hey ive been doing creeing and downriver stuff for years, and im looking for a good boat to start doing a little more vertical/arial play, but im 6'5\" and around 220 pounds. ive been looking at the pyranha stretch xl , but it doesnt seem to have the play ability im looking for. anyone have good recomendations for a freestyle boat with good play that can handle taller paddlers?
(Ive heard that the pyranha 4 twenty m/l plays well if your big enough to get it vertical. anyone know about this?)
-Fritz

My suggestion for you would be to check out the RAD 195. At your specs you could learn to play all you want and then some and still be very comfortable paddling down river. Definitely worth a look see.

Im 6'4\" and fit in a plain Jackson Fun, you shouldn't have any trouble getting into a 4Fun.

Try the Jackson superstar or Dagger agent 6.4. I'm 6'6\" 210lbs and fit in both fine but prefer how the Jackson paddles. These 2 are the only all out playboats I've tried that I've fit in.

The 420 was not even close, neither was the Large Riot or Project 62. The Fluid Flirt was great but more of a river running playboat (like the funs).

The RAD 195 and the Large Nemesis might work but I've never tried either.

Good Luck finding something that works.

I am 6'4'' and 215 pounds. I have a Project 62 and I fit in that fine. For some reason I don't fit in a Dagger Agent 6.4. So if it is possible you might want to try the Project too.

I use to have a Jackson Superstar and it had really plenty of space, much more than the Agent or Project. And the Jackson Superfun is even bigger.

Try them out if you can.

Hope you find yourself a nice boat.

-Ilkka

It is really cool that there are so many options for big guys now!

What you need to remember is that not all big guys are built the same. Leg length and foot size must also be taken into consideration. This says nothing of likes and dislikes.
I have one buddy who wedges himself into things like dagger kingpins and medium fluid flirts and nemesis. I can't get into any of those boats.

Try all the boats in places you want to use them. There are a lot of differences in the boats you and others have mentioned. For each boat there are people who hate it and people who love it. You are the one who is important. If you can't try it don't buy it.

Try the:
Wave Sport Project 62
Jackson Super Star
Jackson 4 Fun
Jackson Super Fun**
Bliss-Stick RAD 195 *
Fluid Flirt L*
Fluid Flirt M
Fluid Nemesis L
Fluid Nemesis M
All play well and river run well.
* boats I own **boat I paddle the most (but I am heavier than you).

Try the Pyranha boats (I have only looked at and paddled their expedition boats)
Look at Liquid Logic (I haven't)
Add a Riot Nitro to the list (Why not?, maybe even the Astro)

Fluid kayaks in the large size are pretty large. To quote from their website:

\"
It is quite obvious nowadays that boat models need to be available in different sizes. We decided on three sizes for most of our model ranges, which seems to be the best compromise between paddler sizes and economics. What we do differently, however, is to stretch the limits of our sizes a bit. In a nutshell, this means that the smallest of the three sizes in one of our ranges, will typically be a bit small than our competitors' smallest sizes, and the biggest of the three sizes will typically be a bit bigger than our competitor's biggest sizes. This means that the really small and large paddlers, who have not been catered for historically, will now have a boat that actually fit them. We still design every boat to work for a wide weight range, so that the combined effect means that we can cater for a larger range of paddlers with three sizes of boats.
\"

Demo, demo, demo

Don't forget the DragoRossi Thruster. It's a terrific big guy boat. It was also the first model to sell out when I imported a bunch of DR boats into the U.S. Pretty popular.

This thread is full of lots of good suggestions. Get out there and see if you can demo some boats. Everyone has their own unique fit issues, and as much as the manufacturers design for someone your size, it's not a custom boat, so you really need to be able to sit in the boats to know for sure.

Jacksons kayaks are the most comfortable, hands down:naughty:

I can't say anything about the DragoRossi boats because I haven't seen one that might fit (Thruster or Critical Mass). Local company that carries this line doesn't like them to be demoed on the river either.

The old style Bliss-Stick seat was extremely comfortable for me, but the creek boat seat they were putting into the 195 was too narrow for me. Turned out okay for my wife as she now has a river runner/high performance creeker. The Jackson's are extremely adjustable and comfortable when the boat fits right. I have a large friend who squeezes himself (not a tight squeeze) into a super star and has to get out more frequently than I do from my super fun. A super star doesn't work for me unless I get rid of the super feet and become anorexic. Like others have said demo, demo, demo and have fun doing it.

Fluids are big, but in my opinion need to work on making their outfitting more comfortable and definately need a larger cockpit ( my opinion of my Flirt...Jackson Super Fun Is bigger and more comfortable and way easier to role ). I find the big stern hard to play with on flat water, but like it on the river. That may all work for you though and my opinion may mean sweet tweet. Opinions are like assholes, everybody's got one.

Any one have some good beta on xxl dry tops. Kokatats are not as large as they once were which is a shame. No I am not getting bigger.

You may want something with a little more slice, maybe a Wavesport EZG or Pyranha i:3/S8.

You can always use the kayak database, search by playboat length, longest first.

feel free to message me.

Robert Henderson.

what about the Pyranha Rev Medium Long? could be worth a look

I've just picked up my Jackson Superstar and while I've only had it on flat water so far it seems pretty easy to do flat water moves. I'm 6'3\" with size 13 feet and there is plenty of room in it, in fact I have had to move the happy feet forward with the air bag, a real change for me as I've never had anything less than full extension in any other boat because of my leg length.
The Superstar is comfortable, has plenty of room and seems easy to throw around.
Try it, you won't be disappointed