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A few “goodies” have shown up here at Easy Rider in the past couple of days.

First – a prototype of the new DaKine waist hydration pack.
I helped out with a few suggestions on this one – so they sent me one to test.
It has a large 1.5 L bladder that has a fold top opening – so it is easy to fill and easy to put ice cubes into.
There is a holder for a bicycle sized water bottle �that hides away when not needed.
It also has a small zipped pocket that will fit car keys or a cell phone or other necessities.
The drink hose is long enough that you can have it in your mouth and not have to alter your posture while paddling, and it clips away when not being used.

It is appropriately named the “Sweeper” pack.
They will be available for sale in the Spring of 2011.

Also new into the store is the Jimmy Lewis Slice.
The board is 12’6″ x 30″ and is designed as a flat water cruiser and racer.

And finally – a shot of a customers new Starboard Blend in Star Touch construction with an awesome matching On A Mission pad installed.

I managed to get my hands one of the very few Naish Catalina race boards that are in existence right now.
This one was just used at the Battle of the Paddle race in Hawaii a few weeks ago.
It has a few “war wounds” from being shipped across the ocean a few times – but fortunately they are all on the top and are mainly cosmetic. �The board is 12’6″ x 27 5/8″. ��The large “out vents” work really well for keeping water out of the foot well area.

I took it for a good hour long training paddle this morning and was amazed at how stable it was for being as narrow as it is.
It terms of speed on flat water – it was very similar to the Starboard Surf Race (with a hint of the Starboard NEW) – which makes sense as they are both designed to do a similar type of paddling.

The Catalina should be available in early 2011.

In preparation for my trip to the Naish Paddle Championships in Maui in a week and a half, �I decided it would be good training to paddle 17 km across Lac La Biche.
I had my brother drive me to Plamondon – found a place to put in – and started paddling.
The wind was a cross wind and slightly at my back. �At about 4 km into the paddle the rollers started getting fun.
I was on a Naish Glide 14 (the same board I will be using in Maui) and was amazed at how well it caught small bumps.
One second I would be paddling my lungs out – going about 7.5 kmh, then I would catch a bump and accelerate to over 12 kmh – riding the swell and giggling like a little kid at Christmas.
Many of the rides had me standing almost all the way to the back of the board – in order to keep the nose from spearing into the back of the next wave.
Even though it was a tough grind it was a great experience and a lot of fun.
I can only imagine how good the bumps in Maui are going to be.