So I was pretty stoked when I received news of Titan working on a new polo boat. And luckily enough I got the chance this week to actually test it in real life.
About myself: iam 1,90 cm (6,2ft) and weigh around 78kg (171lbs). Shoe size 45.5 (11.5).
I practice canoe polo for over 10 years, and paddle in the 1st division.
In those years, I have paddled many different Polo boats. From Lettman’s, till Revenges, and at the moment I own a DPP Dynamic. So with this experience in mind I tested the Biabat last week.
The biggest issue I have with most polyethylene polo boats is that they are quite big. In many cases to big for younger paddlers. You would need to really fit a lot of foam to get smaller people the feel with the boat they need, but that doesn’t work if the boat is being used by other members of the club…
That was why I was happy to see that the biabat is a bit smaller as the other boats out there. I could get in with no problem and immediately sat nice and tight in the boat. Pretty similar to my DPP Dynamic. The boat is a bit less wide as compared to for example a Fluid vuvubat, which means it is maybe a bit less stable, but… also a good amount faster….Some kids at my club (aged around 13 years) tested it and confirmed that it was a bit less stable, but because they had far more feel with the boat, they didn’t really bothered about that… On the upside, they noticed they could turn with far more precision.
Once I got in it again, I tried to get all performance I could out of the Biabat. What surprised me was how stiff the boat feel. There is a nice foam pillar in the front and back, and also the plastic itself seems to be really rigid and stiff. The foam bumpers are nicely integrated and feel as if they are attached well to the boat, although that’s something which only time can tell…
Footrest are adjustable and feel rigid. The seat and backrest are molded in one seat, which works well in my opinion.
Overall speed is very nice. That’s the upside off course for having a bit less wider boat. Turning is a breeze and with my weight I had no issue at all to dive deep under my opponement. The younger ones experienced the same.
All in all I think this boat is a really good alternative for what’s already on the market. With a big advantage over the competition as being a perfect boat for the average sized paddler.
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