Kayaking The Needles: Dam 3 to Brunswick (Potomac River) at 4.3.ft (POR Gauge) -Dagger Axis 12.0 

Hi Ralph, if you find yourself to come to really enjoy kayaking I think that you are going to be quite happy living in Falling Waters, WV and its surrounding of West Virginia and Maryland. There are not too many places in the United States that offer the tremendous variety of whitewater options that we have, ranging from many beginner flatwater to class V/expert level rivers and creeks. The neat thing about the Potomac River is that it varies so much at each foot in certain places, such as at Harpers Ferry, and its sections differ so much at normal levels, from calm recreational kayaking, to full on whitewater thrills. What kind of kayaking are you looking to get into and which kind of kayak did you get? Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions that you have; I'm happy to help and tell you of the many options out this way may best suit the kind of kayaking that you're looking to enjoy, from relaxing flat water trips to the whitewater hotspots.

@@PotomacPassageOolikhanna I got the pelican mustang 100x. I’m not looking for anything too crazy just yet. Just some good spots that I can cruise through

​@@LaxFreak211 That's a good move, and just how I was too, when I first started, which gradually, but greatly helped my river reading skills, which has a real layering affect. You'll find the more that you get out the more that you really do learn, especially with muscle memory and reading features, and eventually automatically knowing how to respond to holes, ledges, rocks, and waves of varying sizes. The Pelican is a good one to start with too, and if you find yourself really getting into kayaking, and want to advance up to mainly whitewater, your experience in the Pelican will help out in knowing which kind of whitewater kayak will best fit the kind of fun you're looking to have (such as choosing between a play boat, creeker, river runner, or cross over). American Whitewater is the foremost best resource for finding local rivers and creeks, which usually include full descriptions of the need to know information, such as water levels, rapids, and where to put in and take out. They do a great job at breaking up the many sections of the Potomac River too. The lower section of Antietam Creek is a great introduction to getting a beginners feel for whitewater and yet still maintaining a recreational feel. Here are some helpful links to www.AmericanWhitewater.org/ Maryland: www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/state-summary/state/MD/ West Virginia: www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/state-summary/state/WV/ I can also recommend kayaking Facebook groups too. Feel free to let me know of any questions that come up, such as with gear, or anything about places that you're looking to explore.

Hi Dal, Thank you very much for the compliment; it is nice to hear that you enjoyed the video. One reason I made and posted this one was to provide a resource for others in showing the Axis 12.0 and its performance capabilities in action, as when I was heavily researching the Axis and other crossover kayaks - for which would be the best fit for me - I came across very little on the Axis, and wanted to provide to others footage that was not available to me at the time, for what really makes for a solid review of how it handles and performs overall in slight t moderate whitewater. This was actually my first time taking the Axis through whitewater, and when I was very much a beginner, making for quite the excitement and learning experience at the time. Did you end up choosing the Dagger Axis 12.0 or the Dagger Katana 10.4? Personally, if I didn't have my designated whitewater kayaks, for creeking, river running, and play boating, I would opt for the Axis 12.0, coming from how much I enjoy it and just how much it excels in performing as an "all around-er" from flat water races to a good deal of rocking and rolling in class III waves. I feel the Katana would be too slow for me in long stretches of flat water for the longer trips that I take my Axis on. For me, if it came down to choice, with learning towards the Katana, I would go with the Dagger Green Boat for the versatility of how I use the Axis and for the pure whitewater runs, because of its length, hull design, secondary stability, and its rocker profile. In the time since you have posted this, I have created other videos of the Dagger Axis 12.0 in action (which are linked below). I have very much enjoyed the Axis for longer trips that entail a mixture of both whitewater and substantial stretches of flat water, and I've even competed in a couple of longer races. Though it closely resembles the Dagger Green Boat at first glance, and as much as I have mustered, it sure doesn't keep up to the speed of the Green Boat, but handles a like a boss in the class III waves I've taken it through on the Potomac River. I particularly enjoy how stable and how much edge control the Axis has; it is very responsive to waves and holds well when cruising through holes, with no back ending from my experiences. The skeg definitely improves overall speed and cruising in the flat stretches, and is valuable given how the back half of the haul is more rounded, which slows down its speed when in flat water. The rocker and raised stern sheds waves like a champ, cutting through waves just like a ship in choppy seas. I bought a large float bag to fill the space from my feet to the stern in case of a flip, and also bought a set of thigh braces (specific to the Axis), and a Jackson Sweet Cheeks seat cushion to add more cushioning and a more tailored feel for the seat, along with two sprayskirts, a looser one for longer relaxed trips (mostly nylon with some neoprene) and a classic whitewater neoprene sprayskirt for purely whitewater trips. I may have went for the Katana if I were to only have on kayak to cover all the bases of what I wanted, with leaning more towards whitewater, but I have a creeker and a playboat that use solely for whitewater. I feel the Axis is just right for me for trips that involve both whitewater and flat water and recreational trips of only flat water, where the Katana I feel wouldn't be as optimal for. I absolutely prefer the Axis over the Wilderness Systems Pungo 120 and Aspire 105, and was so glad that I tested them out. To me, the Pungo was not comparable at all in regard to the stability of the Axis, and though the Pungo cruises faster, I would have the faintest of confidence in even the smallest sets of rapids and crosscurrents. The Axis turns incredibly fast compared to the Pungo 120, which required much forethought and planning for even the slightest of turns, and lacked chines and edge control. I feel the Katana is great for someone who leans more towards whitewater with some interest in recreational kayaking, and for someone who are a beginner whitewater kayaker and for someone who opts for the versatility of all around conditions, though yet is leaning towards primarily whitewater. Overall, the Katana is great for someone to experiment with before purchasing a specialty kayak, as they learn about and gravitate to the style of kayaking they most enjoy, which I feel also relates to the Axis too. The Katana out maneuvers the Axis, but the Axis will cruise faster and naturally track straighter with much less ease than the Katana (especially in flat water), and I feel both offer top notch secondary stability, with the Axis being superior when looked at as a recreational kayak, and the Katana being looked at as introductory for whitewater kayaking, and being close to but not a true crossover kayak. I suggest that the best advice for someone choosing between the two models would be to test out both kayaks if they have the option to do so, particularly in both flat water and whitewater (with the necessary safety precautions), and to maybe give the Dagger Green Boat some consideration. - "Kayaking the North Branch of the Potomac River: Barnum, WV - Bloomington, MD (4.29ft./970cfs)" - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_MPhGIzloqY.html - "Potomac River: Kayaking Little Falls (MD Side), Z-Channel, Midway Waves, & Beaver Slide at 3.0ft." - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-i5JS8pAMPIY.html -"The 2022 Little D on the Monocacy Canoe & Kayak Race" - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DUFzQClotmQ.html - "The 2021 Little D on the Monocacy Canoe & Kayak Race" - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Zsfq8791g80.html - "The 2022 Seneca Showdown: The Attainment & Downriver Races" - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hFNcWq2E_5E.html - "The 2021 Seneca Showdown: The Attainment & Downriver Races" - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Mg8qlTiRQtw.html - "Kayaking Catoctin Creek: 2.0ft - Dagger Axis 12.0" - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fwaB_hQgRGw.html