Made for smaller paddlers, the Shock is a great boat! I am 5' 8" and 140 lbs, and some of the new rodeo boats made for the bigger paddlers are definitely hard for me to throw around--but the Shock lets even us small guys get in on the action.

I paddled the Shock on the Dryway--and it wasn't even outfitted properly for me: I was loose in the hips and my feet were cramped-- but I was still able to do all the cool moves that the other small rodeo boats allow us to do. Outfitted properly, it is even better! Then again, what boat isn't?

I also found this boat easy to squirt and initiate other moves on both waves and in holes. The hull design on the Shock really seems to break up the water's surface and allows the boat to spin and move freely.

I have a size 10-1/2 foot, and before the boat was outfitted, my feet got pinched width-wise pretty badly, however, after putting in some hip pads and moving the miniature bulk head, I got it adjusted so that didn't happen anymore. This boat can really be outfitted to you exactly how you want it. Perception has really done a great job with this.

As for rolling, it doesn't seem too difficult. Your position in relation to the surface of the water is much closer than that of the Pyranha ProZone but not as close as the Wave Sport XXX. In the ProZone, you seem to sit very high in the water and this can create problems when rolling. You have to be very conscious of your roll. In the Wave Sport XXX, you feel as though you are right at the surface of the water, which can make it feel a bit grabby at times. The Shock is a happy medium between the two (for me, anyway).

As for speed, it is slow, and the bow tends to dive a lot, but are there any playboats out there that don't suffer from this problem to some extent? If you want to park and play somewhere that is easily accessible it is a great boat. However, for river running and making any kind of attainment moves onto waves it is slow, forcing you to expend a lot of energy.

Overall, I found the Shock about as fun and surprising as its name!! I think Perception did a great job with this one!

The first thing I noticed about Perception?s newest playboat, the Amp, was the fancy new outfitting system, which includes the Thighmaster thighbraces, ratcheting backband from Immersion Research and the adjustable bulkead system. Perception has taken a huge step forward in the outfitting department for their 2000 line of kayaks. There are wrap-around thighbraces that adjust in two directions. The bulkhead system is easily adjustable and much more solid than the previous method of putting a piece of shaped foam in the bow which would compress and have to be augmented periodically. It comes with three different sizes of plastic pieces to attach to the bulkhead and then a shaped foam piece to put in front of it that wraps around your toes. And the Immersion Research backband is awesome - it has a ratcheting system borrowed from snowboard bindings which are easy to tighten up after you have gotten in the boat. My favorite innovation, though, is the wrap-around thigh braces. They lock your legs in position for maximum control of the boat for rodeo moves.

The Amp is 7?10" long and 48 gallons in volume. The hull design has a spin disk with scalloped gills which are designed to make it loose on waves and it definitely is. I find it both faster and looser than my previous boat, the Mr. Clean. The Amp also has nice slicy ends for stern squirts and for initiating vertical moves. It runs rivers as well as any of its generation of playboats. On the Route 3 wave at the Black River, I was much more successful at spinning than I have been with any other boat I?ve tried there. I would highly recommend coming by and taking our demo for a spin some time, or, if you see me on the river in it (mine?s red & purple), I?d be happy to let you take it for a ride.

One point, two points, out... one point, two points, out...one point, two points, out... If you've spent much time rodeo boating in New England, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, it seems almost impossible to stay retentive in New England pourover holes. Impossible, until you learn the four stroke cartwheel. On the weekend of April 22 and 23, I was fortunate enough to take a rodeo clinic with Eric Jackson (EJ), national team member and Wave Sport's Rad Agent. On an average sized pourover hole on the Ashuelot, quite a ways above the bigger and more popular hole and wave, EJ taught us the art of staying retentive. Among other things, the four stroke cartwheel struck me as the most innovative technique.

Typically, the cartwheel goes push, pull - we've all seen Retendo. The four stroke cartwheel goes push, push, pull, pull. The pushes refer to strokes taken with the non-power face of the blade, pull refers to strokes with the power face. In the hope of coherency, I will take us through a righty cartwheel only, to figure it out for the left just switch left and right.

1. The first push happens as the paddler uses the non power face of the right blade to "push" the bow down into either the shoulder of the hole or the desired point of initiation.
2. As the boat starts to cartwheel and goes past vertical, the next push goes into effect. This next push stroke, when placed just after the boat goes past vertical, with the upstream non-power face (left hand blade), acts to push the boat upstream towards the hole and counter-effect the boat?s tendency to flush out. Now look over your right shoulder and look for the crease or shoulder, thus leading with your head.
3. As the stern then (hopefully) falls into the shoulder or correct spot of the hole, the next pull stroke is taken with the power face of the left blade. As a paddler, you don't want to hang on this stroke for too long as it can pull you out of the hole. Hold it just enough to get the stern started on its course.
4. The next pull stroke goes in as the bow goes past vertical and, in effect, pulls the boat upstream towards the hole (right hand blade, upstream side). At this point, both ends of your boat have gone through the rotation once and you are back where you began, ready to push, push, pull, pull again. Good luck.

For some of us, the most frightening part of a river trip is when we get out of our boats. Poison ivy holds more horrors for me than even that most dreaded of rapids, The Gap, does. Why, you might ask? Like a thief in the night, poison ivy creeps onto your paddle or boat with the most innocent brush against the riverbank. Once the oils of a poison ivy plant, urashiol, get on you, your boat, your gear, etc., it spreads insidiously into all other spheres of your existence.

What happens next? If you are allergic, scientifically called sensitized, in a period of time ranging from a couple hours to a couple days, you start to develop redness and swelling, and eventually a full blown rash. If you are encountering poison ivy for the first time, on the surface nothing happens. What is happening internally, however, is that your body is getting sensitized to poison ivy. After a certain level of sensitization, your body begins to react to poison ivy. That's why people that think they aren't allergic to poison ivy can inexplicably develop the allergy. Unfortunately for those truly sensitive individuals like myself who can develop a reaction to poison ivy within hours, you don't get less allergic. Sad, but true.

What can you do to prevent a reaction once you knowingly and purposefully stroll through poison ivy? There are several things that work with differing levels of success. Cold water, plentiful here on the Deerfield, can wash off the oils and prevent the transfer of the oil to other parts of your body. Soap, unfortunately, unless extremely strong, merely spreads the oil more. The sap of Jewelweed, a plant that commonly grows near poison ivy, theoretically can counteract poison ivy oil. Personally, I haven't had any luck, but I know folks that swear by it. There are also several over-the-counter lotions that cut down on your sensitivity. They are all water soluble.

Once you have the full blown rash, most over-the-counter anti-itch creams offer limited relief. Of special note, Benadryl cream can actually exacerbate your reaction. Calamine cream, zinc oxide and a paste made of baking soda and water all help control the oozing of the rash. If it's really bad, see a doctor. They have access to truly excellent things like steroids and internal anti-itch pills to make the poison ivy slightly more bearable. Once, when I had poison ivy on the tops and bottoms of my feet so badly I couldn't wear shoes for a week, a doctor who was a student of mine gave me some fluorinated hydrocortisone cream that cleared it up in next to no time. Of course, I still didn't wear shoes, but what's new?

Myth says that Native Americans used to get desensitized to poison ivy by eating the leaves. Personally, I think it's a bad idea. Don't burn it and inhale the smoke either. This is also a bad idea. The best poison ivy strategy is to never go near shore unless there is no vegetation there. Then have one of your friends carry you in your boat to your car which should be parked on pavement!