China once again...
Wednesday, December 25, 2013 (Axis Kayaks, China), 9 comments
I got away on a new trip to China just before Christmas – this time to check the new plugs for the sport models of Axis X3 and X4 (narrower and faster), to test paddle the first production surfski S4, and what I really looked forward to: to try the first production paddle GP1!
The weather was awful – temps just above freezing, continous raining the last day was slowly replaced by snow, and if that was not enough; a thick unpleasant smog. But paddle I did...
Everything was as expected. The plugs looked fine, the surfski was very fast, comfortable and easily maneuvered, and the paddle was even better than expected. That I liked it and found it perfect for paddling, maneuvering, bracing, rolling etc, was of course no surprice since it is molded after my own favorite paddle – but the workmanship, precision and finish was absolutely outstanding! The connecting pieces were precisely tooled that you hade to push the pieces together slowly to let the air escape! The satin finish was beautiful as well as functional – more friction and a better grip than on high gloss finish.
The third China-trip this year was as the previous two: delicious food and excellent te, luxuary hotels where the luxuary sometimes bordered on the ridiculous, simple uninsulated factory buildings without heating and with large cargo ports left wide open in spite of outside temps just above freezing ;-)
A new experience was the express train between Shanghai and Ningbo, ghosting along in over 300 km/h – much smoother and more silent than a Swedish X2000 in half that speed.
More information about kayaks, surfskis and the paddle on Axis Kayaks site.