Q - Kayaks Cyclone

[Paddle Sport]

We at Paddle Sport in the UK have been looking for a smaller youth style of plastic Polo Kayak, We are looking for some advice about the Q-Kayak, Cyclone

Are they being used regularly in NZ for Competition by Youths?
What do people think, about the Cyclone over the P&H plastic Revenge in Performance?

Thanks

Have a good Christmas & New year

Have fun
Paddle Sport

[cpbutler]

Unfortunately we don't have the plastic Revenge over here to compare it against. We have the Perception Acrobat and a few Eskimo Geckos and the Cyclone in terms of plastic polo kayaks.

The Cyclone has the advantage of being to handle up to about 130kg people, but your youth kids are very unlikely to be that big. Smaller people tend to get lost in all the volume that is in the front of the cyclone. The only advantage for small people with the Cyclone is that they are stable, relatively easy to surface turn and roll.

Overall it is a average all round boat that is not the fastest, not the slowest, but can be a good boat for people to learn in. If you are wanting a more high performance plastic boat you would need to be looking at the plastic Vampire or Revenge really.

Hope that helps

Cam

[Paul]

I tried the cyclone from time to time, i was 85kg and a pretty ok paddler, very stable etc but way to high volume both ends for my liking, thought the geko was a much better boat, sure a little less stable but you could actually control it... might pay to contact Dean, he played in a cyclone for... how many years....?

[Gibbo]

You could also consider the plastic vampire. (made by dagger Australia)

It is much lower volume in the nose than the plastic cyclone or the revenge.
I find them not much different than the glass boat only a little harder to get off the mark.

Best person to contact would be Duncan Cochrane at Kayaks Plus for more info.

Gibbo :)

[Marty]

We have the plastic Cyclone, Gecko and Vampire in club use and I have used the plastic Revenge a few times. The best boat across the board is the Gecko until you are heavier than 90kg/200lb. You have to be pretty big to dip the bow of the Cyclone and Revenge and the Cyclone also takes a bit to stern turn. The Vampire is a solid design (down to player preference).

Note that the Bumpers on the Gecko and Vampires don't last too long (it's easy to replace the Gecko bumpers) and it's do it yourself bumpers for the Cyclone. Note also that some of our 5 year old Vampire hulls are splitting around the cockpit bolt holes and the Gecko footpeg bolts pull through. We have replaced all the Gecko and Vampire footpegs with higher quality ones (and larger bolts). We have had no issues with the Cyclone.

Cheers, Marty

[Andi]

Please note that in the past the Eskimo Gecko has not been a legal boat design in the UK. I think this used to be because of the integrated bumpers, and I am not sure if this has changed. If it hasn't, then this boat is unlikely to gain approval.

I imagine whichever boat you go for.... you'll have to get the boat checked and added to the approval list anyway (but you do want one that will pass).

As for my 2c worth..... Having paddled all the boats you mention (although not for some time and not necessarily by choice).... I would go for the Vampire (or Gecko - if it was legal).

Cheers
Andi

[DeanM]

I've played in a Cyclone for about 7 years and like it a lot. But it's not a high-performance boat. Can be hard to do a stern pivot and very hard to sink the nose. I'm about 85kg.

The reason I started playing in it was because it was cheap (mine was second hand for about 15% of the price of a new composite boat). The reason I kept playing in it was because it was robust and didn't break. And the reason I continue using it for all but top level competition is because it's hard work to keep up with everyone else (which helps keep me in shape). Also it feels great to get into a Revenge for a big game (although it is slightly less comfortable) after spending a lot of time in a Cyclone.

So if you're after a slow, heavy, hard to turn boat, the Cyclone is just the ticket!

Actually, I exaggerate, it's not *that* slow, and its design is very good for surface turns, and I can pivot it OK, but it's probably a bit big for youth players. And did I mention it doesn't break? That rates it pretty highly for me! Oh yeah, and it is comfortable.

Ruggedness and comfort are very important things! And in my experience players who are used to Cyclones have an advantage over everyone else when they get into a genuinely high performance boat. Kind of like doing resistance training. :-)

My Cyclone is at least 10 years old and I'll be using it for many seasons to come. It also prolongs the life of my Revenge!

- Dean

[Jo Dovey]

From a tiny player's perspective...

Geckos are good, Cyclones are definitely on the bus side... if you're not going to use them at comps where they need to be "legal" and the bits that make them not legal don't actually make them unsafe then I'd recommend the Gecko, but then I haven't tried a plastic Revenge or Vamp. Gecko kicks the pants of Cyclones + Acrobats in terms of being good for small ppl to play in, not sure about maintenance though.

That's my :twocents: - hope it helps!