Jackson Kayak’s NEW Whitewater Kayaks unveiled at OR by jacksonkayak | Aug 8, 2014 | Whitewater | 12 comments Hey all, Spending day and night chatting to dealers and media about our new kayaks. Turning heads left and right, especially at demo day has been the two new whitewater products for 2015: the new Fun and Zen! Both kayaks have been redesigned to bring them to a clear place in a whitewater paddler’s need; the case of the Fun its a return to the Fun of old and in the case of the Zen an improvement to its handling of speed in certain river conditions. Back to the FUN of old! Coming initially in two sizes (Fun and 4 Fun) the layout of this version will be much more similar in intention to the first and second generation Funs: Great play and even more solid river running characteristics. A bit longer, and a little more volume, this lightweight Fun is our most comfortable, performs well running rivers, and playing in holes and on waves. This is a very beginner friendly kayak, but you won’t outgrow it for your local runs, big water, or just having an all around Fun day on the river. Try it out and we think you’ll agree that this boat is truly FUN. The New , even FASTER Zen! The old Zen is one of my favorite kayaks for all sorts of reasons: speed, forgiveness, easy rolling and that 30-minute soul surf! To say I was skeptical on what a new Zen would deliver is an understatement. Again, my concerns were for not! This new Zen is what we had before in the Zen plus a couple more benefits in design. The speed is increased with a bit longer and improved hull shape. More foot room, drier ride, easier boofing… Where the old Zen punched more, this Zen’s bow will ride up to bring the boof to a cleaner and dryer landing… AKA, this will be a much faster river running kayak. (Uh– it has a “skipidee do dah” fast exit out of drops that is amazing, I hear..) I dare say that the racers out there will be clamoring towards this kayak! OH… check out this color!!! Huge buzz on this color! This is Tie Dye, one of many awesome new colors this year!!! Lots more info coming. Amazing show at OR 12 Comments Travis on August 8, 2014 at 8:14 pm When can we expect these to hit retailers? Reply Stephen Wright on September 17, 2014 at 5:10 pm Travis, Sorry that it took us a few days to get back to you! The Fun is shipping now. 4 Fun is starting to mold this week, so should start to ship next week some time. The Medium Zen should be shipping in late October, and the Small and Large Zen should be November. These boats are going to ROCK!!! Enjoy! Stephen Reply Tony Dyrsmid on August 9, 2014 at 12:28 am When will they hit the dealers showrooms? Reply Stephen Wright on September 17, 2014 at 5:09 pm Tony, Sorry that it took us a few days to get back to you! The Fun is shipping now. 4 Fun is starting to mold this week, so should start to ship next week some time. The Medium Zen should be shipping in late October, and the Small and Large Zen should be November. These boats are going to ROCK!!! Enjoy! Stephen Reply Christaan on August 11, 2014 at 10:57 pm When will the new Zen be available and and also when is the new color scheme available? Thanks! Reply Stephen Wright on September 17, 2014 at 5:07 pm Christaan, New Medium Zen should be available in late October, and the Large and Small should be November sometime. We’ll get the color options online ASAP! Stephen Reply rainglet on August 13, 2014 at 6:54 am i love it !!i am a french boy, live in Vichy, in Auvergne,this boat is perfect, more river running, than play boat, good work !! Reply Danielle on August 14, 2014 at 12:46 pm LOVE! The new Tye-Dye color! Reply Derek on September 1, 2014 at 5:03 am More volume in the nose of the zen will be a big improvement to an already sweet boat…When will it be available?? Reply Stephen Wright on September 17, 2014 at 5:20 pm Derek, Sorry that it took us a few days to get back to you! The Medium Zen should be shipping in late October, and the Small and Large Zen should be November. These boats are going to ROCK!!! Enjoy! Stephen Reply Alex Fisher on September 6, 2014 at 6:41 pm Is there a release date yet? Or at least some specs? Reply Stephen Wright on September 17, 2014 at 4:58 pm Alex, Sorry that it took us a few days to get back to you! Looks like the Medium should be shipping in late October, and the Small and Large should be November. We’ll get specs up soon!!! They’re all a few inches longer, with a bit more rocker and volume, higher parting line, and faster than the previous generation. Hope that helps!!! Stephen Reply Submit a Comment Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ
Stephen Wright on September 17, 2014 at 5:10 pm Travis, Sorry that it took us a few days to get back to you! The Fun is shipping now. 4 Fun is starting to mold this week, so should start to ship next week some time. The Medium Zen should be shipping in late October, and the Small and Large Zen should be November. These boats are going to ROCK!!! Enjoy! Stephen Reply
Stephen Wright on September 17, 2014 at 5:09 pm Tony, Sorry that it took us a few days to get back to you! The Fun is shipping now. 4 Fun is starting to mold this week, so should start to ship next week some time. The Medium Zen should be shipping in late October, and the Small and Large Zen should be November. These boats are going to ROCK!!! Enjoy! Stephen Reply
Christaan on August 11, 2014 at 10:57 pm When will the new Zen be available and and also when is the new color scheme available? Thanks! Reply
Stephen Wright on September 17, 2014 at 5:07 pm Christaan, New Medium Zen should be available in late October, and the Large and Small should be November sometime. We’ll get the color options online ASAP! Stephen Reply
rainglet on August 13, 2014 at 6:54 am i love it !!i am a french boy, live in Vichy, in Auvergne,this boat is perfect, more river running, than play boat, good work !! Reply
Derek on September 1, 2014 at 5:03 am More volume in the nose of the zen will be a big improvement to an already sweet boat…When will it be available?? Reply
Stephen Wright on September 17, 2014 at 5:20 pm Derek, Sorry that it took us a few days to get back to you! The Medium Zen should be shipping in late October, and the Small and Large Zen should be November. These boats are going to ROCK!!! Enjoy! Stephen Reply
Alex Fisher on September 6, 2014 at 6:41 pm Is there a release date yet? Or at least some specs? Reply
Stephen Wright on September 17, 2014 at 4:58 pm Alex, Sorry that it took us a few days to get back to you! Looks like the Medium should be shipping in late October, and the Small and Large should be November. We’ll get specs up soon!!! They’re all a few inches longer, with a bit more rocker and volume, higher parting line, and faster than the previous generation. Hope that helps!!! Stephen Reply
