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Picture for a moment a person who has never kayaked who straps a Hi-N-Dry on, finds out he/she can roll, and then jumps on class 4-5 rivers full of sieves, strainers, and hydraulics. This would be a bad thing. Therefore, in the wrong hands, the Hi-N-Dry could give someone overreaching ideas and be unwisely used. Yet so can a lot of modern day devices. The automobile in the wrong hands kills tens of thousands a year – do we ban them then and go back to horses? Spray paint is used to graffiti walls – do we ban spray paint because it is poorly used and causes poor decisions? Then there’s guns, fireworks, etc… Do we ban anything that can be abused if used without discretion and responsibility? No, of course not. Do we sue the makers of these items if someone misuses them against the advice and warnings stated on the company’s websites? No, of course not. People have to take responsibility for their actions. The Hi-N-Dry may very well some day be involved in poor decision making that leads to sad stories, but even without the Hi-N-Dry, people go out and make poor decisions and die on rivers every year. I just hope people will be wise and follow the proper progression steps as a kayaker, beginning with learning the basics using proper instruction and getting a group of responsible and skilled kayakers to go with. That said, in the end, I believe the Hi-N-Dry will do a great deal of good for this sport and will some day be an item on everyone’s list of gear to buy! I predict this device will make the sport grow in popularity by retaining people who try out the sport and giving beginners a taste of what it feels like to be a real kayaker and the joy the sport can bring when you aren’t always feeling terrified.
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| Updated May 21, 2012 |  | | | |
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