First & foremost, I’m an advocate of intermediate-range ocean racing skis. I think the reality of the elite skis, even the elephant in the room, is that to paddle them where they’re designed to be paddled, in a decent running sea, you need to have an elite attitude. Over the course of a few years watching paddlers turn up with elite skis and paddle around like they’re sitting on a watermelon, in conditions that most intermediate skis would simply absorb, I think there are far too many guys limiting their paddling days on skis that are not only beyond them now, but will probably always be beyond them. To me that’s what it comes down to, within reason, making sure your ski doesn’t put any limits on when you can go paddling.
The Evo II was an addition to our demo range following on
from the great success we’ve had with the Eze and the Ace, both short, stable,
and light entry level boats which have spread through paddling circles based on
what the new owners have been able to do in them. By that I mean the mix of
ergonomics & stability have provided confidence in spades to paddlers who
had been tentative about either owning a ski in the first place, or had been
wobbling around on boats that didn’t offer the right amount of
confidence-inspiring stability.
Like all Think skis the Evo II has a very disciplined
seating position, perhaps the most regimented of all the ski brands, and simply
doesn’t allow you the option of splaying your legs. You sit in a very upright
position with knees forced together by the narrower channels for your calves,
and once you adjust it makes it very hard to slouch or fall into any of the bad
habits of paddling posture that drag most of us punters down.
It feels buoyant on the water, something I’ve always considered
a reassuring quality in the rough stuff whether it’s a kayak or a ski, and the
seating position, with your bum well & truly higher up than your heels,
makes you feel like you’re well over the top of your stroke.
First impressions, especially if you hop on board on dead
flat water, is a lighter initial stability than some of the other designs in
the genre, but this hardens up considerably once the water becomes more
dynamic. Essentially the Evo heels a few degrees further on flat water than
some of the flatter hulled intermediates, but then locks into a solid secondary
point every bit as solid as the rest.
As the waves wash through & around the hull, the
transitions that separate the tough boats from the sympathetic ones are gradual
& predictable. You don’t get a fast twitch from the Evo II even in crappy
little bay chop. The trade off with a hull that moderates the bumps is usually
a loss of that instinctive quality that allows to you turn the boat on waves
using your eyes. By this I mean the ‘look left, right shoulder moves forward,
right arse cheek drops, boat turns toward the raised edge of your ski’ in a nice
organic motion that isn’t necessarily predicated by a hard push on your rudder
pedal. The best intermediate boat I’ve ever paddled for this sort of
instinctive turn is the Fenn Swordfish, and while the Evo II doesn’t quite
carve around in the same way, it makes up for it in hull speed and the capacity
to grab the runs with lift and acceleration.
It has speed to burn, more than I’ll ever be capable of
harnessing in the ocean, and because you have the nice buoyant feeling that extra
volume provides, it never feels like you need much of a dig to get it up &
running. I’ve used the boat a lot to ride shotgun on our weekly Dolls Point
paddles, where a big group of us take on the Sydney sea breeze for a 10km blast
into, across & with the wind. It’s been a great mothership for effecting
rescues, helping paddlers who’ve missed their remounts etc. I can manoeuvre it
in bouncy chop, pull alongside to raft up & help out without having to
think about my own stability, a trait in the sometimes individualistic world
of surf ski paddling that should perhaps carry more weight. When you do do take a swim, the low gunwales mean you don't have to be anywhere near as precise getting your backside into the bucket as you do with the skinny skis, and remounts are pretty stress free.
On flat water the ergonomics really shine. Whilst metronome rhythm
is your enemy on the ocean, for flat water training & racing your form and
tempo are everything, and a disciplined posture gives you a great base for
harnessing the right muscles. Whilst not a particularly dedicated flat water
paddler, I didn’t hesitate to reach for the Evo II from our quiver of demo
boats to do this year’s Hawkesbury Classic, a 111km overnight race on the
outskirts of Sydney. Despite only paddling a couple of half rat-power 10 &
15km flat water sessions in the boat, I knew it was the one that would keep me
in the right form, and would have enough glide to allow a comfortable &
reasonably quick trip down the river.
111km done & dusted, and a good ski for the task. |
There has been a trend recently towards using elite skis on
flat water for marathon racing, understandable given the challenges most K1
hulls provide to those of us not raised paddling them. But, if you can only
afford one ski I reckon only the fittest of racers would get more out of an
elite than they would out of something like an Evo II, and the versatility of
the ski in the ocean allows you to go beyond being just a fair weather sea
paddler.
We spend a far portion of our time introducing paddlers to
the sea, and even the seasoned & technically sound flat water guys don’t
take very long to work out that the two disciplines are a world apart. We’re
lucky thesedays to have the breadth of excellent mid-range, intermediate skis
which provide the portal into the part of ski paddling that I reckon provides
the big smiles. Fortunately for us and you the consumer, the brands we represent, Vajda, Epic, Fenn & Think, are all damn good. They're all well made, well designed, they have their own traits that run through their ranges nowadays, so you really do need to get out there and get in them before you make a decision about which one is for you. The Think Evo II is a very successful blend of speed, sympathetic
predictability at sea, and acceleration for the days when it’s all going your
way, a boat I love to paddle.
Length 625cm Width 48cm Weight See Below Paddler Weight 75-110kg
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We have a demo at our Miranda store and will happily take
you out on some moving water so you can see for yourself.