Have you been getting after your local stouts? Paddling your creek boat day after day, hiking that fifty pound pig back to the top of the run just to plop back down and do it again? Getting bored hitting the same three boofs over and over in a boat designed to be doing something exceptionally harder while you watch your friends shredding sweet waves and squirting every eddy line? Maybe you’d like to spice up your game, bring a little play back into the hardest runs you’re willing to drop into. Maybe you just want to shave off a few pounds of weight off that big hike into a one day lap.
I found myself stuck running Poudre narrows and Big T Gnar laps in a nirvana. I knew the runs in and out but paddling a race boat down had lost its magic. Neither run is really enjoyable at higher flow in a playboat and sitting around in an eddy waiting for my friends had no appeal. Enter the Antix 2.0. This boat is fast, playful, and surprisingly stable. Point the bow, put the hammer down and you will be rewarded with astonishing performance. This boat charges! The sharp edges and shorter design make it an excellent tool for carving lines and catching quick waves. With the Antix 2.0, waves that are too fast for a playboat and too short for a creek boat are unlocked. It feels much more maneuverable than longer half slices like the rewind and ripper without a major loss in confidence. The overall length and stern shape makes the Antix 2.0 much easier to squirt than other half slices.
The issues I have with the Antix 2.0 are few and far between. At 5’ 9” and 150 lbs I fit the bill for the Medium size perfectly. For me, the internal strap designed to give you a handhold inside the boat while carrying sits too close to the cockpit. Its mildly annoying when carrying the boat long distances and I’ll most likely move it when I get a chance. At eight feet long and with sixty-six gallons of volume the Antix 2.0 can get pushed around a bit. This has ONLY occurred to me when I was wishy washy on which direction I wanted the boat to go. I think this is worth mentioning because none of us are Dane Jackson. However, if you get into this boat with intention, driving it to its destination, you will be rewarded every time.
I feel like the designers at Jackson Kayaks got things right with the Antix 2.0 They delivered a boat capable of running the hardest whitewater around without sacrificing play. If I could only own one boat it would be an Antix 2.0.