Gear Review: Jackson Villian

Hi everyone. We have had a long absence in our blogging (about a year and a half), but we are back at it. So stay tuned for trip reports and gear reviews worth reading.

Last week I had a chance to paddle the Jackson "Villian" for the first time. It is one of Jackson's whitewater boats for the 2011 season. I took it down the Saint Francis in southern Missouri. The saint is a class II-III run, and the level was about 9 inches.

I have been paddling the Jackson "Hero" and Pyranha "Burn" a lot lately and was excited to give the "Villian" a try. The first thing I noticed after putting in was how fast this boat is. It has a semi-displacement hull and at 8'8" it is extremely fast. I had just finished a run in the much slower "Hero" so in comparison, I felt like I was in a race car.

When you hear displacement hull people tend to think less stability, which is what i was expecting. The "Villian" was surprisingly stable. The boat flares out right behind the cockpit and the semi-displacement hull flattens out a bit right under the paddler, adding stability. I was expecting to feel tippy as compared to the "Hero" but there was negligible difference between the two.

The "Villian" also holds a line really well. Once you pick your ferry angle or your line through a rapid, it really locks on and keeps you on course. That being said, it was much harder to turn than the "Hero" but that is to be expected with a much longer boat that is designed to be a pure creek boat. The "Villian" felt at first to be a tough boat to peel in to smaller eddies, but with different technique and strokes it became much less noticeable by the end of the run.

Overall I was really pleased with my first trip in the Villan. I am excited to get to try it out on some steeper water to see how it handles for its designed purpose.

If you would like to try the "Villian" or any other Jackson boat, the Alpine Shop has the entire line of Jackson demo boats. Just come by or call to set up a session.