First Thoughts on the Karma Unlimited

Well I picked up a new to me Karma Unlimited made by Jackson Kayaks, Check out my first thoughts….

My Boat is Green /Blue not red….However it gives you an Idea of the Profile.

First thought was that it was very long. Was it going to fit on my roof racks? 2nd thought was that it looked awesome. How Fast was it going to be?

I had paddled the Karma UL a while ago… three years ago to be exact at the Clearwater Festival(see link). I enjoyed it on the big water of the Clearwater river, crashing through big waves and surfing up some of the fine waves that Clearwater river provides.

I picked the same boat up in Vancouver when Ryan (Western Canoeing and Kayaking) came into to town, as I was doing a course at the Justice Institute. It fit well on the roof of my Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, first question answered!

Getting it back to Vancouver Island, it didn’t take very long to get it out on the water. The boats fit me well for a 6’2″ guy and size 13 feet. As per Jackson outfitting it is comfortable and easy to adjust.

My first run in the Karma UL was the Upper Puntledge river. Which combined big slides with some fun waterfalls to paddle over. The Boat performed admirably, carried speed, boofed well for a boat that long.

One of the main reasons that I picked up the Karma UL was to some longer day trips on rivers like the Nimpkish, The Adam, Longer runs on the Cowichan, Upper and Lower Koksilah, Chilliwack Canyon and a variety of other runs. Waiting for the Spring and longer days for some of these runs.

In the meantime doing some attainment training for a trip, that is coming up soon, to Ecuador.Cheers

Dave Prothero
TEAM Western Canoe & Kayak paddler