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Coast to Coast required kayak gear list

1. A Kayak - we recommend either
   • A multisport kayak suited to your ability
   • The Barracuda Beachcomber Ultralight - there's no other sea kayak worth paddling through the gorge.
2. Buoyancy Vest - Both vests listed exceed the required race guidelines including the buoyancy requirement of 55N
   • The Hydraulics Race Pro - specificaly designed for racing, and the top choice for the Coast to Coast. Hard wearing, buoyant and with well thought out and constructed features
   • The is cheaper, very comfortable and sufficiently durable for 'recreational racing'. If you don't want the features of the Hydraulics Race Pro this is the way to go
3. Spraydeck
   • Most people will be best served by a 'nyloprene' deck such as the Day Two Nyloprene Deck. It has a neoprene deck for quick fitting and dryness and a nylon breathable tunnel to stop you overheating on the river. If you want the most breathable nyloprene deck on the market consider the Immersion Research Excursion Skirt, but be aware that the smallest deck size available is too large for many race boats.
   • The other option is a full neoprene deck such as the Day Two Neoprene Deck, this will keep more water out of the cockpit through the larger rapids but is significantly hotter to paddle in. If you have a solid roll, and are happy to use it to keep cool, then full neoprene could be a good choice
4. Paddle
   • A wing paddle is the right choice for most people. There are a few general guidelines for choosing the right paddle: choose a smaller blade rather than a larger, 67km is a long way to kayak and you want to keep your cadence up; go for a shorter paddle rather than a longer one, same reason as the blade size; if you are unsure which shape to go for choose a more symetrical blade over a more exciting, dynamic shape. Symetrical blades are more predictable in rough water and more forgiving to tired paddlers. We recommend the following: Wicked Wings Ell, Wicked Wings Mâch 4 Small, Wicked Wings Mâch 4 Small Econo and . Those may not suit you but are a good place to start looking if you're unsure.
5. Dry bag to keep your required gear in. Go for a vinyl bag over a fabric one, the advantage of the vinyl is obvious if you take a swim. In a vinyl bag your gear will be as dry as when you packed it, if you do take a big swim and need your gear you'll be glad you put it in a real dry bag! These bags can float down river on their own, be completely submerged for extended periods of time and still remain dry. They are also far harder wearing than fabric bags and will serve you well for many, many years. The top choices are:
   • The clear NRS Ricksack Dry Bag
   • The solid colour NRS Tuff Sack dry bag.
6. Kayak helmet. This needs to be a kayak specific helmet, a cycling helmet is not acceptable. There are some unforgiving rocks in the Waimak so put your head in something that's going to stand a chance of looking after it. Three core choices in this group:
   • WRSI Current Helmet -  a multi-layer white water helmet, for a small step up in price this offers significantly better protection than anything else in its league. It fits a good range of head sizes and is available in a vented version to keep you cool on hot days.
   • Protec Wake - a single layer helmet, comfortable and well vented. Not as tough as the WRSI Current Helmet but suited to grade 2 river use.
   • Focus Resistor Ultralight Kayak Helmet, this is a very lightweight helmet, good for racing it meets all relevant cerifications but doesn't offer as much protection as the previous two.
7. First Aid Kit
   • PaddlerZone Complete Coast to Coast Medkit - it's got everything you need in one lightweight, waterproof pack. Includes a regulation Survival Bag.
8. Survival Bag
   • Included in the PaddlerZone Complete Coast to Coast Medkit above.
9. 10 metres of Duct Tape ( minimum ). Available instore and from all good hardware stores.
10. Air bags/Kayak Buoyancy. Two flotation/air bags or extensive water tight sealed compartments that are drainable. Min requirement is two rear flotation/air bags of 20 litres each, secured in the kayak. Not required for sea kayaks with sealed bulkheads.
    • NRS Multisport Storage Air Bag - Single - meet the regulations and fit virtualy all multisport kayaks. Lightweight and hard wearing.
11. Paddle Jacket - Waterproof and long sleeved (either worn or in a dry bag)
    • Earth Sea Sky Traverse - the ultimate Adventure Racing jacket, 3 layer breathable.
    • NRS Endurance Splash Jacket - super lightweight option, durable and suited to day racing
    • NRS Rio Splash Top - this is the "only carrying it because it says I have to, never doing another race anyway" option. Cheap, not so durable and not quite as light as the Endurance jacket above.
12. Waterproof Pants
    • NRS Endurance Trousers - the lightweight and highly breathable option
    • NRS Rio Trousers - The cheaper, heavier, and much less breathable option
    • There are other dry pants available but we  consider most of them too heavy to be suited to racing, see the dry pants & trousers section
13. Polypropylene full length top and bottom
    • Seperates: IR Thickskin Thermal Top and Immersion Research Thickskin Pants - stretchy double sided fleece, exceptionally warm
    • OR go for a one piece Immersion Research envIRoskin Union Suit or Immersion Research Womens Union Suit
14. Polypropylene gloves
15. Thermal balaclava or hat
16. Food
17. Drink

We also recommend:

In addition to the compulsory items above the following items would be highly useful:

Race Day Gear:

1. Hydrosilk Long Sleeved Shirt - Either it'll be hot and this will both keep the sun off and keep you cool, or it'll be cold and the Hydrosilk will work as a wicking, flexible and breathable first layer. Very comfortable, full range of movement and durable with a very high UPF rating.
2. Immersion Research Neoprene Lined Guide Shorts or Immersion Research Fleece Lined Guide Shorts - Extremely comfortable, lightweight, durable and they won't reduce your core rotation
3. NRS Kicker Water Shoe - good grip, comfortable for long trips and very comfortable for running over stones and self-rescuing
4. Hydraulics SunPaws - perfect sun protection - no grease, no slip, ultimate flexibility and total UV protection
5. - some gels/drinks to keep your energy levels up and keep you focused on the river ( and finish line ).
6. GurneyGoo Sachets - stop the pain before it starts!

Pre-race Preparations:

1. The Kayak Forward Stroke 2nd Edition DVD - get the most out of the energy you put with advice from Greg Barton and Oscar Chalupsky
2. Conquering the Coast to Coast - Kelly Barber - a great read in its own right, but also full of great ideas, and pitfalls you can easily avoid by reading it
3. Deception Mingha Mt Run and Waimakariri Paddle Guide Book - A good guide to the run and river sections of the race
4. Lucky Legs - Steve Gurney - Inspirational reading, not all of it is about the C2C, but all of it is interesting and will inspire you to achieve your aims
5. Gurney Gears Bumfortable - if you can't sit in your kayak seat comfortably for enough hours to get 67km down river then consider fitting one of these. They have the side benefit of lowering your centre of gravity and giving you a more stable kayak
6. Foam Kayak Cradles - we love these, they're cheap, durable and kind to composite kayaks. Easy to transfer from one car to another for shared training runs.
7. GurneyGoo - Stop the blisters, the chafes and the pruning that will stop you putting in the hard hours or training you need to do if you're gonna get up over a mountain, down it again, down a river and still be able to cycle into Christchurch. Get some Goo!