The PaddlerUK magazine September 2015 issue 4 | Page 84

PAddlerUK 84 in association with in association with THE UK S ULTIMATE ONLINE www.nswatersports.com PADDLESPORT STORE! w 01642 01642520234 520234 Testing, Ace of Spades www.spadekayaks.com By Phil Carr www.unsponsored.co.uk Spade kayaks is a new kayak company formed in Germany by whitewater legends Hans Mayer, Oli Grau, Matze Brutzman, Jens Klatt and Jan Haluszka. The Ace of Spades is a blown moulded displacement hull kayak. It has the features that you would expect to see in any whitewater boat – adjustable outfitting, full plate footrest, multiple grab handles, drain bung etc… but many have been executed in a creative/different way. The Ace is designed as a river runner/creeker and is available in just the one size. Outfitting: Footrest The footrest is a full plate with a contoured plastic foot plate on a metal frame that is bolted to the hull left and right. The width of the footrest can be adjusted by loosening two bolts on each side of the foot plate. The footrest runs within a skeletal plastic pillar where you would normally find a lump of high density foam. The pillar is bolted to the hull at the top and seat rail/hull at the bottom using stainless steel Allen bolts. There is a fixing that is welded into the boat. Tightening this bolt too tight can pull and move the bottom of the boat. This makes for a super stiff setup. Cockpit You will see in the images the cockpit incorporates a grey plastic ring. This creates a stiff setup and allows the outfitting to be bolted to the boat. Although there is a join and a whole load of fixings, all will be protected from water ingress by the spray skirt. However, I must say it isn't the prettiest of systems but it does its job well. Cockpit – hip pads On first look the hip pads don't appear to be anything special but on closer inspection and use – they are very good. Each pad is held in place by a combination of QR buckles and Velcro. The buckles are riveted to the seat via a short length of strap. Therefore when released from the hip pad the straps and buckle stay in position. There is no risk of the strap falling behind the seat post as happens with systems from other manufacturers. The hip pad is perfectly shaped with more padding at the rear, this is a simple idea that works well. If the padding were consistent across the width of the pad there is always a risk of placing too much pressure on your leg at the front edge, which can result in numbness.Take this padding away but keep it where it's needed at the rear. Superb! Plenty of shims in the outfitting kit are provided and fix between the seat and the main pad.