That boat is amazing, and I’m definitely keeping it. That said, there are a number of things I wanted to share that I just love about the new 2010 All-Star:

§ It’s even more comfortable than past models

§ It’s easier – takes less effort – to get vertical

§ You can really put the boat on edge quite a ways before hitting the secondary stability point

§ It’s more aggressive than past models (the only thing I’m still getting adjusted to 🙂 )

§ It’s just as easy if not easier to roll than previous models

§ It has helped me to improve and get closer to doing a successful double pump and getting vertical on the bow (one of my goals is to learn to bow stall and another is to learn to flatwater cartwheel)

§ It has helped me improve my stern squirting so much that I can actually try and focus on doing stern stalls or staying upright most of the time when I get vertical on the stern

§ It’s great for spinning and very fast, and I’ve done my best cartwheels ever with it (I’m still pretty new to cartwheels)

§ My favorite thing right at the moment – I am actually progressing with it in becoming not only successful, but consistently successful, with hand rolling for the first time ever (I still have a lot of work/learning to do though!)

§ Since I do up to Class IV stuff, I like to river run in the All-Star, and it seems to have the speed, stability, etc. to pull off moves I didn’t think at first I could do with it, especially with it being a shorter boat than the previous All-Star It’s even lighter than the previous models

§ The graphic on the bow rocks! 🙂

I just love it! Can you tell? 🙂 Since they say a picture is worth a thousand words – not that I want to bore you with a giant e-mail – I’m attaching a few pictures of me in my new All-Star that show how fun it is to paddle. 🙂

Finally, having had the chance to have met you on a couple occasions, I just wanted to say Thanks so much for sharing your passion, excitement, amazing talent, boat designs, etc. with us all and being a great example and inspiration for learning to whitewater kayak and have a lot of fun doing it.

Chris Davis

2010 All- Star, Best birthday present of my life

July 27, 2009

By Jeremy Adkins

Last weekend I had the pleasure of spending my Birthday with my wife, good friends and in the most amazing freestyle boat I have had in my 20 years of whitewater kayaking: the 2010 All-star. Most boats are good at specific aspects of freestyle, but fail to meet the standards at other playspots. The 2010 Jackson Kayak All Star does everything so well, it is a dream to paddle. On the Ocoee River, I realized that each move I have executed throughout the past 20 years was suddenly easier and more consistent allowing me to feel as if I was running the Ocoee for the first time. I was able to work on almost every move depicted in the Triktionary and found 2010 All Star makes all the moves so much easier. So, if you see me on the river, please don’t hesitate to ask to try it out. It is truly indescribable so see for yourself. The following top ten reasons to paddle the 2010 All Star though I’m sure you will find there are so many more like 4 sizes. Woo Hoo!

10 reasons you should paddle a 2010 Jackson Kayak All-Star

Speed – The 2010 All Star is faster surfing than 2007 All-Star despite being 4 inches shorter. It actually holds speed better toward the corner than any other boat I have ever paddled and will stop in the smallest of foam piles. This makes setting up for moves easier, and you’ll get more consistent at catching those ‘hard to get’ waves like the top wave at Hell Hole.

Edge to edge transition- The boat has great edge-to-edge transition. Whether getting speed to the corner or carving to the top of the pile the edge to edge transition is great for setting up for moves. The boats edges aid in your downriver creativity because you can change from one carve to another so quickly.

Comfort- The boat is narrower but has ample knee and foot room making you train harder with no breaks. With the Happy Feet, Happy Seat/ Thruster Combo, 200 beaded Sweet Cheeks there is nowhere you do not have contact with you body parts that are essential for doing any freestyle trick. The new hip pad design holds you hips into the backband giving you more response when you are upside down in trying to roll quickly. Staying so comfortable in the boat means you can paddle it as long as you want to.

Volume – With all the volume around the cockpit you are more retentative, get air more consistently and have an easier time sticking all the moves. The volume distribution also aids in paddling downriver because it resurfaces well in the waves and holes.

Hull- Many tricks are set up by bouncing or spinning on the corner of the feature. This boat is amazingly good at bouncing down the features and spinning to the corners. This makes all features extremely fun because many moves are possible in so many new places. The boat spins, carves and surfs better than any boat I have paddled yet.

Downriver Ability- This is one thing many people were worried about but it is a dream to paddle downriver. The boat length, resurfacing ability, edge-to-edge transition, speed and comfort make it hard to put into words how fun it is. Just take it out and see for yourself. You can make a class 2 rapid feel so much harder but still stick the lines on the class 4 rapids.

Boat Length- The boat is shorter making moves easier because you have more less swing weight and will not hit bottom. The length helps completing moves because you can throw it around faster. Go back to your favorite spot and you will hit more moves in a day than ever before. The downriver moves will really open your eyes because you don’t hit bottom even in places where we always did before.

Old School Ability- Even though the boat is so short is still held stability on edge and on ends. This enables splats, blasts, wavewheels, blunts and super cleans to be more prevalent and consistent. When you can throw a huge Air Loop into 50 ends without stopping .. possibilities are endless.

Multi colors- Get your boat with the colors you want to have your own ‘signature’ color niche on the water. Not sure how long this will last…

Goes bigger- Buy a 2010 All-star if you want bigger and faster moves. This boat is unbelievably amazing and I cannot wait to get it out on the Locust Fork (Home of NAWF) and the Mulberry Fork of the Warrior (some of the best waves in the state)

Because I had so much fun on my birthday I decided to tell you my top ten things that I did on my birthday weekend.

Top 10 things I did on the Ocoee River for my birthday.

1. Paddled the 2010 All-Star on a river with thousands of playspots.
2. Brought my wife (Great company and you get more photos.)
3. Got into a Mega Rocker at Hell Hole and did huge enders and pirouettes.
4. I saw a black bear and Emily Jackson Troutman in Tennessee. No Nick though. 🙁
5. Taught a playboating clinic first day I got there with a Father and Son from Texas.
6. Did a 5 second mystery move at Flipper in a plastic boat.
7. Took a friend down the entire river for the first time. (Way to go Kelley)
8. Did a Macho Move so big I landed looking right back at the raft in front of me.
9. Mountain biked 4.5 miles downhill Chilhowee Mountain in 20 minutes.
10. Threw a 50-point Cartwheel and 10 point Super Clean Cartwheel in one day.

After 20 years of boating and it being my 20th year on the Ocoee River I want to tell EJ thank you. David and EJ have completely outdone themselves on this new boat. Way to go guys. I am proud to say that I paddle for Jackson Kayaks and look forward to starting.

June 29, 2009

Subject: My 2010 AllStar Review

I always thought my 2007 JK AllStar was close to perfection and wondered how you could ever improve on it? The answer – the 2010 AllStar!

After 5 sessions at Brennan’s Wave in Missoula, MT (after picking my AllStar up at JK Dealer StrongWater Surf Shop) 6/24-25 here’s my impressions;

Me; 6’2", 175#, 34" inseam, size 11 feet.

1)Fast – this boat is much faster than the 2007-2009 AllStar, period. How did they do that after making it 4 inches shorter? JK’s marketing says it’s the rocker profile, but I think there’s a little magic going on here too.

2)Looser, noticeably.

3)More user friendly – the shorter length helps a lot here but the edges are just plain friendly but responsive when you need them to be. Rolls super easy. The rocker seems perfect. You’re going try have to try to purl this bow.

4) Loops bigger. I was surprised to get really good loops in a small wave feature on surfer’s right on Brennan’s Main Wave. In the bigger features at Brennan’s -WOW!……. lot’s of pop and no water resistance!

5)The tricks I did required about 20% less effort than the old AllStar.

6)Great outfitting. When you first get in a JK you might think all the tubes are gimmicky, but it all works …. very well. Easily and quickly customized. The back band assembly is genius. The drain holes integrated into the cock pit rim are genius. No holes through the boat …. genius. Hint – buy the optional the Happy Seat, you can really rest your hip muscles with it in. Happy Thruster – buy it and file your flight plan.

7)Really slicy, almost like nothin’s there. Because it’s shorter there’s less boat to give resistance. Blunts, loops, etc. come around quickly and with much less effort.

8)Bounces better.

9)Gonna be a great hole boat!

10)Gonna be a great wave boat!

11)It’s just plain fun to surf in this thing.

12)Basically, it feels like cheating. Everything is easier in it!

13)A bit less foot room for me, but moving the seat 1/2" from being all the way back and using my old Happy Feet (has lost a lot of it’s loft) were the key. With the new Happy Feet (more loft because it’s new) I couldn’t get all the way in the boat after trying foot pockets and a wedge shape.

I set my old Happy Feet up as follows; shaped like a rectangle, about a 3" wide and 10 inches long. I rest both heels on the end. I roll the air bladder up into the size of a ziplock sandwich bag and put about 5-7 bulb squeezes in it. A piece of foam will probably work just as well, but I like being able to tweak the fit as needed with the Happy Feet.

I think if you have bigger than size 12 feet and an inseam longer than 36 inches it might be an uncomfortable ride for your feet so you’re really going to want to test it out. Depending on your weight you might want the SuperStar. To me the key is getting your feet back from the end of the bow as it gets wider as you move back. With my Happy Feet set up just right, there’s almost as much room around my feet as the old AllStar.

JK hit a GRAND SLAM with this boat! This boat is the future – hear me now and believe me later! People are going to get better quickly using this boat and we will be seeing some sick tricks in it (i.e. double air screw, etc).

I can’t wait to try it at our spot – Sullivan Wave/Hole on the Spokane River Monday!

OK this is getting a little long!

I’ll stop for now!

J

EJ