Knowledge Base
Give Your Kids Outdoor Vacations, not Toys
Our kids camps are just the outdoor vacations your kids need! Our kids camps are more than just kayaking. They’re about socializing with other kids, learning to look out for your fellow river mates, learning river rescue skills, and…
What is the Best Spray skirt for a White water Kayak?
How to decide which skirt is best for you. There are numerous options out there!! The two biggest choices you have to make when thinking about buying a spray skirt for your whitewater kayak are 1) whether you want a rand or bungee skirt, and…
Unraveling the Mystery of Choosing a Kayak Helmet
The Helmet is one of five essential pieces of kayaking gear Whitewater kayaking necessitates an investment in 5 essential pieces of paddling gear: boat, paddle, sprayskirt, helmet and pfd (personal flotation device). When headed out to…
Cold Weather Gear: Starting with Neoprene – What is it and How Do You Take Care of It?
Looking out of the shop at the cold winter scene outside, we are so grateful for all of the great cold weather gear available to paddlers! For those who don’t want the temperatures to keep them from the river, choosing the right gear is…
Women Traveling Abroad: Tips for things that get overlooked
For women traveling abroad, there are a few cultural hitches that can make for awkward moments; nothing that should dissuade a female from embarking on an international trip, but if known ahead of time, can make traveling as a female a whole lot…
Is DIY the Way to Paddle Down South in the Winter
With 27+ years’ experience running trips and paddling in Latin America – we’ve got some pretty good beta on paddling DIY (Do It Yourself) in a foreign country specifically in Latin America; even more specifically, in Ecuador. The short…
The Coolest Stroke is not always the Best Stroke to Use: the Bow Draw
by Craig Parks and the ERA Team Ok folks, we have to talk. There has been some over enthusiastic stroke marketing with the bow draw. Because it is a cool looking stroke, instructors sometimes like to pull it out as soon as possible, like…
So You Want to Learn to Fly Fish
Picture a well-placed fly rod cast landing the fly under an overhanging mountain laurel. The fly sits on the surface of the water for just a second, with a small twitch of the fly rod it moves with the appearance of a living thing and then there…
Spring is the Harbinger of great fly fishing in WNC
Our waters feature brown, brook and rainbow trout Once again April is here and with it the most versatile fishing of the year. There are not enough days in the month to take advantage of all the different fishing opportunities here in…
The Details are in the Fit of a Whitewater Helmet
The detail of buying a whitewater helmet is in the fit. How often have you purchased a pair of shoes, eye glasses or anything else of value, only to realize after that the fit isn’t right? How about a helmet that looked nice on display, but…