I have been paddling my Roman kayaks Dynamic Evo for just over 12 months now and feel in  good position to review it.

The first thing that you notice about this K1 is its striking looks. The hull shape is completley different to all the other major brands and popular K1's. The only other K1 that has this shape it the Kayak Centre Spectra.

The hull is a V shape that becomes flat at the stern. This shape makes the Dynamic have 2 characteristics that I like -stablity and good wash riding.
This was reason I bought this boat and I did buy it!, so I have zero incentive to make a biased review.

Stability: The Dynamic Evo offers great stability. 3/10 on the scale. I am super comfortable in it while I paddle in cold choppy or wavey water. The Evo gives a lot of confidence and that in turn allows you to paddle harder.

Wash riding: I haven't raced the Evo much but in training it sits on a wave very well and doesn't move around too much. Which is essential for marathon racing.

Build Quality: The build quality of Roman Kayaks is fantastic. The craftsmanship is clearly evident and the attention to detail too. I really like the foot rest as its rock solid and can accommodate two pull bars and hell plate. Also the fittings are standard so you can change between other brands like Nelo. I have an Elio seat in my as I have used it for several years and like it. The clear carbon finish on my K1 is amazing and a real eye catcher.  

Speed and handling: The Dynamic Evo is a fats boat. It is put to great use by Swede Joakim Lindberg at senior world championship level. He is regularly at the point end of the main group and has posted solo 10km time trials of 39 minutes in the Evo! 
The boat turns very well and is probably the best turning K1 I have paddled. 

​Snap shot:

Pro's -

• Stability is excellent for a fast K1
• Build quality is excellent
• Fittings are very good 
• Looks amazing 
• Good direction and control on the wash
• Turns very tight 

Con's 

• Weight- I would prefer if it was 1kg lighter for a marathon K1 (I havent weighed it but it feels heavier than 8kg) 
• No watch holder. I think its time boats came with these fitted as stanard.

MessyWeekend are a Copenhagen based sunglass company with a cool social responsiblity program called Clean Oceans and a really cool selection of eyewear products from sunglasses to ski googles. I have been testing out a couple of the sunglasses over the last few weeks.

Euroman X MW 
​These sports sunglasses are great for days out MTBing or road cycling. I was really impressed how well ventialted they are and they do not steam up when working hard or climbing hills. The fit is really comforatable and they are super lightweight so you hardly notice you are wearing them. 
They come with a spare set of smoke lenses for darker days when you still want to protect your eyes. I have been using them driving too and they really kill the glare from the winter sun on the road.

MAKALU POLARIZED 
These offer a more casual style and were my choice for day to day wear. The polarization  ​works well, and the fit is comforatble. I like the style of the reflective lenses and clear frames. They are very lightweight and this makes them feel a little plasticy at first but they seem robust enough so far and have stood up to my daily use and travel. 

SOCIAL RESPOSIBLITY 
Like I mentioned earlier MessyWeekend have a great social responsibilty program called Clean Oceans. They aim to help remove 2kg of plastic from the Pacific and Caribbean oceans for every pair of glasses sold. They have partnered with NGO's in the region to affect this commitment. You can learn more HERE.

SUMMARY
Obviously there are hundreds of sunglass brands out there. What I like ablut Messyweekend is thier fresh image, cool, minimal, funtional designs and their commitment to improving our envirnment along the way.
If you are considering some new shades for this summer I would highly recommend checking out thier website and rangfe of glasses. 
​MessyWeekend WEBSITE 

DH

What happens when three seasoned adventurers from the West of Ireland get together a for paddle? A night crossing of the Irish sea no less! 

I am just coming up on my fourth week here in Australia and the trip so far has been action packed. I arrived on September 15th and its been non stop. I have competed in four races, two K1 and two Ocean ski races. I have been to the Snowy mountains camping and fishing, and completed a whole load of training.

​After finishing up in Patagonia I caught a 4000km flight north from Punta Arenas to Calama on the 20th of December. I flew with Sky Airlines and luckily I had no problems with the strikes that were going on with airport workers in Chile.
Arriving in Calama the sun was baking the ground and the change in landscape was dramatic. I had a transfer organised to take me straight to San Pedro De Atacama where I hoped to get on a tour to Bolivia via the Uyuni Salt flats. Before I got to San Pedro I didn’t really have a plan as I had mixed information about getting tours on the Salt flats during Christmas. The internet was full of horror stories of drunken guides and businesses closing for Christmas.

I have just returned after leading a kayak trip along the Magellan Strait over the last three days with a final dash by Zodiac to Cape Froward - the end (or start) of the South American mainland. This trip also marks the end of my time in Southern Patagonia. 

I am just home from a fantastic two weeks  kayaking in the south of England with Sea Kayaking Cornwall. I was there as part of an Erasmus Plus work experience program with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competencies in the delivery of coaching, leading and guiding in sea kayaking among Irish kayakers. The program was put together by Landon Carver, SKC and Irish industry professionals. A group consisting of 12 kayakers from Ireland with various backgrounds and levels of experience were selected for the program and I was privileged to be offered a place.

After circumnavigating Achill Island in 2014 with Tim Healy I was really keen to go back and have a go at a solo mission. I have been watching the weather all summer and it looked like it was't going to happen this year. Luckily we finally got  decent high pressure over Ireland for the last few days of September. I had one free day in the diary and I knew it was my absolute last chance to have a crack for 2015.