2009 Pyranha Karnali Whitewater Kayak Review

Besides being the largest (750,000cfs at flood stage, 20 times larger than the Grand Canyon at full flood), longest river in Nepal, as well as the epicenter of the Buddhist Universe, the Karnali is also a newly designed, well rounded (no pun intended) river runner made by Pyranha. It’s lineage comes from the Burn family, which is Pyranha’s full on creek boat, designed to handle whatever you can throw at it. The differences between the Karnali and the Burn are most noticeable in the hull and edges. The Karnali has a semi-displacement hull (1/2 planing, 1/2 displacement), and softer edges. The outcome of this is a boat that appeals to paddlers of all abilities. Beginners will love how easy it is to roll, the primary stability and the non-committing edges. Creekers, big water paddlers and all other class V boaters will appreciate the hull speed, volume and softer hull for going big. Check out this video of Demshitz giving the Karnali a thorough testing on the Moose River: Moose Fest 08 from jared seiler on Vimeo.

Boat Specs:

Large-In stock!

Medium-In stock!

Here are some photos of the first Karnali to arrive at CKS!

Pros:

In the words of Lionel Richie, the Karnali's "easy like Sunday morning". It's rounded shape makes it a great boat to learn to roll in, the forgiving edges and semi-displacement hull are stable and inspire confidence, and the outfitting and build quality are top notch, which is typical of Pyranha Kayaks. The more rounded a boat is, the easier it is to roll. As you can see from the photos, the Karnali has a clean, bulbous shape, which in a beginners world is a great thing. This can only help advanced paddlers as well. Hand rolls, will be that much easier to hit when your Seven2 snaps in the middle of Cherry Bomb Gorge. As for the semi-displacement hull and refined edges, beginning kayakers will notice the immediate stability which comes from the not-quite-flat-bottom, and will not have to deal with crisp edges like those on the Burn. This will greatly reduce the odds of catching the boats upstream edge while peeling out of eddies, as well as anywhere else on the river where unbeknownst current mysteriously grabs the rail of the boat. It appears that there is a good sized sidewall on The Karnali, so the secondary stability should be good too. In the class V world, a more rounded hull and lighter edges will lessen the room for error on big drops. The Karnali is a fast boat which can be good for busting through powerful eddy lines, and building speed on sticky boofs. Waterfall landings should be a little softer in the Karnali, as opposed to the burn. The hull will be able to displace some of the water underneath it, creating a softer cushion in the landing zone. Pyranha's Connect 30 outfitting is durable and comfortable. The backband ratchet is made out of metal for added strength, and the rest of the outfitting kit is very intuitive, resulting in a boat that can be completely outfitted by a beginner in about 20 minutes. Also, the grab loops and rescue points are as strong as you will find on the retail market.

Cons:

The overall performance of The Karnali, is not as precise as that of the Burn. The downriver river paddling experience will be softened up a little bit. Big water paddlers that want a planing hull to help surf them in the right direction, and micro creekers that like the precision of tight edges may want to keep paddling boats like the Burn, Ammo and Jackson Hero.

The verdict:

It is exciting to see new boats like this hit the water. The Karnali is going to be extremly popular in the upcoming years. River runners looking for a predictable, all around whitewater kayak need to paddle this boat, as well as veterans of the sport who want to soften their landings a little bit. The Karnali is comparable to The Liquid Logic Remix, Dagger Mamba and Jackson Hero. Click here to order one today!