Pyranha Medium Shiva Review

[ianjanoska]

Hey all,

Wanted to give you my opinion on the Pyranha Medium.

Little Background of me:
I am 16 years old and have been paddling with my dad since I was 4. Took my first trip down the Upper Yough in a Topo Duo at the age of 6. Paddled my fair share of creek boats (Jefe, Habitat, Burn, Salto, Pure, Villain S, Rocker, Shiva) and paddle class IV-IV+. I am 6' 2" and weigh in at right around 160 lbs.)

1st impression of the Shiva:
Wow. This boat is stout. It seems that Pyranha has put forward a fairly good design. Good bow rocker and ALOT of stern volume. Edges behind seat are pretty subtle (Not as sharp as Pure) Solid looking boat.

Day 1 in the Shiva:
Paddled Kyburz at right around 600cfs in the Shiva. Boat paddles like you would expect. It is very fast. You need to be on your game or you will miss your move. This boat boofs like a dream!!! It seems as if it just takes flight. I had a few close calls and the secondary stability goes on forever! You need to get to almost past 90 to get this boat to flip. Word of caution: This boat is a displacement hull, so to those who are not used to it will feel unstable when you are using the primary stability, but fear not! This boat wants to keep you upright!! It inspires people and increases confidence. Snaps into eddies. After day 1, I love this boat!

Day 2:
More of the same. As I got more used to the boat, I became even more confident and started to compare it to other boats. For starters, I most recently paddled a Medium 2011 Burn. There is no need comparing hulls or anything of that sort between these 2 boats. All I need to say is the Shiva seems to want to boof more and tracks better. The edges behind the seat are somewhere between the Pure and the Habitat (More forgiving than Pure but a little zestier than the Habitat) and is faster than the Jefe and the Villain. It also wants to float me higher than any of the above mentioned boats, which helps with getting through those bigger holes and drops. More love for the Shiva!!

Day 3: The boat got a pretty large oilcan right underneath the seat..... Now keep in mind that the boat is a demo boat, but still, this should not happen after 10 days or so on the water (The boat had only been demoed 2 times before me) I had the same issue with my burn after about 15 days on the water, so I am not too impressed with the Pyranha plastic.

Overall I loved the Shiva! As a matter of fact, I am thinking of picking one up soon!!

Hope you all enjoyed my review of the Shiva! I recommend it!!

Enjoy the water!!

Ian Janoska

[unsponsored]

Sounds pretty good.

[ianjanoska]

Ya I really love this boat!!!