{"id":12810,"date":"2017-06-27T12:00:04","date_gmt":"2017-06-27T19:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/community.nrs.com\/?p=12810"},"modified":"2022-01-05T13:30:24","modified_gmt":"2022-01-05T21:30:24","slug":"stampede-shorty-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2017\/06\/27\/stampede-shorty-review\/","title":{"rendered":"My Relationship with a Shorty"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cFlipping over is half the fun!\u201d<\/p>\n

These words work their way into my brain as turbulent water, rocks, and maybe some aquatic wildlife pass me by as the underside of my kayak takes a peek at the rest of the world for a moment. It\u2019s an adage that, at present, I\u2019m trying to get my kayaking students to buy into. For them, the concept of immersion therapy rings perhaps a little too true here.<\/p>\n

As a kayaker, our ability to enjoy the river skyrockets as soon as we learn to roll, and the more comfortable we become upside down, the wider the realm of possibility on the river expands. Stern squirts, party surfs, waterfalls, rock splats, and even just cooling off in the middle of the summer aren\u2019t just for the pros on YouTube anymore\u2026no, for you and your combat roll, the world-er-river is now your oyster.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Of course, the more I flip over, the wetter I get, which often means catching a chill and always means draining my kayak once, twice, or too many times to count throughout the day. It\u2019s too warm for my drytop but I can\u2019t spend all day worried about where I can pull over to drain my boat in the middle of a lesson or on the verge of perfecting the windowshade at my local play spot.<\/p>\n

In full disclosure, I didn\u2019t always see the purpose of the NRS Stampede Shorty Jacket<\/a> when I first started paddling. The goofy \u2018t-shirt drytop\u2019 was the underdog of the gear world, and it wasn\u2019t until I bought into the notion that flipping over on purpose would make me better at flipping over accidentally that I found its merit. My relationship with a Shorty began years ago, on one particular day after discovering the joy of a simple eddy line and a kayak with a slicey stern. I\u2019d had enough\u2014enough cold, enough draining, enough of my damp cockpit\u2014I grabbed the Shorty in hopes of playing a little bit longer before having to drain my boat or getting a little too chilled.<\/p>\n