The Exo tester team have a solid slalom background. I think that this reflects in many peculiarities of the XT300 like precision and speed. First time I tried it was on some Corsica classic runs (Travo, Orbo) and the boat behaved surprisingly well. I had the same good feelings on my home runs (Sermenza, Alpin Sprint). Definitively a good boat that suits well from the beginner to the advanced paddler.

About myself I'm from Torino, NW Italy. I paddled many III-IV rivers in north Italy as well as in France and Slovenia. About the test environment During a week end I had the opportunity to paddle the Vermillion, IL USA. Ray, the guy who invite me to the river, lent me his old boat, a Riot Hammer. Review I didn't know this boat before, but as soon as I saw it I knew it had been designed by Corran! The boat is a kind of big banana, 270 cm long (!) but quite narrow. The side walls are quite high and, well I can't explain in english, but seen from the front, the boat has a shape like this: \_/ Even if the test environment wasn't perhaps the best to test a kayak I got some impressions. First, it is fast, probably for its length but also for the shape. Stability is not the best, which makes the Hammer not a perfect boat for a beginner who is...

About myself I'm a class IV paddler, I'm used to ride rivers in NW Italy, as well some French rivers. About the test environment I had the occasion to use Corto on different kind of rivers since I bought it 6 month ago, in this report I'll mention Oum R Bia, a IV+ volume river in Morrocco. and Sermenza, which is a classic V class river in Sesia Valley, North-Western Italy. Some more details, Oum R Bia has been paddled on march 2006 and it was really with high level, the expert guys with me decided to classify it IV+ continuous, in other period could be easier. Sermenza is a classic river in my region, it is basically made of short technical passages with some jumps, most of them have big return at the base. A description, unfortunately in Italian but with some pics can be found here Review There is one thing that you notice at first sight, and it is not a good one. Boat is made with cheap materials, and even some...

About myself I'm a good class IV paddler. I usually paddle in north west Italian rivers (mostly in the Piemonte region). I'm a member of Canoa Club Milano. I learned paddling playing kanupolo. About the test environment Zulu is a quite common school boat in Italy and sometimes I had occasion to try it in our school rivers, like Ticino or Sesia, but during a day in october 2004 I had the occasion to test it on a real technical river. Some friends invited me to run on Enna river, it is a quite unknown small river (IV+ WW) in the mountains close to Bergamo, in North/NE Italy. The river was cold, narrow and with lot of tight turns. Here is a picture by Marcello Parmigiani (Kayak Team Turbigo) Although the Zulu is almost hidden, you should have a good impression about the test environment. Review Zulu behaved quite well, its shape is very similar to wavesport Y, it has a flat hull that gives you lot of stability,...

About the reviewer I'm a class IV paddler. I usually paddle in north west Italian rivers (mostly in the Piemonte region). I'm a member of AlpiKayak. I learned paddling playing kanupolo. Test environment I live in North Italy and I used DNA on many class III IV IV+ rivers in Northwest Italy and South-East France, like Ubaye, Sesia, Trebbia, Taverone etc. Review Nowadays the DNA can be considered an obsolete boat. Many people don't like it because it's too long, others because its tail makes the boat a little unbalanced. But if you are a beginner and you want to start learn squirting and surfing and still have a quiet riverrunner, perhaps this is your boat. The front deck is like a traditional river runner, this means no surprises when you need speed. Despite of its length (260cm), the tail is so thin that you can manouver it like a shorter kayak. The shape makes it a little unbalanced, the boat tends to emerge verticaly after jumps, but it behaves smooth and it is very easy to get back the control. If you are used...