The Hammer Factor

By The Hammer FactorSports Wilderness

The Hammer Factor episodes

March 02, 2018 Hammer Factor – Episode 44, ‘Keller On PFDs, USOC Controversy With Ashley Nee And The Tide Pod Bandits’
Interview Sponsor: https://www.canoekayak.com/from-the-mag/yellowstone-love-leave-alone/ Rants and Raves Sponsor: https://calleva.org/liquid-adventures-kayak/intermediateadvanced/trainings/cheat-training/ Subscription Options: Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/amongstit-inc/id1095013227?mt=2 Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/john-grace/the-hammer-factor?refid=stpr RSS Direct Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HammerFactor Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfNW1jev8xx84dc05QZGqKA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hammerfactor/? Good day everybody we have a packed show lined up for you today. We get to the bottom of the ‘instafire’ post from Pat Keller calling out Corey Sheehan for pulling the foam […]
1 hr 46 min
February 22, 2018 Hammer Factor – Episode 43, ‘Joe Pulliam, $75 Sweatpants and Millennial Power’
Interview Sponsor: https://www.canoekayak.com/whitewater-kayak/the-secret-history-of-the-green/
Rants and Raves Sponsor: https://calleva.org/liquid-adventures-kayak/intermediateadvanced/trainings/cheat-training/
Subscription Options:
Itunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/amongstit-inc/id1095013227?mt=2
Stitcher:
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RSS Direct Feed:
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Youtube:
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Good DAY EVERAH BODDDAY and what a show we have for you this fine February in the year 2. Today we pull back the curtain on the deep state of whitewater paddling to talk with the OG whitewater industry, Joe Pulliam.
Joe, for those of you who don’t know, has been building boats since the 70s and could be considered the father of whitewater kayaking in the US. He began his career as the marketing manager for Perception eventually co-founding Dagger Kayaks. From there he began working with Jackson Kayaks eventually heading up that brand until his recent retirement.
Now, as is our want, it is time for Louis “Ask your doctor if Zoloft right for you” Geltman to take it away with a segment we call “#everything is fucked”.
Possible topics: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/01/22/zinke-to-sign-land-swap-deal-allowing-road-through-alaskas-izembek-wilderness/?utm_term=.fafee3be28e6
close to home: http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=SB270%20INTR.htm&yr=2018&sesstype=RS&i=270
or this- https://bea.gov/newsreleases/industry/orsa/orsanewsrelease.htm
Motorized vehicles as (the largest) outdoor recreation? whats that all about, braj? Do these kinds of studies hurt, help or do nothing for us?
Holy crap, are we getting viewer mail. So here’s the thing. We get a lot of questions, and in an effort to fulfill our role as arbiters of all things whitewater we feel a responsibility to take the listeners under our wings and protect them from trolls and fake news. In pursuit of this, we’re introducing a new segment- 5 questions in 30 seconds. This where- on a rotating basis- one of us will ask another 5 listener questions, which will be answered as succinctly as possible. While this may seem glib and dismissive, nothing could be farther from the truth. You can rest assured that the answers we give WILL BE THE VERY BEST POSSIBLE, AND THE FINAL WORD ON THIS SUBJECT.
OK, to start off, Grace will read the questions, and weld will answer:
1. Fernando Palacios: Bow lines or now bow lines?
2. Robert Fleishel: should I buy $75 sweat pants from IR?
3. Ramone: does weld laugh like beavis (or butthead)?
4. Bernie: is Boone a good place to live for whitewater?
5. Chico: It seems like the U.S. is the only place that names rivers with the whole “fork” thing.  Are Americans just too lazy to come up with different names for rivers?
Fernando Palacios also wrote us and asked about the possible dangers of the bootie beer- ie getting sick. I actually called Hammer Factor’s own in-house medical expert Doc Rocco on this issue, and have the full story. In short, no it will not make you sick.
On to other viewer mail that requires our full attention: Billy Hearn (yes that billy hearn) writes to catch us up to speed on the blade design convo:
FYI: To the best of my knowledge Keith Backlund was the first paddle maker to produce an asymmetrical blade for whitewater that wasn’t specifically for wildwater or flatwater racing. Backlund’s were the pinnacle of wood paddle craft and many are still being paddled on whitewater 30+ years after they were built.
All slalom kayak blades prior to the Backlund Slasher were symmetrical. The Backlund Slasher was licensed to Schlegel, a German synthetic paddle maker sometime around 1985. I believe the profusion of asymmetrical whitewater blade shapes that began in the 1990’s are inspired by the Backlund Slasher.
Tim Kennedy wrote a great boat review on the Sabre. One of the better features of the review was that he compared what he recalled about the boat to how he found it today.
How he remembered it:
• Stern squirtable/blastable/splatable • Stable, fast and responsive in technical water • Boofable, due to the ability to sink the outside rear edges with a sweep • Comfortable, way more so than a glass squirt boat • A bit heavy, but durable. It’s plastic. • Couldn’t get a Tight Skirt brand sprayskirt to stay on the rim after any sizable hit or drop.
And his most recent impressions:
• Much harder to get the stern down than I remember. Most stern squirt attempts resulted in an immediate upstream power flip. I did get the bow belly/chest high a few times, but far from the overhead and near vertical squirts that teenage me could do.
• Incredibly tippy in the slightest current/feature. Barely able to sit still without having to engage my deeply buried abdomen muscles.
• I could maybe boof it, if I ran the bow up over the sloping edge of the rock making the drop. But, I surmise it boofs like a lawn dart.
• Fitting my 40+ year old ass and ankles into the boat was a struggle, best accomplished on dry land (never with the boat afloat in an eddy). Wiggling out of the small cockpit and thigh braces was an equally embarrassing struggle, resulting in a fall towards shore with my numbed legs still halfway in the boat. This wasn’t aided at all by the situation of my hip bones sitting a good four inches above the cockpit rim when fully in the seat.
• Surprisingly light! A joy to carry from the car to the river. Also, the 25+ year old plastic was still strong and somewhat flexible.
• Modern skirts are much easier to afix to the rim, and stayed in place during all my upside down time (as long as you have one with a small enough deck size)  Final thoughts:  In one word, I would describe the Perception Sabre as TERRIFYING! It was like I would imagine trying to ride a unicycle with a twelve foot long 2×4 tied to the seat post (6’ sticking out front and back) down a rocky hiking trail with a paddle in your hands. Or as anxiety ridden as trying to carry a brimful cup of scalding hot tea on a saucer through a crowded restaurant without spilling a drop. Maybe with some reduction in my current waist/thigh size and a some improvement in my core strength, I may come to embrace the uniqueness of the Sabre design once again. But, until then, it’s gonna take a warm day with some mellow water levels to encourage me to hop back in that tippy, pointy mess.  On a final note before we bring on our guests, Anna Wagner from the HERMIT KINGDOM wrote and asked about Nikki Kelly. Grace- what gives? What was paddling with Nikki like? Did you learn anything from paddling with her in CA? Have you paddled with her since then? Whats she up to now?

annnnnd JOE PULLIAM
RANTS AND RAVES!!
1 hr 48 min
February 22, 2018 Hammer Factor – Episode 43, ‘Joe Pulliam, $75 Sweatpants and Millennial Power’
Interview Sponsor: https://www.canoekayak.com/whitewater-kayak/the-secret-history-of-the-green/ Rants and Raves Sponsor: https://calleva.org/liquid-adventures-kayak/intermediateadvanced/trainings/cheat-training/ Subscription Options: Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/amongstit-inc/id1095013227?mt=2 Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/john-grace/the-hammer-factor?refid=stpr RSS Direct Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HammerFactor Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfNW1jev8xx84dc05QZGqKA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hammerfactor/? Good DAY EVERAH BODDDAY and what a show we have for you this fine February in the year 2. Today we pull back the curtain on the deep state of whitewater paddling to […]
1 hr 48 min
February 13, 2018 Hammer Factor – Episode 42, ‘Olaf Obsommer, Epic Rants And Paddling Colleges’
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Good day everyone, it’s another hammer factor!
Welcome to Hammer Factor 42, in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the “Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything”, calculated by an enormous supercomputer named Deep Thought over a period of 7.5 million years. Unfortunately, no one knows what the question is.
Let us begin.
Intros: Louis, John and John
Louis time:- how was the new OR? Weed and women or more of the same?
I saw these two articles related to OR. Care to comment on these?
–
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/public-land-politics-mark-denver-debut-of-outdoor-trade-show/2018/01/25/6b172406-0230-11e8-86b9-8908743c79dd_story.html?utm_term=.c465577749e0
– https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/retail/2018/01/26/u-s-sales-outdoor-equipment-slump-consumer-habits-shift/1068537001/
Viewer Mail:
Greg Schwendinger
Hi guys, I enjoy the Pods and appreciate your efforts to bring in a wide variety of topics. I’ve got a question that I think is above the pay grade of pretty much any other kayaking panel: How do you keep your tubes of Aquaseal from drying up? thanks from Greg at Mayan Whitewater in Guatemala.
Lydia Wing
Hey squad! Thanks for putting out great content and thoughtful conversation. I’m curious if you’ve discussed looping in a regular female co-host to join every episode. I like the ‘take-over’ episodes and all, but I feel like the conversation can be more dynamic and organic by having a diverse group of co-hosts regularly. I like that the current hosts have been in the industry for a long time- retail, design, competition, expedition- and surely there are some females that can add to that conversation. I think it would be cool to seek out an OG female boater who could regular join the podcast with the current crew.
Thanks for all that you do! I enjoy tuning in for each episode. Salud!
Michael Gallimore
Hey guys! It was great to learn about river systems and whitewater from Dr. Phillip Prince. Thank you for share such scientific expertise that explains whitewater and how it exists in different ways. I am wondering if you all have seen the new bill introduced by the Governor of West Virginia to allow logging in West Virginia State Parks? It would be great if you all could bring it up on the show to spread awareness and could potentially inspire listeners to contact representatives concerning the issue. It would be great to hear Louis’ expertise on the issue. Thank you very much, Michael Gallimore
25498064_10214253888197032_7660020779481099016_n.jpg
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/legislative_session/conservation-groups-oppose-bill-to-allow-logging-in-wv-state/article_6632305a-bff5-5631-a836-e517b0acbe17.html
Andrew Palin
Hey y’all, I was just wondering what you all think the best place to go kayaking and get a college education is. I heard Louis throwing around Bellingham (Western Washington) but also places like Cullowhee (WCU) and Clemson sound sick. Maybe it’ll just be a rehash of last weeks discussion but I’d be interested as a high school student to hear your opinions.
Mike Goglin
hey fellas, i love the show. i have a few things i would like to hear about and some guests i want to hear from. 1) i live in southern oregon and the klamath dam removal is “kind of a big deal” i don’t believe you guys have even mentioned this monumental event. 2) i remember when google earth came out and how it blew my mind as far as exploring rivers. how do you think it has changed the sport? 3) Exostosis or surfers ear is a real problem among boaters. lets here from an expert. 4) Chris Korbulic is a southern oregon local and one of the most prolific paddlers in the world but is less visible than others. get him on! 5) Also HEE HAW Jones. are you still pro? whats it like to be pro? 6) and this….https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQR1651I1g8
Tim Kennedy:
Message Body:
First off, I really enjoy the podcast. It’s provided an incredibly entertaining (and educating) echo chamber for my views on boat length, paddle length/offset, (questionable) validity of whitewater SUP, environmental concerns, and many other topics. As a sales rep, listening to show really helps with the windshield time. Keep fighting the good fight!
I was delighted to hear you guys discuss the pros and cons (mostly cons) of paddling in Colorado. I started paddling in the Southwest PA/Northern WV area, but relocated to Colorado about 25 years ago. I concur that the rivers here are mostly “manky”. Compared to many other regions, CO does not offer the most attractive location for residence for a diehard paddler. The season is short and concentrated. The water is cold. The stand alone features, eddies, and pools are few and far between on most rivers here. However, the flows are relatively predictable (compared to the SE) due to being snowmelt or dam fed, and most runs are easily accessible (compared to the Sierras). Furthermore, the best thing of note about CO rivers is the lack of crowds. There just aren’t a whole lot of boaters out here, compared to the Eastern US, and the continuous nature/lack of pools tends to keep the groups on the water spread out. Having spent Gauley Fest weekend on the Upper Gauley some years, and stayed in CO and paddled Gore Canyon on other years, the difference between the two is (literally and figuretively) miles apart. It’s the difference between paddling a run with thousands of people and having to find a gap in traffic, or having an entire run to you and your crew without seeing another soul. (Depending on your mood and/or social inclinations, you may prefer one over the other.) *And, the Big South is one of the best runs in the state. Because it is the closest we have to drop/pool, I can see why it appeals to eastern boaters. Vallecito is arguably the best mile of whitewater in Colorado.
On an unrelated note, I have assembled quite a quiver (collection?) of vintage boats. Let me know if you want me to do a boat review or comparison of some outdated long boats or play boats to modern designs. Here’s the list of what I have:
Perception: Sabre, Eclipse, Dancer XT, Corsica, Wavehopper, 3D, Slasher C1
Phoenix: Slipper, Cascade (two of ’em), Savage, Wildfire
Dagger Outburst
New Wave Sleek
Savage Scorpion
Hydra Dragonfly II
Prijon Loisach WW boat
Also, with all of the past discussion about “extreme” racing, how about we talk about the WKF. Was it good or bad for that segment of the sport?
Thanks for all you do.
Sincerely,
Tim Kennedy
Corey Spoores
Message Body:
Hey First time Caller Long Time Listener……
For Weld,
Im New to the art of slalom, talk to me about the pros and cons of a slalom specif paddle for like g-power or some that werner makes, and what make a good slalom blade and why.
thanks guys keep it up
Corey, NM
Jake Cooper
Message Body:
Hey fellas,
‘Twas a few episodes ago that you guys were discussing paddling crew names and the formula for creating such titles.
Louis shit all over Dem Boyz Media Cartel.
While we certainly respect the opinions of elderly persons living on the other side of the country, it didn’t sit particularly well with us. It did get us thinking, though. What would Geltman suggest we be called? We want to know. In fact, we demand to know, and if we like it, we might use it.
Cheers,
Jake
Chris Danielson
Message Body:
Love the Hammer Factor. Listening makes me want to buy IR gear and run the Green or Upper Yough in a party Braaap with a 200cm paddle of some experimental offset. Don’t even want to hear what you guys think of our local New Mexico rivers and creeks though. It’s already hard enough to get people on the river without listening to whining about flat-water, cold or mank, especially with BV and the and the Ark gleaming like Eldorado a few hours north. People up there paddle every day, even during the week!
On another note, where can we find the boat reviews that went out via the newsletter? I’m having trouble getting the links in old emails to work. Can you guys repost them somewhere accessible?
Love it, keep it going,
Chris
John Harding
Message Body:
I want to thank you guys for hitting offset and length so hard again and again. It finally beat some sense into me! Just got my new 202 cm 45 degree shogun and am loving it. It’s perfect for laying treats!
Now to Celebrity Guest Olaf Obsommer
Great CandK article on Olaf!
https://www.canoekayak.com/photos/into-the-tian-shan/
This is the heavyweight battle we have been waiting for. Louis vs. Olaf. It doesn’t get any better than this on the HF. Olaf is a highly decorated expeditionary kayaker, filmmaker and event producer. Below is a short list:
Surviving all my big adventures since 1988,
1988 first road trip in the Alps
1989 first time Corsica
1994 Réunion Island
1995 FD Shire River in Malawi, lots of Hippo and Croc attack´s
1997 3 month Norway with an old 7,5t fire service truck
2001 first time The Grand Canyon of the Stikine at 500 cumecs, we called it surviving paddling
2005 Slave River Northwest Territories
2007 Pakistan Indus the Rondu Gorge + Gabun the Ogooue Ivindo river
2008 Greenland
2009 Siberia, 2 weeks self support in the Sayan Mountains
2012 BIKE2BOAT Norway
2013 BIKE2BOAT Alps
2013 again the Grand Canyon of the Stikine with 44 years age
Rants Raves
1 hr 36 min
February 13, 2018 Hammer Factor – Episode 42, ‘Olaf Obsommer, Epic Rants And Paddling Colleges’
Subscription Options: Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/amongstit-inc/id1095013227?mt=2 Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/john-grace/the-hammer-factor?refid=stpr RSS Direct Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HammerFactor Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfNW1jev8xx84dc05QZGqKA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hammerfactor/? Good day everyone, it’s another hammer factor! Welcome to Hammer Factor 42, in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the “Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything”, calculated by an enormous supercomputer named Deep Thought over a […]
1 hr 36 min
January 23, 2018 Hammer Factor – Episode 41, ‘Colorado Hits Back, Sickline And Rigging The Lottery’
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Good friday afternoon everyone, it’s another episode of hammer factor.
INTROS and an opening prayer. Along with the hosts, we also have a special guest this week- Kenny Unser, who is going to explain to us how to game the river lottery system. We are also expecting a call from Woody Calloway, who just took off the grand canyon, after his second back to back trip.
Geltman- time to deliver. We have a government shutdown-what does this mean to us?
Also- do we have Zinke shirts and stickers coming? AW wants them for “Tabling”- which is awesome industry speak.
Breaking News
This just in:
Dear adidas Sickline competitors,
We hope you all had a good start into the New Year. Since most of you are busy planning your season these days, we’d like to inform you in good time that there will
be no adidas Sickline WCH in 2018. Due to a current process of strategic realignment, adidas has decided to adjourn the Extreme Kayak World Championship in order to reflect on the even concept and its further development.
We wish you all a memorable and injury-free season.
Warm Regards
Your adidas Sickline Team
Viewer mail
Michael Van Ruler writes: Hey Guys,
Love the show! Keep up the good work, or at least keep making fun of each other and letting us get in a good laugh. I really like the clear insight Lewis provides on the policy perspectives, it is my favorite part of the show, no better way to stay informed for me.
So I’m pretty new to kayaking, and I live in Omaha…. and I’m planning on moving from here in 3.5 years when my daughter graduates high school. If you could pick any place to live in the US for WW kayaking, and all around best place to live, where would it be and why? I would love you guys input.
Sam Haywood also writes in with a good question: Hey guys,
I’m writing in again to rehash the rapid classification discussion. I just recently did my personal first descent of tallulah gorge. It went great, good lines both weekends that I went, and it was an awesome time!
Where my issue lies is that I’m trying to now decide what is next. The tallulah was fun and I didn’t feel pushed beyond my limits, so I’m trying to decide what is next on my run list. I’ve read AW page after page and own Kirk Eddlemons southeastern paddling books.
I’ve got a few runs in mind such as the west fork of the tuck, green lite, Gauley, and perhaps overflow Creek. It’s still hard to know what level I’m on, and AW and Eddlemon make some of these rivers seem super gnarly. I tend to be a cautious paddler who knows his pay grade, but I wanna step it up incrementally. What resources or decision making process can I use that you guys know of?
POV YouTube videos rarely do these rivers justice, so I’m at a bit of a loss.
Let me know what you guys think about how people can step up their game without getting killed/maimed.
And it’s time to talk about the unavoidable. Colorado.
First, there is this from Andifer F:
ls anyone else starting to think it’s John
Weld’s dream to move to CO to become a
spandex wearing dentist who SUPS at the BV playpark after work?
And then there is this:
Dear Hammer Factor,
In regards to your comments on the river quality of Colorado and Buena Vista. We understand that we do not have the quality year round paddling of places like the Columbia River Gorge, and unlike southeast boaters we do not kneel towards Asheville three times daily.
However, We do find our rivers to be quite fun. They lack things like sieves every 20 ft. They don’t have a lot of pool drop rapids, so we actually have to learn how to chase gear if one of our buddies messes up. When the paddling is good here, it’s so damn good. Even Geltman should find it hard to be upset about “Manky” conditions doing sunny laps of pine creek numbers in June at 3,000 CFS and slicey high water laps on Browns Canyon. Also having a myriad of different sections on the ark really allows beginning boaters to develop well.
Colorado has a lovely arid climate, so our gear actually dries and doesn’t slowly grow into a moldy mess. On the other side of that, it is cold here so the water is never really skin to wind weather. So a drysuit is necessary, good thing right Weld? On top of all of this the central location of BV allows you to get to all the goods in CO within 3-4 hours of driving. And yes, the Embudo is truly worthy. Come down anytime and we will be happy to take y’all down.
We may not be the whitewater capital of the world, yet somehow we have plenty of Southeast transplants. Probably because our summer season is quality. A lot of Colorado boaters love being here for the amount of year round activity. We get some amazing skiing and the mountain biking is rad too. Weld knows that since the last 3 times he was out here he only went Mt. Biking and didn’t kayak. However his Rep and now famous HF Guest Max Blackburn has boated with us plenty on his last two visits.
So, sorry we’re not sorry. We love BV and we love travelling to awesome places like White Salmon, Summersville, Asheville, Erwin, and beyond. Plus we’ve never hanged an elephant.
Sincerely,
Fred Morrison and Nelson Jones
And now on to our special guest- the King of New York, Kenny Unser.
Rants and Raves.
1 hr 35 min
January 23, 2018 Hammer Factor – Episode 41, ‘Colorado Hits Back, Sickline And Rigging The Lottery’
Subscription Options: Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/amongstit-inc/id1095013227?mt=2 Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/john-grace/the-hammer-factor?refid=stpr RSS Direct Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HammerFactor Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfNW1jev8xx84dc05QZGqKA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hammerfactor/? Good friday afternoon everyone, it’s another episode of hammer factor. INTROS and an opening prayer. Along with the hosts, we also have a special guest this week- Kenny Unser, who is going to explain to us how to game the river […]
1 hr 35 min
January 15, 2018 Hammer Factor – Episode 40, ‘Whitewater Geology, Southeast Mank and Louis Loses Cred’
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Show notes Jan 10 2018
We’re back- or shall we say recovering- from our last
shameful podcast of 2017. But there are no lessons learned here at the hammer factor, and to
prove it, we’re going to offer up the same re-heated useless topics we served you last year. On
this show, Louis will make an excellent case for you to ask your doctor if Zoloft is right for you,
Grace will, well, you know, loot the show, Weld will apologize, and the usual ridiculous
questions and emails from the Teaming Millions. And we also have a guest- A ‘whitewater
canoe-er’ who got dumped for a mountain biker. Surprise.
Lets do the introductions.
OK Louis, Make our day.
If you have nothing else, Grace sent this in:
https://medium.com/westwise/trump-administration-gives-presents-to-oil-and-gas-companies-e899b4ad42e3
But to be honest, this comes from “westwise” which looks and sounds a lot like a liberal
version of the ‘Daily Caller’. But the zinke holiday greeting video is interesting. It starts out OK,
and then after a few minutes the douche chills start to settle in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdFNdArvQE8
Now that we’re past that formality, the hate mail.
Here’s this little bon mot from Brian Richard:
Love the show.
Will Weld please stop cutting speakers off and talking over them? Weld is a valuable
part of the show, yes, but would love to hear other’s comments. Perhaps he would
listen to the shows to hear what I’m speaking of.
And Mike Flynn took time from his busy legal schedule to write us:
Was this last show BS? You guys can’t be serious, right?
Kirk Eddlemon (correctly) casts everything Louis has ever said or done into question:
I’ve got a message for Mr. Weld. First of all, he shouldn’t listen to Louis about the
Middle Kings. And I do think that Mr. Geltman’s opinion of the Kings seriously stains
any credibility he has on other topics of discussion on the Hammer Factor. His
explanation of the facts surrounding the fragmentation of our national monuments was
so spot on, but his confusion about the quality of the Middle Kings is puzzling indeed.
So Weld, we are going to the Kings this summer and you are welcome to join us. It’s a
manky, low-quality run, but consider yourself invited. Secondly, I’ve been hearing about
a kids camp that John’s been involved in up in the Yough area, and would love to know
more about it. Can Weld explain how we can get our kids involved? My son is totally
Lower Yough ready, and I’d love to get him hooked up with the program up there.
Despite the haters, we did get some love:
Jared Bean wrote in:
Love the podcast. I much enjoy the personalities, information, and opinions. Thank you
for taking the time to put this on. I hope you continue into 2018.
And Owen Callahan wrote:
I’d listen to you guys reading old copies of AW that you pick up off your bathroom floor.
We even got some emails worth discussing:
Todd Boyter writes:
On the last show , Grace and Weld disagreed on the idea of a single roto-molding
company molding different brands of kayaks and being profitable. I agree with you
Grace , as I own a custom injection molding company ( NC) that mold for
numerous different companies – including all the major kayak brands
And Atom Crawford throws a soft pitch to geltman:
What is the general consensus on modern day kayak outfitting?
I tend to take it all out and then make my own. Shaping up foam hip pads and just a
thin foam pad on the seat. Maybe a pleasure pod.
I could just be reliving the old days when that was the norm, but I Really don’t like most
manufacturers outfitting.
Daggers is about the only one that I’ll keep in the boat…
How about everyone else?
And Lee Doherty Writes from Ireland:
Love the show guys, wondering have yous the balls to discuss why there are no black
professional kayakers sponsored by any of the major kayak brands.
love listening from here in Ireland, some European segments to and the rest world
would be great to add to,
And onto the guest. Dr. Phil Prince gives us some incredible insight into whitewater geology.
OK. The show end is near, and the horses are starting to smell the barn. What else do we
have?
Geltman had some interesting ideas:
-Fantasy kayaker draft. You are starting a boat company. All things equal, who do you
want to sponsor? We draft names fantasy football style (and argue). Or maybe we pick
a list of races (LW, NF, Green?), make up a point system, draft ourselves teams, and
then follow for the season.
-What rivers/trips are at the top of your to-do list? Maybe 3-5 each…
And the shirt contest…. is that dead?
Coming up soon is another ABRG, version 2.0. And of course, the ladies edition.
And of course, Rants and Raves.
1 hr 22 min
January 15, 2018 Hammer Factor – Episode 40, ‘Whitewater Geology, Southeast Mank and Louis Loses Cred’
Subscription Options: Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/amongstit-inc/id1095013227?mt=2 Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/john-grace/the-hammer-factor?refid=stpr RSS Direct Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HammerFactor Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfNW1jev8xx84dc05QZGqKA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hammerfactor/? Show notes Jan 10 2018 We’re back- or shall we say recovering- from our last shameful podcast of 2017. But there are no lessons learned here at the hammer factor, and to prove it, we’re going to offer up the same […]
1 hr 22 min
December 27, 2017 Hammer Factor – Episode 39, ‘The Last Show, Tao Berman and Giant Cats’
Top Of The Show Sponsor – https://www.canoekayak.com/
Mid Show Sponsor – https://calleva.org/
Subscription Options:
Itunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/amongstit-inc/id1095013227?mt=2
Stitcher:
http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/john-grace/the-hammer-factor?refid=stpr
RSS Direct Feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/HammerFactor
Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfNW1jev8xx84dc05QZGqKA
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/hammerfactor/?
…and here we are hammer factor 39 ‘Last Show, Tao Berman and Giant Cats’. introductions.
– louis: You are losing soo hard, you have not slowed down zinke one bit, how do we get our money back?
weld: Peru?!?!? do tell
grace: starts show and get into sponsor. TOP OF THE SHOW SPONSOR
“Now a huge shout out to our top of the show sponsor, Canoe and Kayak. C and K has been leading the paddlesports media hustle for 45 years, reaching an unprecedented audience of nearly a half million people. With in-depth articles like the one discussing Pushing the Limits of the 9-foot Kayak, which I will link to in the show notes, there is no more compelling way to get your paddlesports beta than C and K. Check em out at canoekayak.com”
. Read more at https://www.canoekayak.com/whitewater-kayak/need-for-speed/ #bMSHwTH3I8skK4gt.99
I’m just gonna put this out there. The 9 foot race rule is dumb. Every justification for it can easily be proven wrong. It’s good to milk speed out of a hull, but I created the 9 foot rule and I can get rid of it.
#EVERYTHINGISFUCKED
Please set the record straight here. A great email from: Fred Morrison & Nelson Jones
Gentlemen and Weld,
After listening to yesterday’s episode of HF I really wanted to hear Louis do a myth busters on this whole land deal in the west. I really appreciated Louis’ honesty in calling out the hyperbole with Patagonia’s message on their web page. Living in rural Colorado our local friends have shared a variety of views, from siding wholly with Patagonia as well as some sharing this lovely feature from the illustrious Glenn Beck This may hurt your head .
We feel like a comprehensive shake down of: 1) what this act will and will not do, 2) what it could become and evolve into years down the road, and 3) The likelihood of this litigation going through and doing what Trump is expecting this to do. Would be an excellent listen for Hammer Factor community.
Thank you for all that you guys do in spreading information for Outdoor Alliance and spreading the stoke of kayaking. Looking forward to the next episode, and we still hope you all might come to Paddlefest in Buena Vista . Grace we have T shirts ready to ship.
Sincerely two concerned Coloradans Fred Morrison & Nelson Jones Clean Teeth, Clean Lines
NEW YEAR COMING – Let’s do some predictions and look backs.
What is going to happen to the hammer factor? Could this be the final episode?
What will happen with WW SUP next year?
Will paddle length and offset finally balance itself out amongst the market or will people still use 194s
Who will win Smalls To The Walls, NF Championship, Sickline, Attainment World Championships and Green Race?
What was the biggest trend you saw in 2017?
What are your predictions for next year?
Finally what are our hosts new years resolutions?
Viewer Mail
From Evan Shaw
If you put up the Zinke Supps T-shirts I’ll order 2. Current boring T-shirt does not live up to the great pod. Also why the hashtag on the front of that no hashtag on the next shirt please people know how to prefix a hashtag in the off chance that they ever need to.
From Robert Fleishel
A few things: 1) tell Shane to rant on himself for not even having a production playboat. 2) Louis is sponsoring electrical tape on paddles, but condeming duct tape? Let him know his double speak has been noticed. 3) Episode 38 returned the Hamer factor to its old glory. Honestly, the high fi, slugishness, and sponsors kind of take away from it. Maybe it’s been something else on the past few episodes, but they didn’t resonate with me as much as the others. But 38 is good, thank you.
From Jordan Yaruss
So, a topic suggestion then: clarify their thoughts on playboating. Is it that they’re not into the modern holebait boats, just generally not into playboating etc
Love the show by the way. Thanks for making it.
From Rahul Subramanian
Questions for HF specifically Mr. Grace
1. How can a east coast whitewater kayaker prepare for running big water rivers on the west coast, i.e. NF Payette, Little White Salmon, Lochsa?
2. Can you talk about how you prepared for the Stikine?
2a. If possible talk about the 1 day descent that you did. (cause that blew my mind)
From Simon Wyndham
Close grip… Too wide is just as bad. Let’s take one aspect such as reach. You can actually get the paddle blade much further forward using body rotation alone to the front of the boat ready for the catch with a closer grip. Too wide a grip and I think people can be forced to lean rather than using body rotation. It’s a simple thing to measure, but if you stay upright and use only your torso rotation, you can get that paddle reached forward much further for the same paddle length than with a wide grip.
So, okay, that will then lead on to paddle length. however a difference of a few cm of paddle length doesn’t make up for the vastly increased reach you get from a slightly narrower grip.
I’ve actually found I can use my body rotation more and put less strain on my shoulders using a ‘natural’ grip width rather than forcing myself to go wider to the point that a lot of people ‘think’ is the right width. Make no mistake, I don’t paddle as narrow as, say, Evan Garcia used to, but I don’t hold it as wide as many others do either. I just hold the paddle where it feels ‘right’ for the body mechanics I want to use.
A slightly closer grip allows more reach using rotation for the same paddle length, lets you keep the arms safer, and I have found actually forces you to use body rotation much more than a wider grip, which disconnects your arm alignment from the body rotation ‘vector’. As soon as your hands go wider than your shoulders you are progressively making yourself more reliant on local arm muscle, and hence contrary what was said on the show makes for less fatigue not more
Try this in a push-up/press-up position. Make your arms as wide as possible and see how long you can support yourself for compared to having your arms closer together. Another thing to try is to attempt to push a heavy object using wide arms compared to narrower.
Also, compare a wild haymaker punch thrown by an amateur compared to a tight hook delivered by a pro boxer. The boxer keeps things tight, not just not to telegraph, but because having the punch closer and tighter to the body allows them to use everything from their feet, through the hips and waist, to the shoulders all to add power, explosiveness and power to the punch in a chain. This is also the same as Wing Chun, where it’s the body being used to reinforce what the arms are doing. Operating a paddle is no different. But then having done Wing Chun for the last 23 odd years, I’m used to using the body to help delivery power and speed through the arms being closer to the body.
So when you guys are discussing this stuff, the conversation doesn’t hold much meaning unless you define what a narrow grip actually is (at which point does it get classed as a narrow grip, and case you explain in scientific terms why having a wider grip is better given the info above?), or by addressing the body mechanics mentioned above. One persons narrow is another persons wide, and vice versa. But body mechanics are pure physics.
From Sam Bernstein
This is a somewhat embarrassing question for me to be asking but the curiosity is killing me. I and a couple of my other kayaking-social-media-addicted boater friends have noticed that Ben Marr tags Lululemon Men in a bunch of his Instagram posts. Do they actually sponsor him? Is he trying to get sponsored by them? If he is–have they used his media in any of their campaigns ? Cause that would be pretty funny/awesome to see one of our own break out so to speak.
BOOOM SHAKE THE ROOM – we got a mid show sponsor. Calleva.
“Join Calleva in Mexico for week long whitewater kayaking trips.
· Awesome trips for all levels of boaters
· Come down and see whats beyond the imaginary “big beautiful wall”
· Lead by Tom McEwan whom has been exploring Mexico for 30 years. He is supported by one of our other instructors like Dagger Team member Bobby Miller, Liquidlogic team member Steve-O, and Tom’s nephew, ladies man, and Waka bro Eric Hanson.
· Explore jungles, deep canyons, legendary waterfalls
· Trips on class II to IV+ rivers
· Most trips are based at the Mexican run eco-resort Aventurec know for it’s great food, orange groves, and proximity to the best whitewater in Mexico.
· Come for the waterfalls, stay for the tacos
· Check out the website at Calleva (C-A-L-L-E-V-A) dot Org”
Athlete/Celebrity Interview TAO BERMAN
Rants and Raves
1 hr 36 min