After rigging rafts on the Colorado, Salmon, and Arkansas for the past eight years, I can tell you the best raft frames are not just about aluminum pipe and crossbars. They are about how every component works together when you are committing to a Class IV rapid at 6,000 cfs. I have spent the last […]

I spent the last 60 days testing the best raft pumps across four rafts, two catarafts, and one inflatable kayak. After hauling each pump down the Arkansas, the Gunnison, and a half-dozen put-ins across Colorado, I can tell you which ones actually earn their spot in your dry box and which ones leave you with […]

After 45 days of field testing across Class III rapids, overnight floats, and a few intentional dunk tests, I can tell you that finding the best river dry boxes comes down to three things: how well the gasket actually seals when waves crash over your boat, whether the box will survive being tossed against granite, […]

After three seasons and roughly 280 river miles running the Rogue, the Colorado, and a stretch of the Salmon, I have cracked, lost, and rescued enough coolers to know what separates a true rafting cooler from anything sold at a big box store. The best river coolers for rafting do not just keep your drinks […]

After spending the last three summers logging over 600 miles across Boundary Waters lakes, flatwater rivers, and portage-heavy backcountry routes, I learned the hard way that the stock wooden bench on most canoes is brutal on your back. The best canoe seats transform those long days on the water from an endurance test into pure […]

Last summer, I spent three weekends testing canoe outriggers on a 16-foot Old Town canoe in everything from glassy lake water to choppy river crossings. After 40+ hours on the water and a few near-capsizes that gave me real respect for what good stabilizers can do, I narrowed down the field to the 10 best […]

After spending 90 days testing canoe covers across three New England winters and two muddy spring seasons, our team learned something most buyers discover the hard way: a cheap cover can actually cost you more than the boat it's protecting. We watched one bargain cover trap so much moisture under it that the gelcoat started […]

After hauling a 17-foot Old Town Penobscot across a gravel launch one too many times, I started hunting for the best canoe carts I could actually trust. I spent four weekends testing eight top-rated models across sand, dirt trail, and asphalt, loading each with a loaded 75 lb canoe and a heavier 110 lb tandem […]

After spending the last three summers on flat-water lakes and slow-moving rivers with a motored canoe, I've learned that the right canoe motor mount makes the difference between fighting your boat and actually enjoying it. I tested eight different mounts on aluminum, plastic, and composite canoes with motors ranging from 30 lb thrust trolling units […]

I'll never forget the morning my buddy Dave lost his grandfather's vintage mushroom anchor to the bottom of Lake Ouachita. He had tied it with a quick bowline he learned in Boy Scouts, but a hidden underwater log caught the fluke and the rope snapped clean. We sat there watching the buoy bob to the […]