Meadow River Antix

I got my new large Antix last week and have been paddling it exclusively ever since. I took it to Kanawha Falls the first day and was dialing in lean boofs, squirting in the large eddylines below the falls, and boof stomping. I immediately knew the boat was on point. I took it to the Meadow next and it was soooo good. It handled all the hard lines with no problems. And in the rapids I could see so many opportunities to pull off a vertical squirt or splat while still holding my line. The boat makes you see the river differently. Where a creek boat will sometimes have too much going on making it hard to move around at will, the Antix is more like a playboat and will jet into an eddy or jump over a hole the moment you want it to.

There is so much play in the boat. Lots of rocker with a small, slicey stern makes boofing effortless. Along with side rocker to tilt up on for lean boofs. It is short making it slower than other creek boats but because you can always keep the bow up, I can hold speed paddling it anywhere I want it to go. So it might not have the overall speed of a creeker but because it is so easily thrown in any direction while staying on the surface, it makes up for the lack of speed.
At 185 I am not throwing squirts all over like I could in the medium, but it does squirt especially in the big currents. And I have even gotten a few pirouettes. Kickflips also feel great along with rock spins. The large in a hole spins and surfs great. I could get a few pop ups but it felt a little big for me to loop. Or at least I didn’t want to try in the cold water.
Most every new Jackson boat that comes out is accompanied by a level of hype leaving paddlers to think, “is the boat really that good or is it just the paddlers making it look good?” With the Antix, I believe it will be a game changer for the sport. I can’t wait to take it down harder runs like Manns Creek or big water Gauley and see just how big I can take it. I have never paddled the Braap or Axiom so I can’t make any direct comparisons to the other boats in this genre. But from what I can tell, the Antix is going to take down river creek play to the next level with creek boat style bow, playboat style hull, and a short, slicey, creek friendly stern.

I honestly felt like the Antix is going to take creeking to the next level much like the 2010 Allstar allowed me to take playboating to the next level.

Thanks Jackson
Shane Groves