Astral is proud to be an official  sponsor of the US Freestyle Kayak Team, and to show our support we wanted to bring the team something unique from the factory here in Asheville, NC.   Check out these photos of the custom Willis jackets that the team will be wearing.  The artwork on these jackets is simply beautiful and is exclusive to the 2009 US Freestyle Kayak Team.  The back of each jacket has 28 stars representing the 28 spots on the team roster.

We have had a few folks ask, “Where can I get one of those USA jackets?”…well, the answer is that you can check out the Willis at your local dealer and you will be blown away by its unsurpassed fit and comfort.  However, to get one of the USA team jackets you need to grab your playboat and head to the hole immediately. You have a lot of practice to do if you’re going to make the team in 2011.

photos courtesy of Jeremy Laucks: Salida Colorado

Here’s an email from Shep who lives in Raleigh,NC.  He recently purchased a V-Eight with Airescape breathable technology and wanted to provide some testimony to its effectiveness in the field:

Everglades,  photo: Bryan Owen

“I just wanted to let you know how effective your V8 ventilation is.  Due to a navigation error I portaged my kayak 3 miles last weekend through swampy grassland and forest in 90 degree weather.  I was pretty tired when I got back, but realized I had forgotten about the pfd I was wearing. It and my torso were dry and cool. Thanks for a good product.”

Shep

What up whitewater boat riders!

Just wanted to check in from Colorado and share some of the goings on as of late…  I’ve always kind of given Colorado a bad rap, and it’s been a fun 2-3 day stop on the way to Cali, but never the final destination for any trip.  I decided that it was about time I gave the Teva Mountain Games Homestake Race a shot, and hit a number of runs I’ve missed out on in the past.

Looking very out of place in Texas.

Pat and I made the long journey out in a Dagger Suby a week before the race, and crashed with the myth and legend, Chris Schell, when we got to Denver.  The 10 days since have been a ridiculous barrage of steep whitewater and good people.

We started things off well with some laps on Homestake Creek and Gilman Gorge on day 1, and Tommy Hilleke was cool enough to let us make Glenwood Springs our base camp for the next couple of days.  That was awesome and I can’t thank the Hilleke family enough.

Pat hiking up for another lap on Homestake.

By far one of my favourite parts of the trip has been paddling the Barrel Springs section of the Colorado…  The Colorado is running super high with snow runoff, and I think the Upper/Lower Death combo is one of the burliest big water rapids I have ever run!  I was praying that my sprayskirt wouldn’t implode and my paddle wouldn’t get ripped out of my hands as I plugged into that massive hole.

The entrance to the monster.

Both runs were incredible out there, and it’s tough to beat the feeling of becoming a part of something that makes you feel so inconsequential.  The Barrel Springs rapid was huge too and super fun.  Possibly my favourite run in the state…

Another great thing about that section is the fact that we could paddle it straight to the Hilleke’s doorstep.

Pat on the float down out of Glenwood Canyon to the city.

Myself hiking up to the house in a state of satisfaction.

We also did an epic mission into the Crystal drainage and checked out some sick park and hucks.  It was the craziest off-roading I have ever done, and fortunately the rack only flew off Tommy’s truck once.  Here are a couple of pics from that adventure…

Crystal Mill Falls… such a sweet drop.

Reattaching some roofracks.

The epicocity of Colorado backcountry.

South Fork Crystal!

Please don’t miss the eddy above this.

Hope everyone else is getting on some good water.  Video coverage of these drops as well as Yule Creek and Homestake Race coming soon!

Peace.
Chris

above, Tyler in Corsica sporting his new Greenjacket

With the large numbers of paddlers gathered in Corsica it is no wonder the locals and tourism board of Corsica took notice. This year the largest amount of kayakers were recorded paddling on the island in history. To help the cause of introducing more Corsica inhabitants of the value of kayaking tourism the National newspaper COUSE MATIN showcased a very large article in the news print. Of course I managed to claim the front cover of the paper, which impressed my mother as well as all the kayakers gathered on the island and hopefully left a kayaking imprint on Corsica.

Tyler Curtis

check out more photos of Tyler’s trip on the Corsica Gallery

The Rio Embudo is one of the best creek runs in the Southwest.  If you go paddle there you will probably meet Atom Crawford, local ambassador to NM (he lives at the takeout) and webmaster of New Mexico H20, an online resource for paddlers in the SW Rockies.  Atom and his crew are organizing the 1st Annual Budo Fest on May 8th-10th which will feature a series of races and relays down this famous creek along with some New Mexican beer drinking and a good party.

Learn more about Budo Fest at http://newmexicoh2o.com/

Nicole Mansfield on the Rio Embudo. photo: Chris Menges

Here at the Astral Buoyancy Company one of our primary goals is to reduce our factory’s waste to nil.  We are proud to create handcrafted PFD’s from the most environmentally considerate closed cell buoyant foams available such as Gaia and PE foams, developed as an alternative to toxic PVC found in the lifejackets of yesteryear. The die cutting process, which stamps out the flotation panels from the sheets of these various foams, creates about 80% yield, leaving about 20% of the raw material as excess.   We have been saving this excess scrap material since we started about six years ago in hopes of one day creating byproducts as a usable alternative to the landfill. The first of these by-products is the AstroPad dog bed…

The Astro Pad, our first By-Product

With that said its time to meet Sampson, our shop dog and tester for the AstroPad prototypes.  Sampson has been in the whitewater scene for about six years now, sniffing around venues like Salida, Squamish, Fayetteville, and Banks… pretty much being a full time river dog along the way and now he’s a big time operator in the home office in Asheville, NC.  Ole boy even surfed Skookumchuck in a zodiac raft back in ‘06 so you know he’s legit, if you don’t believe me check out his Blog. Anyways, here’s a shot of Sampson at his first week on the job at Astral when he was using a scrap sheet of foam as his pad.

Sampson before the AstroPad (with toy squirrel in background…no, its not a brown)

As time passed and more scrap foam was accumulated it was time to bring the AstroPad concept to fruition.  We developed a process to essentially chip the leftover foam into small bits that when stuffed into the liner create a memory foam like feel.

Foam shavings used as fill for the AstroPad

For the outer shell we used our leftover fabric scraps (also saved since the company’s inception) to create a unique and stylish patchwork design.  We topped it off with adding a Velcro closure for easy washing of the outer shell and added some convenient carrying handles for transport.  The first batch of AstroPads left the warehouse a few weeks ago and since then we have made Sampson and his fellow river dogs quite happy after a long day on the water.  Here’s a few of these happy hounds:

Roscoe, photo courtesy of Chan Jones

Chomski, photo courtesy of Astral’s Tracey Haswell

Philip Curry and Sampson

For complete info on the AstroPad check out our Products Pages and email us at info@astralbuoyancy.com to place an order. Keep in mind that the colors are assorted as they are made from our leftover fabrics (but we try to make them all look sweet cause we know your dog wants to look good too!)

Stay tuned for more Astral By-Products…

If you are a whitewater paddler and own an Ipod or computer then you should really check out the In Between Swims podcast. This installment dubbed “Back to the Core” features an Interview with Astral’s founder and president Philip Curry, where Philip talks about what it was like to sell Lotus to Patagonia, Coast Guard PFD certification, and the future of PFD’s.  Also on this issue Immersion Research’s John Weld swims The Potomac’s Horseshoe and Shane Benedict joins from Zwick’s on the Green River to talk boofing.

Listen to the BACK TO THE CORE MP3

learn more about this podcast at the In Between Swims Homepage

or get the In Between Swims Itunes Download

Photo Credit: Tyler Roemer

Last weekend, my friends and I headed to the middle of the desert for a mid-winter huckfest. Celestial Falls is part of a two tiered drop- the upper is about 65 feet and the lower drop(celestial) ranges from 45-50 feet. The put-in was super sketch due to the 3 inches of ice covering everything….including the seal launch.

Three of us put-in that day: Christie Glyssmeyer, Josh Mckeown, and myself. It was a balmy 28 degrees and cloudy. We all figured that since we dont follow football and it was super bowl Sunday, it was appropriate to do something exciting ourselves….and I think this was better than sofa surfing anyways!

Josh went first with a burly line but was ok. A bit of a hard landing but he did well nevertheless! I followed him with a tuck off the center line and was very happy with my line (and happy I didn’t pee my pants!), and Christie followed me. All in all it was an awesome day. I had the best line I’ve ever had off my first big drop and got to walk back to the car with no dental work needed…even better! If you choose to make the trek to Celestial, be safe and conservative. Sometimes it throws ya random punches!

Happy Paddling,
Christina Russell

To see more photos of Celestial check out Christina’s Gallery

Hey Bryan-

It has been a frigid week here in Western North Carolina. Temperatures and operational schedules have been sub-optimal. This has given me ample time to wade through my hard-drive in search of entertainment. Check out these not-so-great lines from past trips and remember to keep ‘er on line in ‘09!

chengqui,

JC Rain

WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS EXPLICIT LYRICS

whitewater mix tape - volume 1.0 from jc rain on Vimeo.

Astral is proud to work with some of the most talented female paddlers in the world. The Greenjacket was designed as a unisex rescue PFD, and thanks to the Foam Tectonic construction which provides added comfort and mobility, we have seen the Greenjacket emerge as the choice rescue jacket for women.

Here is some feedback from the team:

Christina Russel

“The Greenjacket is a natural choice for me as a woman and as a creeker.  The movable panels, adjustable torso length, and built in protection make it the best rescue vest for women on the market. I feel comfortable, stylish, and safe! Thanks Astral!”

-Christina Russell

Christina at Dillon Falls, photo Tyler Roemer

Adriene Levknect

“The ability to tuck while kayaking, weather it be while going under a hole or down a waterfall, is great, the front of the vest is slim and comfortable. I also like the stability that the two separate panels give to me while paddling.” -Adriene Levknecht

Adriene in Mexico, Fall 2008

Lizzy English

I just paddled with the Green Jacket yesterday and loved the flotation distribution.  It clearly provides all the safety features and also allows for full range of motion for the arm movement.  Additionally, the vest has the proper straps needed to adjust for thinner and shorter torsos and still maintains an even and snug fit.  Especially being a smaller paddler, I can not have my arms restricted in the least and the new Green Jacket provides all the safety, comfort and ease of use that a creeker vest needs.

-Lizzy English

Lizzy on Fordyce Creek, CA/ Photo by Taylor Cavin