Gear Review: Eddyline Rio Kayak
Value Rating: 10
Durability Rating: 9
Overall Rating: 9
Location of Test: Molalla State Park - Willamette River
Duration of Test: 2 hours
Product Name: Rio
Product Brand: Eddyline
Best Use: Lakes, bays and rivers
Size:
Length: 11' 9"
Beam: 24"
Weight: 35 lbs
Cockpit size: 31.75" x 15.5"
Capacity: 270 lbs
Volume: 9.5 cu. ft
Available in: Yellow, White, Lime, Red Pearl and Sapphire Blue
The Full Review:
The Eddyline Rio is a playful boat. Really responsive to your body movements and in tune with where you want it to go. It's lightweight, sleek, durable and the cockpit is relatively small yet feels completely comfortable. For me, it's the perfect size ratio between having a little room and still feeling snug inside. To test this boat out I drove to Molalla State Park and paddled it up and down the Willamette. Here's how it went.
To start out, I have to confess that most of my time on the water is spent on a paddle board. That being said, it would be awfully generous to say that I have a comfortable skill set in the realm of kayaking. But for review purposes, that's good because you may find yourself in the same boat. And I hope you do because this boat is awesome! It's perfect for those of you who have some paddling ability but are looking to grow your technique and get out on all of this beautiful Oregon water. Paddling the Rio is great for broadening your skills because although it's relatively stable it is still always listening to you. You lean this way it goes that way. This is good for learning how your body movement correlates to the movements of the boat. The Rio is the perfect size for this. Your knees fit nicely under the comfortable thigh pads giving you hip control and a nice launching pad to press your weight to your right or left foot and really edge the kayak into a nice turn. Play around with this, have some fun with it. The hard chines running along the hull allow you to edge easily into a slicey turn. Press your right foot against the foot peg, drop your weight into your right cheek and raise that left knee to swing the kayak into a nice tight left turn. You'll learn quickly, as I did, where you sit on this learning curve and you'll love having a physical hobby to practice.
As far as the layout of this kayak goes, I'd say it's optimal for day use and an overnighter. There are two bulkheads, one in the bow and one in the stern. For my short two hours out on the water I didn't use the bow bulkhead, instead, I kept a Wilderness Technology 20-liter dry bag in the stern bulkhead. This held a couple layers of clothing, my keys, and a few snacks. I want to make note of how easy the bulkhead hatches are with Eddyline. They are both waterproof and very easy to remove. The stern bulkhead on the Rio sits close enough behind the cockpit to allow you access while on the water. Halfway through my paddle, I got hungry, so I reached around and pulled off the hatch to grab my dry bag, pulled out a Clif bar and threw the bag back in and sealed the hatch with no effort at all. That's a really nice feature for day paddling, easy access to your gear. You'll appreciate that when you're out on the water.
There are bow and stern deck bungee lines to attach additional gear as well. During my paddle, I only used the bow lines to secure my Jam Box, so I could bring Tom Petty out on the water with me. No brainer there. But if you're planning a couple day camping trip they would be perfect for holding additional gear or laying out that Goal Zero solar panel.
The seat in the Rio is also comfortable. Like all Eddyline seats, it features a duo-foam padded backrest cushion protected by a padded nylon/spandex exterior that is equipped with excellent UV and abrasion resistance. It's also very adjustable and promotes proper paddling position. Comfort will be the furthest thing from your mind while paddling around in this kayak.
The Good
Extremely lightweight. At 35 lbs the Rio is so easy to transport by yourself.
Comfortable Seating. The Infinity Seat is one of the best in the business. If you could fit a Lay-Z-Boy in an Eddyline you wouldn't need to because you already have the Infinity Seat.
Very Responsive: This kayak will listen to you. Learn how to talk to it and you'll have complete control over your movement through the water.
Logistics: The layout of this kayak is perfect for day use or overnight camping. Very perfect.
Sexy. This kayak looks goooood.
The Bad:
I'm 5' 10" on a good day. With the foot pegs pushed all the way up I fit perfectly in the Rio. It definitely is not the right kayak for taller or heavier paddlers.
No bungee tie-down for your paddle. While taking a break your paddle can either lie across the cockpit perpendicular to the hull or fit inside the cockpit with a large portion of it sticking out. Not ideal. A simple bungee on the side would be nice to quickly strap it down and get it out of the way while you're fishing for gear.
The Bottom Line:
Responsive and practical. You'll feel like a ninja.
The Full Review:
The Eddyline Rio is a playful boat. Really responsive to your body movements and in tune with where you want it to go. It's lightweight, sleek, durable and the cockpit is relatively small yet feels completely comfortable. For me, it's the perfect size ratio between having a little room and still feeling snug inside. To test this boat out I drove to Molalla State Park and paddled it up and down the Willamette. Here's how it went.
To start out, I have to confess that most of my time on the water is spent on a paddle board. That being said, it would be awfully generous to say that I have a comfortable skill set in the realm of kayaking. But for review purposes, that's good because you may find yourself in the same boat. And I hope you do because this boat is awesome! It's perfect for those of you who have some paddling ability but are looking to grow your technique and get out on all of this beautiful Oregon water. Paddling the Rio is great for broadening your skills because although it's relatively stable it is still always listening to you. You lean this way it goes that way. This is good for learning how your body movement correlates to the movements of the boat. The Rio is the perfect size for this. Your knees fit nicely under the comfortable thigh pads giving you hip control and a nice launching pad to press your weight to your right or left foot and really edge the kayak into a nice turn. Play around with this, have some fun with it. The hard chines running along the hull allow you to edge easily into a slicey turn. Press your right foot against the foot peg, drop your weight into your right cheek and raise that left knee to swing the kayak into a nice tight left turn. You'll learn quickly, as I did, where you sit on this learning curve and you'll love having a physical hobby to practice.
As far as the layout of this kayak goes, I'd say it's optimal for day use and an overnighter. There are two bulkheads, one in the bow and one in the stern. For my short two hours out on the water I didn't use the bow bulkhead, instead, I kept a Wilderness Technology 20-liter dry bag in the stern bulkhead. This held a couple layers of clothing, my keys, and a few snacks. I want to make note of how easy the bulkhead hatches are with Eddyline. They are both waterproof and very easy to remove. The stern bulkhead on the Rio sits close enough behind the cockpit to allow you access while on the water. Halfway through my paddle, I got hungry, so I reached around and pulled off the hatch to grab my dry bag, pulled out a Clif bar and threw the bag back in and sealed the hatch with no effort at all. That's a really nice feature for day paddling, easy access to your gear. You'll appreciate that when you're out on the water.
There are bow and stern deck bungee lines to attach additional gear as well. During my paddle, I only used the bow lines to secure my Jam Box, so I could bring Tom Petty out on the water with me. No brainer there. But if you're planning a couple day camping trip they would be perfect for holding additional gear or laying out that Goal Zero solar panel.
The seat in the Rio is also comfortable. Like all Eddyline seats, it features a duo-foam padded backrest cushion protected by a padded nylon/spandex exterior that is equipped with excellent UV and abrasion resistance. It's also very adjustable and promotes proper paddling position. Comfort will be the furthest thing from your mind while paddling around in this kayak.
The Good
Extremely lightweight. At 35 lbs the Rio is so easy to transport by yourself.
Comfortable Seating. The Infinity Seat is one of the best in the business. If you could fit a Lay-Z-Boy in an Eddyline you wouldn't need to because you already have the Infinity Seat.
Very Responsive: This kayak will listen to you. Learn how to talk to it and you'll have complete control over your movement through the water.
Logistics: The layout of this kayak is perfect for day use or overnight camping. Very perfect.
Sexy. This kayak looks goooood.
The Bad:
I'm 5' 10" on a good day. With the foot pegs pushed all the way up I fit perfectly in the Rio. It definitely is not the right kayak for taller or heavier paddlers.
No bungee tie-down for your paddle. While taking a break your paddle can either lie across the cockpit perpendicular to the hull or fit inside the cockpit with a large portion of it sticking out. Not ideal. A simple bungee on the side would be nice to quickly strap it down and get it out of the way while you're fishing for gear.
The Bottom Line:
Responsive and practical. You'll feel like a ninja.