I just got back from paddling the Karma RG on a 10 day self-support trip down the White river and the Green River, in Western Utah. Most of the run I paddled solo, then I met up with some friends on Desolation and Gray canyons on the Green River.

After 10 days and 180 miles of paddling the RG, I truly feel the RG is the ideal boat for multi-day river trips. It’s comfortable (I’m 5’9” and 160lbs) and fast in flat water, yet responsive, stable, and easy to paddle in whitewater, and all-the-while a cinch to pack and unpack at camp.

At 11’ 10” and 94 gallons, the RG has room to pack all the gear I think one would ever need to transform any self-support trip into a truly plush experience. On my trip I managed to pack 10-days worth of food, 30 liters of liquids (water/beer/wine), hiking gear, tent, sleeping bag/pad, winter gear, full kitchen setup, groover… and then some.

Access to gear in the stern of the boat was made easy through a 10” diameter hatch. That’s where I stowed my tent, sleeping bag, water, groover, food, and various other miscellaneous items. The hatch system was surprisingly dry, and in 10 days I was thrilled not to see a single drop of water make it into the sealed stern compartment.

The removable uni-shock bulkhead system provides fast and easy access to the bow area for stowing additional gear. That’s where I put put my clothes and excess gear.

Several attachment points on the deck of the boat provide additional options for storage. That’s where I kept my river map, hand paddles, and sometimes a dry bag, behind the cockpit, that doubled as a backrest on the big mileage days.

Outfitting the Karma RG took all but 5 minutes at the putin. No tools were necessary, and all the outfitting was supplied with the boat.

Last but not least, the retractable skeg. The skeg was a real life saver on the big mileage flat water days and in the swirly water. It kept me going straight as an arrow, avoiding having to make correction strokes and saving a lot of energy. I used the skeg religiously across all the flat water, then would retract it in the rapids and prior to beaching the boat on shore.

All in all, I was super impressed with how well the boat paddled all loaded down like that and I give it an A+ rating. Great job Jackson Kayak on delivering yet another stellar product!

p.s. Here’s a video of me packing the boat half-way through the trip after spending the night on a beach along the Green River, above the put-in for Desolation Canyon: