The Gear Junkie: Head-to-toe coverage for riding the rapids

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the last of three columns chronicling The Gear Junkie's training, gear preparation and competition in Primal Quest, a 10-day adventure race held in Utah June 25 through July 4. His team finished 46th -- about the middle of the pack -- completing the race in nine days.

Down-river transit during the Primal Quest adventure race was accomplished in two ways: In a traditional tandem kayak as well as on a not-so-traditional riverboard. As such, the race required an odd mix of aquatic gear, including knee and shin guards, fins, booties, a climbing helmet and, of course, the riverboard itself.

Riverboarding is a new white-water phenomenon that sends participates straight through the rapids on their bellies.

During Primal Quest my four-person squad -- Team Bulleit -- used heavy-duty riverboards from Carlson and Rocky Mountain Riverboards. My particular board, the StreamJet ($435; www.rockymountainriverboards.com) is made of dense and buoyant polyethylene foam with handles and a curved design for maneuverability.

A shield of hard plastic on the StreamJet's hull protects the foam board from errant river rocks, while the exposed foam on top -- where the body contacts the board -- is soft and comfortable. Its subtle hourglass shape accommodates swim strokes. For control during the ride, it has nylon webbing handles and brace grooves for your elbows.

To protect my legs, which dangled free off the back of the riverboard, I wore SixSixOne's 4x4 Knee/Shin Combo guards ($40; www.sixsixone.com). On my head was Petzl's Meteor III helmet ($90; en.petzl.com), which is made primarily for climbing, though it has crossover use. (I wore this same helmet on the Primal Quest's climbing segment, thus saving overall gear weight.)

My glove of choice was the Pro-Pel Paddle Glove by Henderson (www.hendersonusa.com), which are basic neoprene gloves but with webbing between the fingers to add power while swimming.

On my feet, the classic Churchill Floating Fins had soft rubber in the foot pocket area and harder rubber for power in the wings. They are available for $40 on www.facelevel.com, which was the Web site I used to research and procure gear for riverboarding.

For Primal Quest's kayak leg, which was about 80 miles long, I employed the Xception SL Tour Carbon paddle made by Adventure Technology (www.atpaddle.com). This solid carbon paddle weighs less than 2 pounds and has a unique ergonomic design.

Essentially, the Xception SL's contoured grip puts your wrist in a neutral position as the blade cuts through the most powerful part of the stroke, alleviating strain.

The company says the $399 paddle will give you a stroke that "uses the least energy while maintaining control and comfort."

For a splash top, I wore the Kokatat Tropos Light Breeze ($69; www.kokatat.com), a waterproof and breathable piece. It has rubbery cuffs and a collar that cinches tight to keep water off your core.

My life vest, or PFD in adventure-race parlance, was a well-loved (and discontinued) old Lotus Designs (www.lotusdesigns.com) model. It's equipped with a Gerber River Runner Knife ($25; www.gerbergear.com).

Montrail (www.montrail.com) and Henderson outfitted my feet respectively with the Ocoee booties (pictured) and the Hyperflex Cyclone Round-Toe Surf Boot. The $70 Ocoee booties, which have a hard sole, were used while kayaking; the soft-soled Hyperflex booties, $30, fit inside the swim fins for the riverboard segment.

Finally, next to my skin, underneath all the other gear, was a comfortable wetsuit from Billabong (www.billabong.com). It is an older model with 3-millimeter-thick neoprene.

The suit, which was designed for surfing, provided generous range of motion to keep me going for hours on end out there on the race course.

Stephen Regenold is a Minneapolis freelance writer and the founding editor of the climbing magazine Vertical Jones. Contact him at regenold@gmail.com.

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