Valley Gemini SP review

Friends:

Thank you for the opportunity to demo the newly-arrived Gemni SP.

I’m the happy owner of a Tiderace XCite and am looking for an *even more* maneuverable and fun sea kayak to paddle in down local rivers, play along eddy lines, and during rock gardening. I tried the Tiderace Xtreme and didn’t find it different enough to justify the purchase. I tried the P&H Delphin (stand-in for the Aries) and just had the wrong chemistry with the boat, in addition to it not feeling enough different. The P&H Hammer seemed to hit all the sweet spots I am looking for (giving me a huge grin), but taking it down the Lewis river with some friends it turned out to be difficult to keep pace with more traditional kayaks.

So best I can see, my choice is pretty much down to the Gemini SP (other recommendations welcome). And it does not disappoint. It’s almost as maneuverable as the Hammer (big grin again, even though it is not quite as stable), while having good forward acceleration, sustained speed at minimal effort on flat water, and tracking. It felt really nice on eddy lines and in the mild waves east of Hayden Island and around the wing dam. It seems to want to surf on waves barely high enough to be visible (very promising for on the coast). It didn’t particularly want to weathercock in the 5-10mph winds we had on the morning of the 20th. This is a really exciting hull, and I can’t wait to see what the elite paddlers can do with it.

Thought you might find the feedback interesting/useful!

Cheers,
Charles