The 75 Foot Speedloader Throwbag by Liquidlogic

We have had tons of feedback on the speedloader and one of the main things that people want us to do is come out with a larger diameter, longer rope version of the 50 foot Speedloader.  So here is  a video of  the 75 foot version of the Speedloader.

The Speedloader throw bags are shipping.

Here we go, here we go.  Its finally time.  The Speedloader is finally shipping.  We have put a bunch of them on the slow boat to GBR last week and many more are going out to all parts of the U.S. of A.
A big thanks goes out to the Diane and "Cookie" for working out the details and getting the Speedloader dialed in to perfection.  Here are some shots of the ladies finishing up and sending out the first load of throw bags.

"Cookie" working on the first order of Liquidlogic Speedloaders.

Diane and "Cookie" finalizing the process.

Finishing up a Speedloader Throw Bag.

This throw bag is also Banjo approved.

Later

Shane

The Speedloader Challenge

Woody and I put the Speedloader to the test with a challenge load against a comparable small 50' bag with the same 1/4" rope in it. Here is the video for you.

The Speedloader Throw Bag by Liquidlogic from Shaneslogic on Vimeo.

The Speedloader has had a bunch of feedback and opinions stated about it lately. Here are some of the questions that folks had about the bag along with some answers, solutions, and facts about the bag.

1. Will the rope come out of the bag after loading it into such a big opening?

Yes, I have thrown this bag hundreds of time. I have thrown on land, at the river, in the lake, underhand, overhand, sidearm. The rope has fed out fine every time. Sure you need to load it consciously just like you would any bag. I would'nt suggest grabbing a pile of rope and just stuffing it in there. I use the standard hand over hand loading technique.

2. Will a big opening bag like that with the strap and all will catch up on things?

The thing people don't understand is that you don't throw it completely open. You just open the top a little. You can leave the buckly snapped while throwing and the bag still deploys. So you have a tight little package flying through the air and pulling through the water.

3. Is it durable?

Yep and the mesh which might be the most vulnerable part is covered while stored and covered when thrown and drug through the river so its protected.

The Facts

The bag is made of a bright green polyurethane coated nylon pack cloth for durability and visibility. The mesh side vents allow water to slip thru and speed up drying. The 3/4" webbing strap with a quick release buckle is for tightening the bag to a smaller size. You don't have to undo it to throw the bag. Just when you open it up for loading. The Rope itself is pretty cool its a polypropylene sheathed high strength core rope. The Break Strength is higher than other 1/4" bags and still being analyzed at a testing facility.

The rope is bright yellow with red and reflective stripes down the length for high visibility.

The core of the bag is foam so it is very buoyant.

And its cool, and patent pending.

We had a great suggestion that it could also work very well as a beer bag at the river camp, or a great party hat when you take the rope out of the bag.

Available: January 15th

Priced $59.95

There you go.

Shane

The Liquidlogic Speedloader Throwbag

So here it is... The Liquidlogic Speedloader throw bag. This has been a fun project that we have spent a fair bit of time on over the last several months. What you see here is the final prototype. It needs a little refining on the sewing aesthetics in this photo, which we have polished off now. The function is 100% there.

Woody and I were thinking about throw bags and ways that we could improve them and we came up with the idea of making it really easy to load. We both thought right away of times that we didn't want to get out bags out on the river because we didn't want to have to reload them. Even simple things like lowering your boat becomes that much more a hassle if you have to spend several minutes loading your throw rope back in its bag.

The original concept was a clam shell design that was two sided. It made for a good bag but we had some problems with excess fabric. It also didn't stand up well which is the other great benefit of this bag. When you are loading it you can put it on the ground and the bag stands up, opens up and makes it super easy to load. We tried many different protos of the clam shell design but couldn't get it to a refined refined. So just recently we went to the three sided design that opened well, closed well, and stood up like it had a tripod which it turns out it did have. The three sew sides give it much more stability while sitting on the ground, rock, boat, whatever.

The Speedloader will be shipping the beginning of the year. Right now we are doing it as a basic tag type bag. Its a 50 footer. Its smaller diameter rope like all the other bags, except they don't stand up, and load like this one. We haven't solidified the exact rope at this moment but it will be at least industry standard for this type of bag. We also hope in the future to have a full rescue version as well.

Later

Shane

Liquidlogic Kayaks and the Outdoor Retail Show 2009

From 2009 Outdoor Retailer Show

The Outdoor Retail show is the biggest week of my year as far as work goes.  Its this week that all my projects from the year need to be ready for all our dealers to see.  This year I was busy.  I noticed I hadn't posted in several months and its this show that has kept me as busy as I could possibly be.

This year I did three new designs, which isn't a huge number.  All three designs were boats I had never done on my own before.  I designed two sit on top kayaks, a stand up paddle board design, and we developed all the accesories for those boats as well as a new throw rope that is really cool. 

From 2009 Outdoor Retailer Show

This is the stand up paddle board called the Versa Board.  Its a cross between a sit on top and a stand up board.  Its so stable anyone can jump on it and go and it is a great platform for all kinds of fun.  The fishermen are stoked on it because you can trick it out for fishing.  Including a swivel seat that rotates 360 degrees.  I am stoked because I am going to go out and paddle with a dog or two on it with me.

From 2009 Outdoor Retailer Show

This is the sit on top called the Coupe.  Its a 10 foot sit on top with handling characteristics of the Remix XP.  So its just as at home on the lake as it is in class 2 whitewater.  It has a drop down skeg that tracks it out nicely and a Remix XP hull to deal with a little whitewater.

From 2009 Outdoor Retailer Show

This is the tandem version of the Coupe 10.  Its called the Deuce Coupe.  Again its based on the Remix XP but in a tandem version.  Its a very easy tandem to paddle.  Most tandems are tough to turn or handle in tighter spots but this one is very maneuverable with the skeg up.  Then all you have to do is drop the skeg and it tracks like a dream for longer flat water travel.

From 2009 Outdoor Retailer Show

This is a really nice touring boat that Native designs came out with.  Its called the Inuit.  There are three sizes fitting a wide range of paddler sizes and skill levels.  The 12.5 is great as an entry level light touring boat and the 13.5 and 14.5 are sized models of a slightly higher performance light touring boat.

The way the show works is the first day is a demo on the beach so all the different retail shops can try out all the new product or familiarize themselves with a line they may pick up.  It is total chaos.  At the demo there were something like 30 or more different boat or board companies.  The beach was packed and the water was covered with people trying everything out.  Its actually pretty hilarious.  Not everyone came away dry I will just leave it at that.  With that many people on the water at the same time someone was bound to crash.

The next four days is full of meetings and presentations of new and existing product to current dealers and future hopeful dealers.  Its a cool show for me because this is the one chance I get to meet all the dealers that sell our stuff.  They all come through to check it out and I get to talk with them about the concepts and ideas behind all the designs.

From 2009 Outdoor Retailer Show

Here is the entrance to our room.  Kind of fancy.  Especially after I have been spending most of the last couple months in the shop completely covered in dust.

From 2009 Outdoor Retailer Show

Folks checking out the new Liquidlogic Stuff.  Including the new Liquidlogic throw bag.  We are calling it the speed loader.  Its the first throw bag that opens up like this to make it super easy to load.  Then it compresses down to a small packing size that still throws while compressed.  Simple design but it works and makes it all sooo much easier to deal with.

From 2009 Outdoor Retailer Show

From 2009 Outdoor Retailer Show

This is the Mariner series.  Its a sit on top that can actually be paddled, peddled, motored or sailed.

Not recommended for running waterfalls though.  If you goose the motor or peddle too hard you may land flat off of tall drops.

From 2009 Outdoor Retailer Show

The new Inuit series was a big hit with the dealers.  They had been looking for us to do a day touring  boat for a while and I think we nailed it on this one.  We also fitted it out with outfitting like the whitewater boats so they are all day comfortable.

We had an awesome show with lots of excitement for the coming year.  We don't have any more info up on the new product yet on our webpage but we will.  I will try to fill you in more as well.

Keep your eyes open at http://liquidlogickayaks.com for news on all our stuff.

Cheers

Shane