The new throwbag from Liquid Logic, aka the Speedloader, was billed as the best thing since the wheel with regards to the speed and ease of repacking the bag after use. After Colm at I-Canoe got a shipment in, I got a chance to put this product through it’s paces on a number of Swiftwater Rescue Courses I ran in March and April of 2010 in Co. Wicklow and Co. Clare.

As I run a number of SRT courses and thus use a lot of throwbags in demonstrating and instructing throwbag techniques I try to expose students to a variety of throwbags so they can make informed judgements about various pros and cons of the different bags; thus when a new bag comes on the market I try to ensure I have it for the next course. In the past this was the case with WRSI Hail Mary Bag and, now is the case the the LL Speedloader Bag.

Well, returning to the story: how does the bag fare in trials? In my personal opinion, like all throwbags and most gear I have used, it has its plus points and its minus points.

The most important factor in any bag is how well it throws and how accurately and true it sails to its intended target, and how well the rope tails out of the bag. On this I found the bag threw reasonably well, both underarm, sidearm and over arm, and true in comparison to most of the other bags used, yielding an average score of 7.5 / 10.

Turning to the major selling point of this bag the speed of repacking (hence the name: Speedloader) how good is this bag in comparison to most other bags? My answer is good but not as good as expected, yielding a score of 8/10. It was quick, and certainly far quicker and easier than most bags, but not much quicker than for example the HF Weasel. Maybe with more practice the speed maybe increased, but I found that you had to place it on the ground to reap the maximum benefits of a fast repack, whereas I could repack the HF Weasel almost as quickly still standing up.

The thickness of the round rope for me is the biggest drawback as it is not very user friendly, yielding a score of 6/10; it is a bit like handling cheese wire when the load comes on in comparison to some of the thicker and flatter ropes. However the thinner rope allows a greater length to be packed in a compact bag which means a greater range of people can more easily throw the bag to its full length; which is after all the most important factor. On the plus side the rope, for its diameter, seems stronger than some of the alternative bags with flat ropes, as well as some of the ‘larger’ diameter ropes giving larger, more unwieldy bags. On the negative side this rope is quite pricy, especially if cost is an issue, in comparison to some throwbags and this may be a deciding factor for some paddlers!

Overall I would score  this bag 7/10; it is a decent alternative to some of  the bags out there and is worth considering, especially for people with smaller hands as it’s lightweight, compact design means that it is easy to throw and easy to pack.

In the future I would like to see developments such as a thicker rope, although not at the expense of a too large a bag (there is a fine balance!) and a waist mounted belt system.

SRT or RSR? Well I guess there are a few considerations to weigh up such as cost and international recognition for starters, along with any qualification prerequisites; however when the large lady sings at 11.59 it is your choice…

Anyway I am looking at organising another SRT before the end of March….if anyone is interested get in touch with me asap. Thanks. This, in all probability will be the last ‘open SRT’ I will be trying to run for a while in Ireland, due to other things taking precedence…

…to accompany some of the photographs from this course in the earlier posts check out  this video…

SRT 1December 2009 mpeg2video from James Van den Broek on Vimeo.

…featuring: Fran O’D, Sean O’D, Declan O’D, Fran Balfe, Congo, Deirdre O’Raw, Colin Duffy, Ken Murphy, Wai Har Tsang and myself…

Following on the previous post check out some more photos from the recent SRT course, carried out last weekend.

Swiftwater / White Water Swimming..

For the most part it is important to swim in a defensive position looking downstream with the feet in position to fend off obstacles…and using the water as much as possible to aid in crossing the flow….

In certain situations it is vital to transition to an offensive / aggressive swimming position-head first; such as spotting an eddy and hitting it, crossing a narrower channel and approaching a strainer among others…

…to be continued…

Same place, different time…but another SRT course

has been completed successfully on the

River Avonmore, Co. Wicklow…The weather and water levels were all good and the group learnt some new techniques / gained confidence / built on existing techniques etc…

I will let the following pictures tell the story…

Shallow Water Crossings..

…to be continued…

For more information check the links below:

These RSR courses will be offered in conjunction with I-Canoe…

For more information here is the rescue ranger page

…for dates check calendar…