{"id":11849,"date":"2017-02-01T14:00:19","date_gmt":"2017-02-01T22:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/community.nrs.com\/?p=11849"},"modified":"2022-01-05T13:44:03","modified_gmt":"2022-01-05T21:44:03","slug":"navigating-big-ditch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2017\/02\/01\/navigating-big-ditch\/","title":{"rendered":"Navigating the Big Ditch"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a full moon, but you\u2019d hardly know it as a steady rain pelted down on the world\u2019s most famous boat ramp, Lee\u2019s Ferry. It was 11:00 p.m. on a cold January night. Instead of the typical party atmosphere, there was a palpable tension in the air as eight men, wearing matching, lime green paddling suits like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, climbed aboard a custom, 48-foot cataraft and started rowing downstream. Their primary objective: break the 34-hour speed descent record for the Grand Canyon.<\/p>\n

At mile 17, the boat\u2019s row of LED lights barely illuminated the approaching horizon line of House Rock Rapid. Within seconds the boat was sideways and all eight men were high-siding to keep the raft from flipping. The possibility of swimming a rapid in the Grand Canyon in the middle of the night quickly became a stark reality.<\/p>\n

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A few weeks ago, I donned one of those brightly colored suits and joined the USA Men\u2019s Whitewater Raft Team on their quest through the Grand Canyon. Fortunately for us, NRS had offered to outfit the boat and the team. When you\u2019re planning to row a 48-foot boat through the Grand Canyon for over 30 hours non-stop in the middle of January, it\u2019s important to choose your paddling gear wisely. The good folks at NRS opened up their catalogue to us and let us choose whatever technical gear we thought would be best. Like kids in a candy store, we weren\u2019t sure what to pick. A few of our considerations included:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s cold in the Grand Canyon in January, with low temperatures that often dip below freezing.
\nRowing for 30+ hours non-stop generates a lot of body heat.
\nWater temps hover around 46-48 degrees.
\nFriction and chaffing could be our worst enemies.<\/p>\n

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We chose the NRS Navigator Paddling Suit<\/a> for a couple of reasons. First, it has a neoprene neck gasket that we hoped would be more comfortable than the traditional latex ones. Second, according to the NRS website, \u201cThe supple polyester microfiber shell allows friction-free paddling with superior resistance to puncture and abrasion.\u201d\u00a0We hoped for the best, selected the Navigators and knew we would put them to the ultimate test.<\/p>\n

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After barely making it through House Rock rubber side down, we adjusted our rowing configuration, turning the two rear rowers to face downstream and help with steering. We aced the Roaring 20\u2019s. Just as the sun came up, we styled our line at Hance. After 12 hours we were on record pace and the Navigator was exceeding expectations. A couple of our favorite features included:<\/p>\n

The Hood<\/strong>: When we first passed out the suits to the team, everyone had an opinion about the hood, and not all of them were positive. But, over the course of that first day and a half on the Grand, everyone had their hood up at least a few times. Sitting in the front of the boat and rowing backward\u00a0through huge waves, it was especially awesome to wear the hood and keep cold water from splashing down your neck.<\/p>\n

The Neck Gasket<\/strong>: For us, this was the best-selling feature of the Navigator, for sure. The neoprene kept water out, but was comfortable to wear for an extended period of time. By the time we finished, we were all ready to take it off, but it was far better than a traditional rubber gasket for our needs.<\/p>\n