So there I was in i-canoe picking up some extra throw bags for clients to use on courses, I already have a load but like the idea of being able to have a good variety for people to use as it give them to make their own mind up on what features / bag size etc is best for them to invest in themselves.

I was just having a browse through the other stock of throw bags in stock and caught sight of the NRS Guardian Waist Throw Bag. To explain until earlier on in the gear I opted to use a Salamander Golden Retriever as my waist bag of choice backed up with a bigger HF bag in my boat. Some how I managed to misplace my Salamander bag along the line so had being making do with a few different solutions from the Palm to the HF Swifty Rescue belt most recently. I just wasn’t feeling the love for anything I had tried so was about to invest in another Golden Retriever but after having a bit of a look and play with the NRS offering I decided to give it a punt and see how it worked out.

On first impression the bag is neat, tidy and well made and the “feel” of a quality bit of kit. The bag consists of a waist mounted belt / sheath which has a Velcro & zip closure to reveal the inner removable bag.

The part of the set up you actually throw feels really compact without ever coming across as too small or flimsy, and I can confirm after using it myself all day on a River Safety Rescue course that it flies straight and true really easy which is something allot of today’s bigger bags can suffer with. I know the diameter of the rope at 6.4 mm will seem thin to allot of people but for me and the fact I only use this as a just in-case bag fits my needs perfect.

One of the things I really liked was that once you put it on you totally forgot your wearing it as it never once feels bulky or gets in the way between your lower back and the boat, sadly the same cannot be said for the Palm and HF offerings along the same lines.

The set up comes with a couple of little features the although small I really liked. The bag all thought compact is super easy / quick to reload and what’s better you can take it out and replace it in the waist belt without having to remove it belt itself with no faff at all.

The belt also have some handy karabiner attachment points a feature which HF also provide, I was skeptical about these at first but now I am coming around to the thinking that they can be really useful. The other thing which I was really pleased about and I know my mates will get a laugh out of this is how over size the length of the belt is, I’m thinking this down to NRS main market is to the USA and there large frames. I always disliked that the HF belt was rather a “snug fit” when you are wearing thermals / dry suit/ spray skirt combo, the NRS belt can be make go pretty much huge as you like. I would say once you find an ideal fit for yourself use a hot knife to trim off the excess.

The blurb from NRS is pretty simple:

The Guardian Bags are worn on your waist, so whether you’re in your boat or scouting a rapid, the throw bag is always at your fingertips.

• Features an internal throw rope in a bag that pulls completely free from the waist belt.
• Throw bag contains 55 feet of 1/4″ polypropylene rope, with a maximum tensile strength of 950 pounds.
• The Guardian clips securely around your waist with an adjustable belt with quick release buckle.
• Webbing loops along the belt are provided for carabiners.

Rope knots reduce tensile strength. For this reason, we make no claims regarding a rescue bag’s strength. Maximum load indicated is for the rope alone.

So a couple of weeks ago I made what could only be described a an armature mistake when out paddling, just before the get one of our group ask if they could borrow my river knife to cut some foam. So I took it out of my pocket and unclipped the lanyard it was attached to, they when I got it back I just stuffed it into my PFD pocket and was on my way. Fast forward a short while later I jumped out on the bank to set up some rescue, and when taking a sling out of my PFD pocket my knife flew out in what seemed like a comedy slow motion and straight into the river, where it now resides permanently.

The knife I had I was pretty fond of I had bought it while working in France a few years back, I had a spare Peak UK river knife but I just never liked it! So I dropped into the folks at i-canoe to check out what they had in stock and catch up with the lads. They stock NRS kit which I have always thought was well designed & put together right. The first choice was do I go for a sheath knife or a folding type which I have always favoured.

The 3 models to choose from were the Wingman / Pilot / Co-pilot, I whipped them all out of their boxes and took some photos to help you get a better idea of their scale.

The Co-Pilot is by far the nicest of any of the sheath knives that I have come across, its compact but just the right size while never feeling bulky. If you are the like the Idea of having a knife on the outside of your PFD this is the bit of kit for you, the sheath clips perfectly into lash tabs that are on most rescue vests.

I have to say I was very tempted by the Co-Pilot but in the end I decided to to stick with the folding style that I’m used to. The Wingman is a super bit of design, it is super compact so that it will fit nicely into your PFD pocket but when its open its just the right size to do the job when you most need it.

There was one only one improvement that could be do to make this knife better, its not the easiest to open with one hand should you ever need to do that.  I’ve resolved this with a little bit of tape and 5 minutes, check out the picture below.The bit of tape also allows you to open the knife with you teeth if you are really under pressure. Just a note for the left handers out there, the belt clip on the knife can be whipped off and changed over to the other side with relative ease to make it more ergonomically for the left hookers.

Last but by no means least in the line up is the Pilot knife. Its a full size knife which comes in just over 7 inches long, I reckon its a bit long for kayaking use but for rescue professionals / divers / sailors this is a serious but of kit for you. The construction is super solid and due to its one piece design I could never imagine you breaking this knife.

I think that what river knife paddlers carry with them when out boating is the one piece of kit that never get much thought, the thinks to look out for when you are looking for a knife should include.

• Blade, is it serrated or smooth or a combination of both, the combined is best as have the best of both worlds.
• Knife tip, is it blunt or pointy. Many a person has done a bit of unintentional self harm with pointy blades, pointy blades can be helpful of you ever needed to puncture cut something like a spray skirt ( A sharp blade can make up for this ).
• How are you going to attach it or where are you going to put it?
• What is it made out of, lots of river knives are made out of polished chrome which wont last long in a river environment. And even some blades that are stainless steel they are still not up to the riggers of river use. All of the NRS knives above are made from  420HC Stainless Steel  which is perfect for what we boaters demand of it.

All in all I reckon NRS have you pretty much covered no matter what style of knife you prefer to use, one of the best thing about them aside from there design & savage build quality is that they are super value to with the Wingman coming in at just €25 and the Pilots costing a little bit more at €35.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a quality river knife and more importantly how and when to use it.

That’s all until next time.

Adrian

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