One of the fun things I get to do, besides Undercurrents, is write the gear review column for KANAWA, Canada's Paddling Magazine. I test-drive the latest and greatest paddling/camping gear, and talk about the best of them. Some we carry in the store, and some we don't.

I just submitted my latest column - it will hit the newsstands in about two months. I thought I would post one of the reviewed items on this blog for your consumption. (The editor will clean it up for publication and make it more readable) It is an interesting item, and we do carry it in the store.

Shewee

The Shewee is a British invention which has proven to be ‘big relief' for women ...

We have been asked to pass the following message on to the paddling community by Festival organizer, Grant Chevallier. Please share the word ...

"Sorry to inform you, but the Rocky Canoe Club had decided to cancel the Brierley's Whitewater classic this weekend due to high water levels.

"We hope to reschedule the event later in the summer.

"Please let anyone that was interested in coming know."

Again this year, Undercurrents is co-hosting PADDLEFEST with our partners.

Factory Representatives from many of our boat suppliers will be on hand with lots of demo boats. So far, the following brands have confirmed ...

As a follow-up to the proposed changes to the Navigable Waters Protection Act we mentioned the other day, several paddlers have organized an 8 day odyssey down the Kipawa River in Quebec and then down the Ottawa River to Parliament Hill.

They are hoping raise awareness of the threat to navigation rights on all Canadian rivers.

Word is flying around the recreational and commercial paddling communities about the federal government's plans to gut the NWPA. Attached is a letter on the issue to the government committee from our friends on the Kipawa River. If you want to take action or write a letter, now you have the background information. But you had better do so quickly!

 

The exciting new sport of River Surfing is really starting to grow in Alberta! Think of surfing on an ocean wave (cue ‘Hawaii Five-O' theme sound). Except every ocean wave eventually crashes into shore and dies, whereas the ‘standing waves' of our mountain-fed rivers never really die. Ocean surfers dream of the "endless wave" but only River Surfers actually surf them!

I and some of the guys at Undercurrents started learning to surf last fall and had a blast! It is a lot different than ‘surfing' in a canoe or kayak - there is more of a sense of ...

Now that summer is here, there are a few boat-based "holidays" coming up that you need to put onto your calendar.

First on the horizon is the fifth annual Canadian Rivers Day which takes place ...

It seems that everyone is doing a blog these days, so Undercurrents has decided to launch one. We’ll use it to keep you informed about what’s going on at the store (new products, exciting developments, product reviews), what’s going on in the local paddling scene and interesting news items from the paddlesports and outdoor industries.

We’ll keep it short. We’ll blog every week or so. Maybe even ...