Our equipment at the Kayak School Arlberg
Kayaking Equipment used by Kayak School Arlberg
Our equipment in the Kayak School is made by whitewater kayakers for whitewater kayakers!
We pride ourselves in our equipment and as we teach a modern, dynamic style of kayaking we require our equipment to fulfil this objective! The days of skidding out of an eddy using a paddle brace are luckily long gone. Being more proactive and gaining momentum means that with the use of an edge we can now carve and the feeling you get from this is amazing. If you are a skier, you can relate the same experience of skiing on a set of old planks or a new style ski with a great shape and even a front rocker. The ride is different and the feel is amazing!!
The same can be said about our apparel from Peak PaddleSports. It is designed by kayakers for kayakers, which means it is a great fit and will not rub in areas such as under the arms.You get a sense of freedom of movement which for us is extremely important when coaching and working on the fundamental techniques of white water kayaking! Our apparel is not bulky and cumbersome rafting equipment, no matter if you are a beginner up to an expert you will look good and more importantly feel good wearing our kayaking kit!
Waka Kayaks
We have every model of Waka kayaks in our kayak store! Waka are one of the foremost leading kayaking brands in the world and you will regularly see some of the best extreme kayakers using Waka kayaks. With the Tuna, Tutea, OG, Stout, Gangsta, Steeze, Billy Goat, Goat and Stoke there is a Waka kayak for all paddlers. We have guests come from places where they have no access to a Waka kayak, once they have used a Waka on one of our kayak courses or trips they get back home looking for a way to get one for themselves, which can be quite tricky!
We have a great relationship with Waka and are in regular contact with Kenny, talking kayaks, sending feedback either from our Team of instructors, coaches and guides or taking note of feedback from our guests.
Do not think a Waka kayak is just for the experts! We use our fleet of Waka kayaks on every course that we run, from Beginners through to Class 2 and Class 3 kayakers up to the more advanced rivers and creeks that are around Base Arlberg here in Austria.
Peak Paddlesports
Peak PS have been supplying the Kayak School with their award winning equipment since the start! The kayaking apparel fits perfectly, keeps you warm when you need to be, cool on a hot summers day and you look good. It is award winning, cutting edge and world beating whitewater kayaking equipment. The overwhelming majority of national whitewater slalom teams wear Peak PS.
Our Beginner Courses receive Peak PS booties, a choice of either wetsuit trousers or long john, river runner pfd, neoprene spraydeck, kayaking jacket with double wrists and waists to give a great seal and a soft neoprene cone neck. If the weather is cold we also have semi-dry whitewater trousers. Our helmets are provided by Predator.
For our Whitewater Courses we also have the river guide vest, throw bag and knife, extra safety equipment plus a Predator freeride helmet.
The River Guide Vest, River Wrap pfd and Freeride Jackets are some of most popular pieces of equipment worn by our guests on our courses. There is also a specific woman’s fit to the pfd’s that our female kayakers love and tend to order while on our courses.
Check out these blogs by Ute about the Peak PS River Wrap and the Peak PS Freeride Jacket by Josefa to find out more!
Spade Kayaks
Spade have made a huge amount of progress in such a short time! Their innovative designs, research and development has produced some amazing kayaks such as the Bliss, Barracuda, Starfire, Black Jack, da Queen and Joker. We have a fantastic relationship with the team from Spade and have known them for decades. Their kayaks have proved to be a big success last season in our kayak school and we are happy to announce that we will have more Spade boats to choose from on our courses and trips in our kayak store!!
One thing we like about Spade kayaks is that they complement our fleet of Waka kayaks. The Spade kayaks are slightly narrower and seem to fit smaller to medium size people the best. Our Spade da Queen kayaks are constantly in use and again a lot of smaller paddlers have ended up ordering da Queen!
We have also been given their latest kayak the Full House to test for the remainder of the 2024 Austrian season.
When you kayak a Spade here in our Kayak School and would like to buy one when you get back home, then you now have a fantastic opportunity to order your Spade Kayak through us while you are on the course and it will be delivered to your door when you get back home!!
ZET Kayaks
A small company from the Czech Republic with a big reputation for making quality whitewater kayaks. ZET Kayaks are designed by slalom paddlers and some incredibly talented whitewater kayakers and adventurers. Their kayaks ooze quality and their latest addition the Zet Cross is one of the best whitewater kayaks we have ever paddled! We have the Zet Cross, Five and Director in our kayak school.
Lettmann Kayaks
The Lettmann family are a famous family that have become some of Germany’s top slalom kayakers. With this knowledge they have produced some innovative and award winning whitewater kayaks. Their passion for kayaking is amazing and we are very proud to have kayaks such as the Granate in medium and Large and the Manta in our kayak school.
Striebel Designs Paddles
We have been trialing and testing Striebel Designs paddles for the past 3 years. We have known Basti for a long time and he has a big reputation of designing and making paddles when he was with Robson Paddles. Robert sold Robson and luckily for us Basti is keen to get back to doing what he does best, making amazing paddles! Striebel Designs paddles feel good to hold and use in the river, they give a strong pull on there is little flex. They come with a standard size blade or a bigger powerful blade at 30 degrees in various lengths.
We have had a huge amount of feedback from our guests and this has helped to improve the design and build quality of Striebel Designs. They are slowly coming onto the market, however, they are still difficult to get hold of.
We even have a left handed paddle to use in the Kayak School and last but no means least, our paddles look absolutely amazing!
AT Paddles
We are currently using AT bent shaft paddles which include the bigger blade Geromino and the standard blade on the Hercules. Our AT Paddles are all 30 degree and right handed with different lengths.
Kayak School Arlberg
We cannot emphasise just how important our equipment is on our kayaking courses here in Austria and on our trips in Chile, Peru and the Indian Himalayas. Our equipment, be it kayaks, paddles or apparel, is to the core of our ethos in the kayak school. We teach the modern, dynamic style of whitewater kayaking and our equipment helps you achieve this on the river.
So come along on one of our courses or trips to see just why our kayaking equipment helps you improve, learn a certain technique and of course keep you safe and entertained while kayaking the river!