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NK Rapido Surf Ski Review at 40 miles
Review by Wesley Echols Intro I got my NK Rapido, Carbon Lite layup(Green Tip) at the Run of the Charles Race in Boston, Massachusetts on April 27th, 2026. I had previously paddled the Storm for about 20 minutes and more recently the lastest version of the Nitro at the 2026 Narrow [...]
On Downwinding: Preparing for Wind, Without Wind
Not every downwind season begins with downwind conditions. In many places, spring offers fragments rather than full runs: partial wind, confused chop, short fetch, or days that never quite organize. It is easy to treat these sessions as placeholders, something to get through until “real” downwinding arrives. In practice, they are [...]
On Equipment: Leashes
"I'm a good swimmer, I'll be fine." The boat is five feet away, then ten, then fifteen. The hull is above the water, catching air, rolling with the waves. You are floating in the water, catching nothing. The distance continues to increase. You can't reach it. Even without your PFD and [...]
On Training: Endurance as Structural Tolerance
Something went in a shoulder during what should have been a recovery paddle. Not a hard session, not a race, just an hour on flat water at a pace that required nothing in particular. The work earlier in the week had been heavier, and none of it had produced a warning. [...]
Nationals: Shared Uncertainty
There are paddlers in the launch area you've never raced before. Names you've seen in results from the other coast, or heard mentioned by someone who trains differently, in water you've never paddled. They're rigging boats thirty feet away. This is the part of Nationals that has no equivalent at a [...]
On Equipment: PFDs
Downwind runs push a paddler several miles offshore. Training sessions run the same distances in the other direction. Racing happens in conditions that include the real possibility of multiple capsizes, and the conditions that flip a surfski tend to be the same conditions that make swimming uncomfortable. In that context, the [...]
Surfski Reviews
Looking for an ocean ski? Check out the surfski comparison chart!
2015 Surfski Comparison Report
Over the next several months, I will be adding the Think Ion, Think Evo 2 Ultimate, Fenn Elite, Fenn Spark, Stellar SR (2nd Generation), Stellar SES(2nd Generation) (Review Pending) to my Surf Ski Comparison chart and my Surf ski Reviews. I have reviewed all but the new SES so I [...]
Epic V10L Ultra First Paddle by Wesley Echols
I took today off from work in anticipation of my Epic New V10L Ultra being delivered which it was at 2:30 pm. I quickly unwrapped it, surveyed it for any shipping damage which there was none and signed for it. Then I proceeded to outfit it. I have outfitted so [...]
Mako 6 Carbon Review – by Wesley Echols
If you keep up with the national and international surfski race scene you’ll note most of the field astride Fenn Mako 6’s, Mako Elites or some version of the Epic V10. Why, you might ask? Well, two immediate answers are these boats are fast and they are readily available in [...]
Think Evo Fiberglass Review – by Wesley Echols
My first paddling experience with my Evo was a 37 mile circumnavigation of Aquidneck Island with my partner in crime, Tim Dwyer. I had purchased the glass Evo the previous day and was excited to try out my latest acquisition. Tim paddled my Huki S1R. So, in comparable boats, we [...]
Fenn Swordfish S Review
I fell into the same mindset that many paddlers are guilty of when it comes to buying skis. We ask ourselves how different can all these surfskis really be? Well certainly, I know the differences, the major, minor, nuances of most skis, but I put off trying the Swordfish S(SFS) [...]