Pyranha Burn (M)

review by Brad Buddenberg
Height: 5'4"

Weight: 145

• Speed: 5
• Resurfacing: 4
• Boofing: 4.5
• Stability: 5
• Manueverability: 5
• Tracking: 5
• Hole Punching: 5
• Outfitting: 4
  

I have always been a fan of Pyranha kayaks. Pyranha is a small company that is committed to the sport. My favorite kayak so far of this generation of kayaks is the Pyranha Burn M. I have paddled all three generations and hands down this is the best one. I love the Burn for its versatility. This boat performs on very steep creeks and just as well on good ole river running. The boat is very fast and accelerates to optimum speed with just a few strokes. It has plenty of rocker to keep the nose up while punching holes and surfaces immediately after running a big drop. Its responsiveness is like no other. This boat turns on a dime. When coming across an eddy it accelerates to where you need to be. If I were looking for a new all around boat, I would definitely stop to give this one a try. This boat is very fast. I have found myself slowing the boat down while going off of tight drops. It takes a pretty big rapid to try the stability of this boat. I stay upright so often in it. I wonder if I can still roll. The Burn tracks great, this is why I like this boat soooo much. Big waves and holes very seldom keep this boat off line. For a semi-flat hull this boat boofs very well. The exceptional rocker and its speed keep you out of the holes. Big bow volume is not what this boat is about but the hull of the boat shape is why it surfaces quickly. On big drops I have found myself going deep, but always rising to the surface quickly. The boat can be edgy to some kayakers and I have known kayakers to soften its chines with a sureform tool. I like them the way they are. It took me an hour to outfit this boat. The new hip pads are bolted in and I had to redrill the holes in the seat to get the hip pads in their proper place for a very comfortable fit. They won’t move around like the old ones. The comfortable thigh hooks haven’t changed from the past and are easily adjusted. The new generation backband is about the same as the old except they have removed the old camming buckle (this is on the back of the backband where the two pieces of webbing come together) that would allow the backband tightening straps to slide through the camming mechanism and loosen as you were ratcheting them down. In the new 2007 edition this has been changed. The cam has been replaced with a buckle so the straps do not slide. The 2007 edition also has a strap to keep the backband from riding too high on your back. Pyranha used the same plastic ratcheting straps that they have used in the past. They have been known to break where the plastic strap and backband webbing attach. All in all the outfitting is good, comfortable and safe and by no means should you overlook this-boat for a couple of minor weak links in its backband adjustment. -Brad Buddenburg