Galasport Phoenix

[Lang]

Hi

Did anyone paddle the Galasport Phoenix and what did you think of it- in all aspects of the game including durability? Especially in comparison to other boats.

Freds

[Ralf_L]

Hi

Did anyone paddle the Galasport Phoenix and what did you think of it- in all aspects of the game including durability? Especially in comparison to other boats.

Freds


Take a look at this Thread if you can understand in german.

http://www.canoepolo.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8193

greets
Ralf

[Lang]

Hi Ralf I already read the thread in the german forum and understood most of it or were able to translate it with babelfish, but I would still like to get more opinions and do prefer them in english. Thank you for mentioning it... Freds

[polo.tech]

The Phoenix is a really lovely boat and it is something new in the range of polo boats available on the market.

It is very wide (57 cm) and very low; for some players it can be too low, as somebody may have some problems to get inside of it as you have to enlarge your leg more than in all the other kayaks to have the leg-control of the kayak --> better you have a test and check it!!!

The low and large profile of the kayak is perfect for speed and for the control of the tip: it is very very easy to tackle down the opponents' kayak. Thanks to a sort of slight central, longitudinal edge in the bottom of the front section, accentuated towards the front impact zone, the acceleration and the final speed are really OK.
The back is very large and voluminous and it gives a great stability; but it turns very very well.

About constructions... Gala boats in the Profi construction are a warranty about durability. Other constructions are not the same. Get a Profi and you will be not disappointed.

Final note: one of the 2 designer of the kayak is the guy high on the left of the page, nr. 2 and captain of french national team, winner of the World Champs with his Phoenix.

P.S. The Phoenix is perfect for people around 75-80 kg. For heavier paddlers there is an XXL version, one of the most comfortable kayaks for big boys weighting since 110 kg.

[Lang]

Hi

Thank you for the description!

I saw Philip and the rest of the french team win the Worlds and based on that I better buy a phoenix as fast as possible;)

I would very much like to try it but there are no phoenix's in Denmark at the moment. I weigh 81-82 kilos so I guess I would fit in the normal version. If you have tried other boats like for example the megas, dynamic etc. it would be great to get a comparison.

From my point of wiew it looks like a hybrid between a mega and a fighter. What I am a bit afraid of is the low construction and the lack of volume in the front which most of the megas also have. For me it makes it very difficult to keep attackers out of the defense zone (too easy to paddle straight over) and to move denfenders around while attacking. Even though its easy to get under the opponents boat I think you need volume in your own kayak to move them around and not just sink further down into the water. What do you think of the phoenix in this aspect? Does it have enough volume to protect the ball and the defense zone (in the front as well as in the back) and are you able to not just get under your opponents but also to move them where you want to take them?

About the nosecontrol. Can you compare it with dynamic, vampire 2001 and 2006, mega or anything else? Does the central, longitudinal edge makes it more difficult to "cut" the nose under boats?

Freds

[polo.tech]

Lang, I think that the Phoenix is a really innovative and competitive boat :thumbup: and sure you will be not disappointed about it but don't underrate the matter of fitting. Some players had to renounce to buy it because of the different position of the legs, that for somebody may become painful during training or game times. :(

About the comparisons... as I told you it is a boat really different from the others. I have paddled many kayaks (Revenge, Nitro, Matador, Sphinx, Knight), I have tried sometimes the Fighter and also the Dynamic, andno one of them can be compared to it, perhaps the Fighter is similar in the nose control (jostling and tackling); perhaps, according to other players' opinion (I have never used a Mega), the most similar boat may be the Mega ones and in particolar the Velocit, the Raptor and also the Mystere.

About the low profile, consider that it does not automatically means lack of volume, you have enough volume for nose controlling the opponent kayaks and to move them around where you want.
Other matter is the paddling straight over your phoenix when you are defending...this may be true and you have to incline the boat to better contrast the paddling of your opponent. I can say also that the Phoenix is not the best kayak if you are used to defend in this almost static way, it is better for a dynamic defense.

About ball control with tha kayak, yes, you have a lower barrier (especially toward the tip) against opponents paddles trying to keep you away the ball, but consider also that the kayak is more stable than the others and that you are sitting in a position that makes you feeling higher on the water and more free in the movements with the part of your body outside of the kayak. That is, you can defend better the ball by yourself and not thanks to your kayak!

"Cutting" nose control is not a problem. Maybe the central-longitudinal edge and the low profile makes very different and strange the response of the kayak to lateral movement and fast changing of direction, but this is a 1st time impression, after 1/2 weeks of training you will be used to it.