Prijon Cali Review

If you only have 30 seconds, Are you:

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|Extremely small?+-------->+Buy a Fun1 |   

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| Novice Boater  +-------->+Buy a playboat |

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If you have too much free time:

Introduction

Let’s start with the elephant in the room.  I wouldn’t be writing this review if it weren’t for HTP, the tough plastic Prijon uses to blow mold their kayaks.  It’s been tested for years bouncing down rocky rivers, and it holds up better than anything on the market today - especially when compared to the standard linear plastic rotomolded boats that dominate most of the market.

The catch has always been the rest of the boat.  There seemed to be many dark years over the last decade where other manufacturers were revolutionizing creekboat designs and Prijon was stuck in the medieval ages.  While Liquid Logic and Dagger were adorning the insides of their boats with outfitting that made you feel like top billing in a porn shoot, Prijon provided either over or under engineered solutions that didn’t keep pace and required excessive customization.

Then along comes the Prijon Pure and Pure XL, widely regarded as a huge leap for Prijon.  Without the marketing guns and local connections in the US, reviews and feedback were limited, but by and large, people were liking the boat design and grumbling a little less about the outfitting.  However, distribution to the US became an issue until Rok (http://www.en.prijon.com/PRIJON-USA.html) stepped in last year.  He not only created a channel for distribution, but Prijon also announced a new model called the Cali, which corrected some of the shortcomings of the Pure XL.

Personal Stats

I’m roughly 5’10, 155# (with no gear), and 32” inseam.  I’ve been boating over 10 years and while I’m not a rock star boater, I do ok.  Most of my boating is in Colorado and primarily class IV-V creeking.  I’m not cool enough to have any affiliation or sponsorship from anyone and have very few friends, so unlike most reviews you read out there, I’m relatively unbiased.  

Performance Summary

If you’re tapped into the kayaking scene you’ve likely heard people make a distinction recently between boats that are “forgiving” vs. “performant.”  The Nomad is the classic forgiving boat, always being predictable, well balanced, and least punishing when you make a mistake, but not particularly fast or nimble (also think Recon, Karma, Stomper).  The latter term refers to the idea that it may not be the easiest boat to use, but you can harvest more performance and speed out of the boat if you know how to use it.  People tend to place boats like the Zets, the Waka Tuna, Remix, and 9R, into the performant category.  

The Prijon Cali seems to fit somewhere in the middle.  I’ve spent a lot of time in the Nomad (pre Newmad), and it is an extremely user friendly boat.  It reacts calmly to almost any situation you throw at it.  The Cali, requires more precision, but I believe you can get more out of it than a boat like the Nomad.  If you drive the Cali, it reacts very quickly, but you also have to react more quickly if you catch an edge or get hit by an unexpected lateral.  It requires more advanced edging and control to maintain stability.

General characteristics

Ferrying is about what you’d expect for a boat in this class.  If you watch your angle it makes ferries just fine, but not with the aplomb of a full planing hull.  It snaps into eddies well if you edge it aggressively and anticipate the additional speed.  The boat is fairly fast for a creekboat with so much rocker and boofs exceptionally well for its length.  The stern does an excellent job of loading up and squirting out of holes.  Rolling is made slightly more difficult due to the high deck around the knees, but inconsequentially so.

When this boat starts to flip it can pull hard. I have a strong brace that’s second nature, but if you’re doing some funky neophyte shit, you’re going to get dumped over hard and fast.  It took me a little while to get used to the force when a feature grabs your deck and tries to pull you over.

I recently read Leif’s & David’s excellent review http://www.canoekayak.com/gear/field-tested-prijon-cali/#UyVv62JlmeMAXmeZ.97 and they both noted that the Prijon does not perform well at full speed.  Interestingly I did not experience this.  Maybe it’s just because they paddle faster than me or perhaps it’s my lighter weight which keeps me higher out of the water.  It’s certainly not a race boat and more oriented towards all around creeking/river running.  

Low volume creeking

The performance of this boat in low volume creeks has been counterintuitive to me.  Conventional wisdom says that shorter lower volume boats will be more nimble and therefore a better choice for this type of whitewater.  The Cali, especially for my size, is rather long and voluminous.  However, it’s one of the best performing boats I’ve paddled for this class of water.

The designers bestowed it a fair amount of rocker to balance a relatively long hull so it maintains ample speed.  The length has only bothered me on the most narrow steep creek runs I’ve done (like the Source of Boulder Creek).  The rocker means this boat boofs like a dream and does a great job of riding over rocks and river features.  The well endowed rocker and high volume but narrow nose translate to a highly maneuverable boat that makes quick adjustments with ease.  I’m also way less likely to find myself being swallowed by a big lateral and fighting to get back on line - rather the boat tends to stay at the water surface and maintain control.

I can think of some features on my regular runs that I just plan on leaning into, subbing out and getting shoved a few feet offline.  In the Cali I’ve actually been able to hold a reasonable line by staying on top of the feature.  

Nonetheless, extra maneuverability tends to compromise the ability to hold a line and there’s no exception here.  It will hold a line, but it requires active and precise strokes - passive boaters will be sorry.  I wish the balance was shifted more towards holding a line by sacrificing some maneuverability (that said, the ease of turning has probably saved me a couple of times).

Behind the seat, it has a high volume decked stern that does an excellent job of tempering enders when your boof over a steep drop or juicy hole isn’t perfectly timed.  

Higher volume rivers

Ok, I live on the Colorado Front Range, not in Uganda, so it can be a little hard to rate this.  I managed to take it through Gore Canyon when it was still had a bit of a bigger pushy flow and I came away a little indecisive about its performance.  It felt different than what I was used to and while I generally had good lines, there were a couple weird grabs along eddylines, one of which dumped me over, and caught me by surprise.  It left me a little uncertain about its use in high volume rivers.  

Buuut, my fears were allayed after a trip to Idaho.  In early July when I had a chance to travel to the famous North Fork of the Payette, I found myself staring intently at my rack of boats in the garage.  Should I take the old Nomad that I know like the back bumper of the car in front of me on I-70, or the Prijon wildcard.  I like to make calculated decisions when I boat, and minimize variables.  I’d never run the North Fork of the Payette, but after getting off a run with my buddy Forrest and hearing his story of Jakes rapid stripping him of every article of clothing on his body after a nasty swim, I really wanted to minimize my chances of being the next victim.  But ultimately, after some deliberation, I decided to stop being a gear bitch and commit to the Cali.  

My trip to the North Fork sealed the deal for me on the Cali.  I paddled several top to bottom laps and the Cali performed fabulously.  We had close to 2000 cfs, which while not North Fork Championship worthy levels, is still a decent flow with lots of push and plenty of juicy holes.  Generally speaking, big water boats tend to have lower volume, a narrower profile, and sharper edges than the Cali.  The Cali however has an interesting adaptation that I find allows it to punch holes better than an average creekboat would.  Its nose is quite pointy and pierces through holes well.  The generous length of the boat allows it to generate sufficient speed, and while a sharper edge would certainly make it more maneuverable in big water, the double chine does the job if you lean it aggressively.

There’s an interesting maneuver on the North Fork that gets executed with some frequency that I call the, “oh shit, hole!”-move.  You rise up to the peak of a wave, look down, see a giant hole and with only a second to react, all you can do is take a big stroke, harvesting the speed of the current, and plug into it as hard as possible thinking intently to yourself “oh shit, hole!”  This sometimes resulted in finding myself getting spit out the back of it like a rocket, nose pointed sky high.  I found that the voluminous peaked deck allowed me several times to not fall all the way over and I was able to bring my bow back down.  I’d guess that in the Nomad at least half of those incidents would have resulted in upside down time, exposing my head to the razor sharp road blast granite native to the North Fork milieu.  

Its ability to make quick adjustments was also valuable for those last minute moves that present themselves as you get a clear view over the peak of a wave.

Outfitting and Fit

I give the outfitting a “B-”.  It’s about par for the industry, although people’s opinions vary wildly depending on body type and personal preference.  My “A” goes to the Nomad/Wavesport outfitting, which gives me all day comfort out the box and has excellent safety features.

The Cali employs a fairly standard system: rotomolded (I think) seat, metal foot brace on adjustable rails (with foam provided), a ratchet backband, and shimmable hip pads.  The thigh hooks are a little unique and aren’t built into the boat but rather are separate pieces screwed into the hull.  They’re highly adjustable and have an aggressive curve to really lock you in tightly.  I would rate the thigh hooks better than average in performance, although I do worry that pressure applied in the opposite direction could cause the plastic thigh brace to crack.  Darin (see Prijon USA Facebook page) has a mod (add some foam) to these that make them more performant (less flex).

I find the seat and hip pad position to be a little funky and while not uncomfortable, it’s not as nice as the Nomad.  The seat has an upward tilt that took me a couple runs to get used to.  The hip pads don’t sit quite as flush with my legs as I would like.

The cockpit is large and very easy to get in out of.   It requires a large keyhole skirt.

Prijon has been inconsistent about adding pillars to their boats, claiming that their plastic is so strong they’re unnecessary.  The Cali does provide front & back pillars, and for now, I’m ok with the weight penalty for the benefit of hull stability and more uniform wear on the bottom of the hull. They employ a couple clever tricks to keep the bulkhead securely in place that give me confidence it won’t slide out on me in the event of a pin (Liquid Logic should take note).  

Because of the highly tapered nose, there’s not as much legroom as you’d expect from a boat that’s approximately 8’10” long.  I have plenty of foot and legroom, but tall paddlers may have an issue.

In his review, David noted that the Cali is a light boat. Mine weighed in close to 50# which makes it moderate for its size.  You can lighten it up a couple pounds by removing the front and rear pillars.

Durability

As mentioned, Prijon’s plastic is the bomb and I don’t think there’s anything else on the market that can hold up to consistent rock hits.  However, it’s kryptonite, which I experienced first hand, is the seam where the top and bottom half are bonded together.  The seam in the bow is a weak point and I recommend using a bow float bag (unless you’re one of those people who never swim).  My unscientific opinion is that rotomolded boats are more robust to cracking when the bow gets punched in.  Ironically, I bought a Prijon to stop breaking boats, and I broke mine within a couple of weeks.

Skip the remainder of this section if you’re not interested in the whole swim/damage story:

I gave my new boat a little more of a workout than I would have liked to.  I took a swim out of a hole at fairly high water on Clear Creek (near Golden).  Amazingly, just an hour or so later, another boater with a new Prijon Cali also swam out of the same hole.  This could be a comment on the boat or the boaters that use them, but then again, there were only like 6 people doing the run at that level, so maybe the odds were just stacked against us sick Prijon owners.

The other boater never recovered his boat. I found mine the next day.  It apparently pinned somewhere below the hole, mostly underwater, and came loose as the water rose.  It was then recovered a mile downstream and placed against a hotel wall in Golden by a semi-good citizen and found by a police officer at 1:30am. I suspect no boat would fare well under the circumstances.

The outfitting was mostly in place, although the rear pillar had been pushed to the side.  Amazingly my sponge was still held securely in the water bottle bungee (which sucks for holding water bottles - by the way - but apparently kicks ass at holding sponges).  It looks like the pin was around my cockpit rim.  The cockpit rim itself is a very thin, weak piece of plastic (I assume a necessary byproduct of the molding process), so there’s another piece of plastic that is fitted and bolted down onto the rim.  That piece of plastic had been partially pulled off the rim.  The nose was also badly pig-nosed.  Unfortunately it had been impounded by the police department and I couldn’t recover it before I went out of town, so it spent over a week in jail in the deformed shape, not doing much for the plastic memory.

I threw in some boiling water and pounded out the nose with a precisely sculpted 2x4.  The nose recovered almost all of its shape, but there was a small hairline crack in the plastic where the seam is formed between the top and bottom parts of the boat. The injection molding process involves two molds, a top & bottom, sandwiched together, resulting in a seam that forms all the way around the boat where the two meet.  I’m guessing the weak point is why historically many Prijon boats have nose caps (the Cali does not).

Through some elite connections, I managed to procure one of the Prijon-sanctioned welding sticks.  The plastic on the welding stick was way softer than what I’m used to welding with, but it made the welding job quite a bit easier.  My boat looks like it has a mustache, but the weld seems to be holding up well, although I’m sure its strength is reduced should I engage in another big hit to the nose.  I’m considering a nose cap for reinforcement if I can find one.

I managed to re-secure the undamaged plastic strip around the rim, which I believe restores its structural integrity there, even though there is a small but permanent indentation in the hull rim plastic now.  Otherwise, the critical part of the hull was undamaged.

Safety

The boat has good quality, large, and easy to grip steel grab bars in all the right places (two in front, two behind the seat, and one at the end of the stern).  The secured pillar in front provides extra hull integrity and provides a good step-out platform in case of a pin.  The bulkhead seems well constructed and the safety will largely be a function of how you pad it out.

Other Random Notes

The bungee for the water bottle is useful only if you really enjoy watching your water bottle fall out every time you pick up your boat.  A custom job is a good idea.  The drain plug will almost definitely fall out, so attach a string to it or use with extreme care.  When the drain plug is actually present, this boat is the driest creekboat I’ve ever owned.

I find the aesthetics of the boat to be ho hum compared to most, but when people see what a sick paddler you are in it, it doesn’t really matter.

There are screws around the cockpit rim right where you want to put your fingers to lift the boat over your head.  This is annoying, but minor.

Storage space in the stern is beyond awesome for a creekboat.  I’ve never had a boat with so much space and access is a cinch using a few simply but cleverly rigged rubber bands.

Unfortunately, international (non-US) countries seem to be the only ones interested in providing boats with stronger plastic and providing weight conscious outfitting.  If Waka, Zet, or Ace of Spades had better distribution and better price points in the U.S., I’d highly consider those boats.  Prijon is being distributed by Rok with the help of Darin, both of whom are icons in the California paddling scene.  Although I don’t know either personally, there’s only two degrees of separation and I know through those connections that they’re stand up people that can be trusted.  

I payed the early adopter discounted price on the boat, but even at current prices, they’re offering a great deal for a boat built in and imported from Germany.  Throwing down a few extra bills for a boat that can take 4x the abuse seems like a no brainer.  My purchase was done over the phone through Darin.  The boat was brought to me by some random paddler looking to pick up some extra bucks travelling back across the country.  The delivery wasn’t exactly professional, but let’s say it was good enough for the price.  If you’re worried about that, consider asking for a commercial delivery.  

Many people would shy away from a boat this size at my weight.  If you’re a stronger paddler, I don’t think there’s any reason to be worried about that.  The main disadvantage is you’re forced to carry a little extra weight and perhaps a little more bulk than you strictly require.  People with a short reach might find it a little too high in the front part of the cockpit, though the width is average.  If your legs are exceptionally long, I recommend sitting in the boat to check fit as the narrow nose means there’s less legroom than you’d expect for a boat of this length (but more than enough for me).

Conclusion

The Prijon Cali offers above average boat design performance, average outfitting, and the best plastic in the business.  While not the most forgiving creekboat on the market, it strikes a nice balance.  It is an excellent choice for an advanced boater, and certainly not inappropriate for beginner or intermediate paddlers looking for a boat that won’t be tomorrow’s dumpster filler.

Jumping back into the boat the beginning of this season I found myself annoyed by a few of the boat's quirks, but now that we’re well into the season, I’m really loving the boat again and in fact doubled down by buying a new shell to replace the cracked one I have.  

I can’t emphasize enough the more pleasant mindspace I achieve when paddling through manky sections of whitewater using HTP plastic.  Despite this, it does have some vulnerable areas, especially the seam on the bow where the top and bottom halves meet.  

With the the new Zet Toro and Waka Tuna entering the US market in limited supply, there are some interesting other options, but if you’re trying to upgrade your plastic situation, the Prijon Cali is a great choice without sacrificing performance.