B O A T i N S i D e r
Something old, something new,
something borrowed, something blue.
Photo: scott mAcGreGor
booM, bust and Echo
lIquIDlOgIc’S reMix SuRfS The DeMOgRAPhIc WhITeWATeR WAve
DAvID K. fOOT, professor of economics at the uni- Besides, they thought, nothing was better than their the surface. good old front surfing in the Remix is a
versity of Toronto, is the author of the best-selling RPM for river running. until now. blast. And everyone enjoys the modern safety and
book Boom, Bust & Echo: How to Profit from the fast forward to 2008. liquidlogic is hoping that convenience features like bomber anchor and tow
Coming Demographic Shift. foot is a demographics this large group of paddlers will be returning to riv- points, drain plug and innovative outfitting that had
expert who makes the aging of society relevant to ers and bringing their children. liquidlogic’s Remix, not been thought of 10 years ago.
any group—even whitewater paddlers. he explores available in four sizes (the 47 specifically for their foot contends that with an understanding of de-
how changing demographics, especially the aging kids), is going to help make the transition back to mographics you can understand the past and cre-
of the massive boomer generation and the entry of the river a smooth one because it’s a boat they’re ate a vision for the future. Demographics, foot says,
their children, the echo generation, into the mar- used to—remember, the boomers missed the entire explains two-thirds of everything. The rest may be
ketplace will redefine society’s needs. Reading be- freestyle craze. left up to fashion, for which liquidlogic offers limited
tween the lines I think you’ll find the reason behind “When I learned how to paddle, all the boats were editions of the Remix with surfer flowers and flames.
the liquidlogic Remix. fast,” says Shane Benedict, designer of the Remix. These come at a $50 premium, which is perfect re-
Joe Pulliam, the founder of Dagger Kayaks and “And that was one of the big things that made peel ally because baby boomers also have lots of money.
now consultant for the Paddlesports Industry Asso- outs, eddy turns, ferries and control pretty manage- —Scott MacGregor
ciation estimates that the heyday was in 2000 when able. That speed carried you through rapids, it gave
the whitewater market was 32,000 boats strong in you more ability to cross over currents or get deeper
north America. Dagger, he figures, sold just over into the calm spots instead of spinning out on eddy
liquidlogiC remix
6,000 RPMs that year. Why? lines.”
foot would first look at census data and age of last fall I attended the Whitewater Symposium
47 / 59 / 69 / 79
Rapid’s readership. In the late ‘90s the largest popu- in fort henry, Maryland, where the Remix was the
lengTh 7’4” / 8’6” / 8’9” / 9’
lation group in north America was in its whitewater most talked about boat. This group of top instruc-
WIDTh 20.9” / 25.2” / 25.6” / 26.4”
years—somewhere between university and 40. The tors, mostly boomers themselves, strongly believe
vOluMe 47 / 59 / 69 / 79 uS gal
boomers grew up with Deliverance and thrived on kayaks need a minimum amount of speed, stability
WeIghT 26 / 40 / 44 / 44 lbs
the first wave of roto-moulded plastic kayaks. The and tracking for beginners to understand the basic
PADDleR WeIghT
RPM, released in ’96, was the perfect river runner concepts of paddling whitewater.
RAnge 40–121 / 110–201 /
and playboat for the average boater. The Remix is also going to be popular with class-
130–240 / 181–280 lbs
Soon after, boomer paddlers’ lives began to focus III river runners and big-water paddlers and maybe
MSRP uS $729 / $1,049 / $1,049 / $1,049
more on their young children. They just weren’t get- even some creekers looking for more speed, rocker
ting enough river days to justify buying a new boat. and bow and stern volume that keeps the boat at
liquidlogic.com
RAPID
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