About myself I've been paddling since 1993, prefer paddling class IV stuff, but don't mind running class V if I feel good. About the test environment Alps, US, Ardennes and Eifel. Review The Topo-Duo is often mistakenly seen solely as a boat to teach beginners in. However, its real potential lies in the use by two experienced paddlers working together as a team. We regularly paddle steep creeks and big volume white water in my Topo-Duo. It's a completely different challenge to paddle the boat tandem on class IV and over stuff. This requires good skill as well as good communication and cooperation, so start out on easier stuff first untill you become a solid team! Some remarks wrt its vices and advantages: Be _very_ careful when going over waterfalls, as it's very likely to pencil in if you don't have enough speed or the angle is wrong. The boat has little rocker and it will tend to go straight towards the bottom if you dive in vertically. The cockpit size is standard Eskimo size (very...

About myself I've been paddling since 1993, prefer paddling class IV stuff, but don't mind running class V if I feel good. The Salto is the boat I bought to stop finding myself in a playboat on runs where a more forgiving design like the Salto would be a safer bet for me. About the test environment I paddled the original Salto for several years, mainly on creeks and rivers in the German Eifel, Czech mountains, Greece and Alps. I recently bought the new (2005 model) Salto, and found very little difference in how it handled. The differences I did notice between the two models, I listed below. Review I have been a happy Salto owner for a couple of years, bought one shortly after they first came out. I was very happy with the boat for a couple of years, in fact, I'd have to say that I basically fell in love with it. Finally a boat for someone my weight and size (6'8"/36" inseam plus big feet/220lbs)...