I don't know if one more opinion will help you or hurt but I'll go ahead and reinforce some of the previous statements.
You're just starting in in WW kayaking. You definitely don't have to worry about creeking (other than to get excited by watching vids).
Kayaking is a somewhat unique sport, in that, at the top skill levels things get smaller (not to suggest that running some rivers at huge volumes is easy). Creeks tend to be very narrow & have lower flows. They are also much more dangerous with higher consequences for mistakes and larger drops. I know your concept of a "creek". It's the same as what most people outside of the WW community picture when they think of a creek. Basically a stream but maybe a little bigger. Something to go and play around in on a warm afternoon. Most people outside of WW would probably call what we call a "creek" a river. But go to the library or grab a DVD on Netflix and watch a crew run through a creek that's 15' wide and then drop a 40' watefall into a small pool surrounded by rocks and other dangers and you'll begin to understand. (Or click here:
- that's what a creek looks like) Obviously not all creeks are like that but generally speaking they all fall into the Class IV+ to Class V (& VI) range. They're run by crews who often have paddled together for while, understand the consequences and understand how to take the neccessary safety measures to get everyone out alive. (Even when you watch videos of pros where most of the scouting and prep is cut out of the DVD to keep the action moving you'll still notice that on almost every really dangerous section there's at least one -and maybe more- person standing on the side with throwbags ready.) Hopefully that gives you a good visual- if you're a numbers guy here's a simpler way of looking at it: the Animas through Durango (a nice 5 mile Class III river run with a reasonable drop) is rated at a drop of about 27'/mile. Canyon Creek (less than a mile, Class V+ creek) has a drop rated around 680'/mile. Creek boats are made with a lot of volume to resurface you quickly after those drops and without hard edges to keep from hanging up on obstacles.
Creeking is, in reality, a small part of the WW community. If you're a skier, you might think of it in similar terms as the amount of people who ski out of bounds, backcountry and big mountain lines. It tends to inspire the masses but most of them never become someone who partakes in that part of the sport because of the skill level required and the risks that are involved. My point of this whole diatribe is that even if you are interested in getting into creeking, it will be a while before you can build up the skill level and knowledge to safely do so. So you don't need to worry about purchasing a creeker right now and following this thread it seems you're beginning to pick up on that.
It's sounds like you're not that into the idea of playboating right now (alot of people aren't when they first start out kayaking until they start to mess around on a wave). You'll sometimes see some really good boaters run up to Class IV in a playboat like the Star, or the Kingpin. But there's a couple of reasons for that. One: they're trying to get to a really good play feature downriver. And two: they're really good boaters. It's much more challenging (and much less comfortable -unless you're 4'2" and 110lbs) to go long distances on tough rivers in a low volume playboat. I wouldn't recommend it, especially to someone just starting off.
So that puts you solidly in the river running category. There are basically (notice I said basically- I don't feel like getting flamed) two styles of river runners. Straight up river runners (Diesel, Mamba, Hero, etc.) and the Free-Runners (playboat or freestyle/ river runner blend). Good examples of boats in that category would be the Jackson Fun series, the LiquidLogic CR's and the Dagger RX.
The differences? The river runners have more volume, will get you down the river quicker, have more space for gear, and in the early stages of learning they'll probably help you punch through waves and holes a little easier. The free runners have less volume and will be slower down river. They won't be able to carry as much gear for overnight trips but they're a lot more playful and with a normal learning curve they'll get you through pretty much any Class II & III and many Class IV rivers and will allow you to try out some playboating without going whole hog into getting a specific boat for that discipline.
Everybody has their own personal opinions on specific boats and that's why everyone here has been saying demo, demo, demo. If it were one of my friends getting into the sport and looking to buy a new boat I'd tell them to demo what they can but mostly to look at free runners. In the long run they give you more options and most people generally enjoy them more. As for specifics? I'd tell them they can't go wrong with one of the Jackson Funs or the Liquid Logic CR's. I don't know anyone who's had a bad experience with either of those. They're great to learn in and can progress with you probably up until the point you need to buy a boat specifically for creeking or playboating. Some people prefer one over the other but they're both great.
That's my 2 cents (or more like 200). Maybe it will help.
Now let everyone start bashing me for everything they don't agree with.
Linear Mode
