Blog

Last week I attended the inaugural PTC Colab event at Riversport OKC in Oklahoma City. As a board member for the Paddlesports Trade Coalition, I had the opportunity to serve as a facilitator and moderator during the event. It was an absolute joy to spend time with so many passionate industry professionals from brands, to retailers, to reps and associates.That's not to say that we didn't have some tough conversations as well. Because we most certainly did.

Read more

This past Sunday we hit the James River with 8 adults and 8 kids for a 2 + mile float within the James River State Park. It was the perfect time to test out the NRS Approach 120 Fishing raft. Shoutout to Matt and Coltin at the shop for getting one set up and ready to enjoy.

The NRS Approach 120 is 49" wide and 12'ft long. It weights in at 160lbs fully rigged with options to rig at 132lbs, 120lbs and raft only at 70lbs. Its lightweight enough to car top or slide into the bed of a pick up. It's the ultimate grab and go raft set up for fishing. 

With dry boxes under the seats, rod holder frame slide tubes and a whitewater tough construction, the Approach is ready for adventure. Our first test was not so fishing specific, but rather how would it handle itself as a buffet table. 

My wife can pack a river lunch. It's a point of pride in our household, and she out did herself on this trip. Can you comfortably fish from the bow perch with the standing cast platform? Yes! I did so through multiple ripples and rock banging low water environments. But the Approach can also be an excellent buffet table for 16. 

Rowing was new to me, and at first I let me wife take the helm so I could fish. The slip resistant flooring was rock solid, and I enjoyed my time at the bow performing various "Titanic" movie poses. 

Being out on the river with our crew was an absolute joy. I love spending time outside with good people. That's the essence of why we all get in paddlecraft to begin with after all. It's the shared experience.

After lunch I got an extended time behind the helm of the raft with my eldest in the front fishing. It took a bit, but I quickly grasped the concept of rowing and began to really enjoy the paddle. Combined with my wide brimmed hat, I felt like I was leaning into the part of raft guide. 

Out on the water that day, we also had the Jackson Riviera which our youngest paddled. She enjoyed it's sleek design. It's a great livery option and fantastic for kids. Multiple folks paddled the Jackson Staxx which likewise proved a good option. My wife paddled the Hurricane Sweetwater (it's on sale) when our oldest wasn't paddling it. It's a very nice thermoformed option with a quick, well designed hull that glides down the river or across flatwater. Any question about thermoformed integrity can be put to rest after my kids had a chance to bang that thing down the river on a bony, low water day. Here's my wife searching for smallmouth. 

The NRS Approach 120 was enjoyable enough that I will take it out again. I want more time in it. That is a testament in itself. This was a fun ride in a craft that was easily manageable in and out of the water. It provided a lot of storage, flexibility for adventure, and a dry ride. I look forward to more trips and the opportunity to test out the fishability of this platform. Given our short run, I'm confident it will perform.

The raft realm is new for us. But we are diving into the inflatable market on many angles given the interest from our customers. So give us a call with any questions. If the Approach isn't on the water, it's in the showroom ready to be shopped. 

As for river trips with friends - take as many as you can. It's well worth it. We all know this fact. It's why we do what we do. Make the time. 

 

You won't regret spending more time with people you enjoy in the great outdoors. It's a fact. Trust us. And if we can get you outfitted for those adventures, all the better. It's what we live for at ARC. Thanks y'all! 

 

 

 

Paddling is a rugged sport, but we have plenty of gear to keep blisters, sunburns and injuries from cutting short your day on the water.

Read more

Day 3 of ICAST presented me with the opportunity to cruise the show largely unencumbered of meetings. I swung by the showcase and eyed up the Skanu again. It is a poling canoe co-designed with legend Flip Pallot. It is comprised of high-tech carbon laminate and it weighs 50lbs with a retail price of $7000.  

My only appointment was Newport motors. These electric motors have been the talk of ICAST. The battery box shaped like a suitcase is legit and looks perfectly designed for kayaks. You can see it in the stern of the micro-skiff. 

Expect to see some of these in the shop soon. Their best seller is the NK18GPRO a 600W, and retails for $999. The next step up is the 3HP - NK300 which retails for $1199.

After the meeting looking at the full line -up of Newport motors, I was free to roam the show at my own pace. Roaming ICAST is a load of fun, in which you are guaranteed to run into friends and see some cool stuff. Here is a brief rundown of the things that caught my eye:

I stopped back to the Hobie eyewear booth to write and order for a sunglasses refill order. It gave me the chance to snap a pic of the Hobie electric bike and trailer with a Lynx on it. This would be quite the cool little shuttle rig. 

Later I visited the TurtleBox booth. I've heard a great deal of good about these little speakers and am thinking they'd make a good addition to the shop as well. 

Next was the Grunden apparel booth. These guys are killing it. They won multiple awards at ICAST and had the buffest mannikins I've ever seen. Their Tough Sun Masked Hoodie is a very good looking piece to keep you safe from the sun. 

 

I also stopped at the HUK booth to check out the latest there and revisit some favorites, like the Icon series. 

While on my ramblings, I ran into friend and Chief of Fisheries at Virginia Dept. of Wildlife Resources, Mike Bednarski. It was great to see him!

I also ran into HoodFishing on the show floor. He was shot four times earlier this year, but has made a comeback and was looking good. 

Near the back of the show I ran into one of our partners in e-comm, Locally. We had a great discussion over our analytics discussed ways to increase traffic to our website. 

I stopped by the Fly Shop over in the fly fishing section. It was a very cool set-up. Outside the shop was a women's Simms outfit that I sent a picture of to my wife. She thought it'd be a good river trip outfit. 

There was also a 300lb Drift boat from East Cape that is made of carbon as well. It looked sharp! 

One of the craziest things I saw, the Bajio sunglasses booth had a barbers chair and a tattoo chair in the booth. Told my wife I was next in line, and she called me three times immediately after. 

And last but not least, I ran into my friend Brendan Mark, the CEO of the media company Heliconia. They've got a host of great paddling shows that they produce, including a partnership with Bad Ash Outdoors for a pilot episode called Hook, Line and History. It was great seeing them!

Today I made my way to the Bonafide / Native Watercraft booth to get a good look at the new Bonafide XTR130 kayak. It has a 730lb capacity, is 40.5" wide, 12'7" long, and weights 150-155lbs. Fully rigged weight is 170 lbs. This is the PWR kayak cranked up to 11! You can run it solo, fully rigged up, or slap an extra seat in it and take the kids out for the day. In truth, that's the version with the most allure for me. 

The solo set up is ready to be outfitted to the max. 

The tandem does away with the bow hatch plate and adds another swivel seat the set up. 

Bonafide has a series of motorization packages for the XTR due to come out in September. 

In the similar vein I got another look at the Wilderness Systems Tactical Pro 128 which stands as competition for the XTR. Now Bonafide did not enter the New Product Showcase, but Wildy did. Tonight, the Tactical Pro 128 won Best in Category and will be up for Best in Show tomorrow night. That comes with some trepidation. Bonafide didn't enter the race on purpose. Winning Best in Show at ICAST has been a bit of a paddlesports curse. But Wildy is looking to break that bad mojo with their 158lbs. beast. 

I snuck another look at the YakAttack SandRig Surf Cart. I believe it will retail for $1060, and comes with BlackPak, ShortStak, and TracPak.

My pleasure cruise booth visit was to the Everglades Fishing Company. I'd spied some of their apparel in the New Product Showcase and thought it had the right bit of technical capability and edgy style. 

That shirt comes with a bottle opener on the pocket flap. 

EFC even has some sweet no-bananas socks. 

The Suspenz Yellowfin Rigging Stations are pretty darn sweet and will get ordered for the shop. I may even try to convince Big Al in our repair shop that these would be an improvement over his old sawhorses.