Reviews by User: CanPaddler (3)

I've had my Carolina 13.5 for 3 years now, and I'm still very happy with it. The boat handles very nicely, glides through the water surprisingly well, tracks very true and is fairly light at 52lbs with rudder. Being 5'7" with an athletic build, it fits be like a glove. Plus, if your interested in taking it that far, it rolls nicely as well. It's well proportioned, easily portable once you get used to having 50 pounds sitting on one side of your body. Downsides for me would be the hull design that makes it track so well, Is also what prevents you from even considering any type of whitewater with it. But it's not at all designed for whitewater. I guess I'm just too cheap to buy a whitewater boat. All in all, a great value. Even has enough storage for a good 3 days for backcountry style adventures.

When I was looking for a jacket this season, I started at 686 because I was so impressed with the pants I bought last season. After checking out a bunch of other brands (Burton, The North Face) I came back to 686 because it had the tech (10000mm waterproofness), would keep me warm (2 layers), and wicked style and functionality. I couldn't be happier with my buy and I can't count the amount of compliments I got about the jacket.

I bought my pants at the end of last season. Now, half-way into this season and 3 trips to the Rockies, I couldn’t be more impressed. Never got wet thanks to the 10000mm waterproofness. Just got back from Marmot Basin near Jasper, riding for a day in -40 with just a pair of sweats under the pants, never got close to cold, although I did get frostbite on my face. The quality, the function and the style is all there, now it's just a matter of being able to deal with the price.