spray deck quality

Hey Neil,

It doesn't matter too much on brand in my opinion, but you will want to make sure it is neoprene, with a kevlar or similar reinforced "rand" which is the edge that mates to your kayak. Without a reinforced rand, this is the area that wears out very quickly because you are forever bumping it with your paddle. If you look at the older club neoprene decks, you see lots of little repairs around the edge. I bought the snapdragon with the implosion bar which is supposed to let you run waterfalls - not that I'm doing that, but I do paddle class 4 and wanted the extra security. I have had it now for three or four seasons, and it is really holding up well. As a newbie, the implosion bar would be unnecessary and an extra expense. See you soon,

Jim Myers

Hey everyone, Im new to the sport and Im just in the process of purchasing all my gear. I'm looking for some opinions on the many different brands of spray decks out there for durability and overall quality ( what brands and models would be good choices etc). I really dont want to purchase something only to find out that it was a poor choice. So i guess in short I'm wondering what brands and models of those brands I should be considering. Even though Im new to the sport I would rather spend the cash and have good quality gear than to be cursing the flaws of a lesser quality product. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any info.

Neil