Soca river white water kayaking, Bunker section. Slovenia 14-08-2011

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Most popular comments
for Soca river white water kayaking, Bunker section. Slovenia 14-08-2011

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Pavol Macura - 6 years ago

I really liked how you took care of your friends - waiting for them, showing the way, being ready for help. You have my respect.

walthanas - 6 years ago

Thank you for your kind words.

I take responsibility for my group, as I think every trip leader should, very seriously.

Kosake - 7 years ago

Yeah from my experience too these rafts are soo annoying on this river for us kayaking

Indus S - 7 years ago

class II on east coast u.s.

walthanas - 7 years ago

Lucky for you I happen to have paddled all along the U.S. east coast, running the Green Narrows, Lower Meadow, Top and Upper Yough and a bunch of other stuff. Just because you try to downrate stuff doesn't make it reality.

PF Sports and Lifestyle - 8 years ago

AWESOME video

Gucci Gucci - 8 years ago

beautiful video

Natuurlijk Ritme - 8 years ago

O yeah! I would like to kayak here this summer! :)

ssrider7 - 8 years ago

Soca is most beautifull river on planet Earth!!

Aldo Milano - 8 years ago

nice ride , fantastic water's color

Brad Yeates - 10 years ago

What kayak did you us in this video?

Brad Yeates - 10 years ago

Ok thank you very much for answering all my questions you have helped me a lot with your answers! i think i will go with the jackson super hero! :) :) :)

walthanas - 10 years ago

+brad yeates
Either would be just fine if you paddle it on normal levels and have the skill to be within your comfortzone.
I tend to go for a creekboat when things are more difficult, steeper or much higher volume, but that is just my personal preference.

Brad Yeates - 10 years ago

+walthanas And also, which one of these two kayaks would be better for the bunker section? 1: http://www.canoeandkayakstore.co.uk/4284808/products/liquidlogic_remix_xp_blue_knight.aspx 2: http://www.canoeandkayakstore.co.uk/4507576/products/jackson_super_hero_sprite.aspx

Brad Yeates - 10 years ago

+walthanas Thank you for replying, i want to have a job kayaking on the soca river when i am older

walthanas - 10 years ago

It is a Bliss-Stick Flipstick. Pretty low volume playboat (from the early 21st century) for someone my weight (220+lbs) but I like it.

10. comment for Soca river white water kayaking, Bunker section. Slovenia 14-08-2011

Les Trainor - 10 years ago

AWESOME video love the river and colour of the water

Loekert Jansensos - 10 years ago

really enjoyed watching this vid.
made me wanna go kayakking again!

paddle hard - 10 years ago

Great ride!!!

Brad Yeates - 10 years ago

Shared This On Google+

Brad Yeates - 10 years ago

Do they do Kayaking/Canoeing/Rafting holidays in Soca River/Valley down to the beach or just down the river???? It looks great by the way from England! :)

Brad Yeates - 8 years ago

Oh okay, Thanks for the information! :)

Brad Yeates - 10 years ago

thanks

walthanas - 10 years ago

I'm not familiar with any company doing rafting trips all the way down to the beach. Mind you, the commercial white water rafting trips are usually limited to several sections of the Soca, none of which tends to be below the town of Trnovo.

Kayaking to the beach might be possible, but below Kobarid there is very little white water. Think tour or sea kayaks for that (quite long) stretch of Soca.

mylosyrus - 11 years ago

If feel sorry for you, just for the fact that you don't know what a knob is, because you don't refer yourself to one :)!! lol

geile sau - 11 years ago

very nice , greetings from turkiye

Chris Campbell - 11 years ago

very nice looking run, I think people have forgotten that a river needs to be rated for when it is at its worse. In the video its a solid class 3, but at high water it would probably upgrade to a 4. Im from BC (canada) and we have 3 local rivers in my city, that run from 2 to 5 depending on the river and level. and a river should always bear the rating of the hardest rapid just to be safe. If I am ever out your way I would love to paddle there.

Enrique Vega - 11 years ago

Seems a great place with a really fun ride!!! Greetings from Costa Rica.

alex f. - 11 years ago

this region has very rich history and Soca is one of the few most unpulluted river in the world and one of the most beautiful in color blue. Its the nature real pearl among rivers in this planet. but any mass tourist attraction can change that quickly

20. comment for Soca river white water kayaking, Bunker section. Slovenia 14-08-2011

David Formolo - 11 years ago

Beautiful river, would love to paddle it just for the view. Definitely not class IV if you're ratings are I-VI though. If that's what the signs/handbooks say, then they're wrong. Class II's for sure. Nevertheless, it looks like an awesome run!

randy cyphers - 11 years ago

dude a boats a boat its plastic and it floats dose it matter what boat it is you are a shame to the kayaking community we don't trash others we give advice and try to help or teach I really hope you reconsider what your about to post before you post.

Eric Diaz Chaix - 11 years ago

A mi me gusto el video, excelente lugar. Saludos desde Argentina. Espero poder visitar el Soca algún día. I like the video. The place, the scenery and the water color are excellent. Greetings from Argentina. Soca hope to visit someday

walthanas - 11 years ago

Frankly, I couldn't care less what you rate certain rapids or how you judge certain types of boats of the paddlers who paddle them. There are always people who downgrade river or rapid difficulty, usually to make themselves look good or others bad. I use the official Slovenian ratings, as signposted at every river put in or take out. But come paddle it with me, show me the best as well as the most interesting lines and ace those lines. Then I might take you and your opinion more seriously.

Pedro Gouveia - 11 years ago

what a beautiful place.. just wow..

CarsonFletch - 11 years ago

you're the snowcat of whitewater

Ben Chandler - 11 years ago

awesome kayaking and beautiful water!

i-NeroX - 11 years ago

Thanks for your reply! The 4-paddlers site can be helplful, especially for water levels..i think we will definately go on a guided kayak tour to get a feel for the river an find the perfect section for our rafting tour. WOW, I didnt know that we would have to buy permits to paddle on the Soca!!?

walthanas - 11 years ago

It's possible to raft from Bovec to Kobarid, but some parts of that stretch can have pretty low water at the beginning of August. Compared to the Isar (which I paddled several times) it can be similar or even easier, depending uon the water level. Also look at the 4-paddlers website and check the gauge (pegel) and WW class there.Permits for rafts are very expensive, so as an alternative I would also consider going on a more difficult stretch of river with a Slovenian commercial raft company.

i-NeroX - 11 years ago

@walthanas: Hi, great vid! Looks like so much fun! :) 4 of us are planing an adventure trip to the Soca River in early August, mainly for rafting / kayaking and climbing. We have 2 rubber boats from "Intex" called Mariner 4. 2 of us have some experience (between 20-30 hrs) on a Bavarian River called "Isar". Could you please give us some advise on which sections of the Soca would be suitable for rafting? I was thinking about the section from Bovec to Kobarid, is that possible? Best from Germany!

30. comment for Soca river white water kayaking, Bunker section. Slovenia 14-08-2011

Androgene69 - 11 years ago

We kayaked the Soca for the second time this year, driving over from Northampton. The bridge over the gorge has been washed away by winter storms. We camped at Kamp Lazar by Napoleon Most (Bridge) and I can recommend it highly. I enjoyed your video very much. Viel spass!

Fleischermeisterjack - 11 years ago

2:08 " schöne kerze" ja war geil^^

walthanas - 11 years ago

From my limited Slovenian language skills I gather that Simon Gregorcic describes the Soca in a very lovely way in that text. :-) If so, I agree with his description.

VendPrekmurec - 11 years ago

" Krasna si, bistra hči planin, brdka v prirodni si lepoti, ko ti prozornih globočin nevihte temne srd ne moti, krasna si, hči planin! " Simon Gregorčič, Soči

MrSimi35 - 11 years ago

i was there too :D it's beautiful

CenkutU - 11 years ago

Man, the soca is such a beauty, I just love her

UNiCuS Rampage - 11 years ago

I went there 3 yrs ago it was the best kayaking trip i have ever been 2.

UNiCuS Rampage - 11 years ago

Rafts are rubbish kayaking 4 the win!!!

walthanas - 11 years ago

It's the Soca river, a river in western Slovenia (Europe). If you do a google maps search, you'll see it on the map, very close to the section of white water shown in this video.

cuyler rono - 11 years ago

Where is that

Elias Leonard - 11 years ago

wanne go back there :/

kam2057 - 11 years ago

Wow!! Beautiful and looks like a blast!

walthanas - 11 years ago

A Contour-HD 1080P, in a waterproof housing.

Florian Habro - 11 years ago

what camera did you use?

walthanas - 11 years ago

You´re welcome. Yeah, I have the same feeling when I see that video again, despite the fact of having paddled that part of the Soca probably dozens of times. (BTW, if you really want to go paddle *now*... the Soca has a very nice 150cm on the gauge right now. It might be a tad more than 2* in many places, though. ;-))

rebecca nokes - 11 years ago

wow..just become a 2* paddler and this video really makes me want to go paddling right now! scenery looks amazing and the water so colourful. Beautiful...thanks!

Mike Swankhouse - 11 years ago

Awesome

walthanas - 11 years ago

Compared to the Ocoee, Gauley or lower Yough, all of which I paddled several times while in the U.S., I find the Bunker section of the Soca rather quiet. So crowded is a relative term in this context, I think. :-)

Bookie - 11 years ago

I can see why that river is crowded.

walthanas - 11 years ago

I agree. Alas the camera doesn't do it justice. It's much better when seen in real life. :-)

50. comment for Soca river white water kayaking, Bunker section. Slovenia 14-08-2011

YOUSEF ALBRAHIM - 11 years ago

Amazing water color,,

walthanas - 11 years ago

Klara is from the Czech Republic, Uros and Tina are Slovenian and I am Dutch.

Tyler Hicks - 11 years ago

Where are you guys from?

walthanas - 12 years ago

Wow: that must have been quite an adventure! I would have loved to experience that kind of tranquility with no other boaters around, but alas i started kayaking only in 1993. And although nowadays there is a "Kamp Toni" near that confluence, there are several other kamp sites set up along both the Soca and Koritnica estuary.

Peter S. - 12 years ago

THX for this vid! We did this trip about 30 years ago with old, big and heavy glass-fibre kayaks (self-moulded!). Water was low, but there are NO other kayaks or rafters around :-) We were sleeping at an private place direct at the river. And IMHO the name of the farmer was Toni... We are speaking about Bovec? At the junction of Soca and Coritnica? It's a wonderfull place and river! Peter

walthanas - 12 years ago

Da sind weniger fehler in dein Englisch als bei mein Deutsch. ;-) Und ja, das stimmt. Wir sind meist in Kamp Toni zu finden. So auch letztes jahr.

Marvin Conrad - 12 years ago

Did you sleep in ''Camp Toni'' also? we also where there last year :) Sorry for my bad English, I'm German :)

walthanas - 12 years ago

Well, to be honest, the main reason I put this video online is for my friends that are in that clip. That everyone else can also see it is just a bonus. Of course I understand your view, since the same applies also to me watching someone else's white water video. Then again, I also like to see myself paddle every once in a while, so it's fun if I spot my own paddling in another paddler's clip. :-)

bp968 - 12 years ago

Good video but I'd have probably cut out some of the eddies. At first it was cool seeing everyone catching the eddies but by about 6-7mins I was wondering if you were going to do the river in 20ft sections and maybe the trip was an attempt to catch every eddy on the river ;)

Antonio Leuci - 12 years ago

Belle immagine e bel fiume, qual'è il suo nome e in quale località scorre in Slovenia? Il filmato è montato molto bene ottimo anche i lsonoro. Complimenti veramente bravi, è il primo fimato che mi sono divertito a vederlo, anche con un pò di invidia per la bella discesa e come siete sciesi. Grazie

Nick Dittes - 12 years ago

haha, ok. I must have been using it in different conditions. Good to know though! Now I know what it SHOULD be capable of ;)

walthanas - 12 years ago

Het is natuurlijk afhankelijk van de waterstand, maar bij normaal water schat ik het eerste deel van die stroomversnelling (zeg maar van net na de voetgangersbrug tot het eerste rustigere stukje daarna) als een klasse IV. Smalle doorgangen, paar kleine walsjes, genoeg verval om niet van bovenaf de hele stroomversnelling te kunnen overzien. Als ik de rivierbeschrijvingen op Soulboater, kajak.at e.d. lees dan komt de slalombaan op IV+ en dit als IV-.Dus dan zit ik er niet zo gek ver naast met IV.

walthanas - 12 years ago

It's funny that you say that: I use a Contour-HD 1080P (basically your camera's less expensive predecessor with more or less similar video quality). :-)

Nick Dittes - 12 years ago

Nice video. I've been there quite a few times, but just hiking and swimming. Which helmet camera did you use? The quality might be better than my Contour GPS.

Christiaan Kroes - 12 years ago

mwah een redelijke niveau wildwater 3, de slalombaan is een wildwater 4 sectie, maar dat is zeker een hoger niveau dan de blokkendoos

walthanas - 12 years ago

Wat voor klasse is het dan wel volgens jou?

Christiaan Kroes - 12 years ago

Yes, in het nederlands de blokkendoos.

walthanas - 12 years ago

Good question. I assume that it's the silt in the water combined with the angle of the sun. There are more rivers with this colour, often in an area where other rivers do not have it. I have kayaked one in Greece with a very similar colour.

nps596 - 12 years ago

That is so cool! What a beautiful area! I would love to come over and paddle that. What makes the water so sky blue?

walthanas - 12 years ago

Which first part? The "Bunker" cataracts?

Christiaan Kroes - 12 years ago

that first part is definitly not a class 4.

Matheus Moreno - 12 years ago

it sure is lovely!

walthanas - 12 years ago

These two guides were putting two rafts through a gorge that is narrower than the length of a raft(where lots of kayakers are paddling every day), with only one raft guide in each raft. Then having the first raft guide fall out of his raft in the entrance rapid, sending that raft like a unguided missile down that gorge, with a lot of risk of it either getting stuck(strainer)or ending up on another paddler downstream. There was more involving paying customers, but I'm running out of space here...

goaheadblockme - 12 years ago

So, what was unsafe about what the rafters had done? Not really a clear example imo. 07:15

walthanas - 12 years ago

It´s a Flipstick (as can be seen in the tags).

Patrick Spivey - 12 years ago

Amazing video by the way.

Patrick Spivey - 12 years ago

Is that a Flip-Stick or Slick Stick your paddling?

Alex McLeod - 12 years ago

I love this video! I've been watching videos of this river on Youtube all day, looks like an amazing river. Good music too, and your subtitle commentary is great! :-)

walthanas - 12 years ago

Good chance, although it could also be from paintballers who don't like kayaking videos on my channel. :-)

Tim Gabrovšek - 12 years ago

2 dislikes; must be from the rafters ;)

Jackelyn Gonzalez - 12 years ago

Thanks for replying very kind of you. Take care!

walthanas - 12 years ago

I started kayaking in 1993. When you start kayaking, get good instruction (who are qualified, who don't get too big a group of beginners under supervision of one instructor, who pay attention to your safety as well as adjust their instruction to what *you* individually need) and go with the flow: don't let anyone push you and paddle what feels within your limits. Those other kayakers in this video are friends who live in Slovenia, some German kayakers I know (online forum) and my girlfriend.

Jackelyn Gonzalez - 12 years ago

Looks awesome! I most have seen this video like 20 times. How long have you been kayaking for? Me and my boyfriend want to get into it. We went rafting last year & are going again in a few weeks. Any tips? The rivers around us are at least 4 hours away. Are the people in the video family? Or close childhood friends? Or did you meet them in some kind of forum and decided to plan a trip?

walthanas - 12 years ago

Tell you what: It looks much more beautiful when seen through your own eyes! :-)

Matheus Moreno - 12 years ago

look at the color of the water! omg...

Aaron Kilen - 12 years ago

Fantastic. Thank you.

walthanas - 12 years ago

In this clip, a Bliss Stick Flip Stick.

Aaron Kilen - 12 years ago

Fantastic. Thank you. Oh and what kind of kayak are you using?

walthanas - 12 years ago

Well, I can only speak for myself and my own view of safety. Simply said, I believe that if you have a 25 dollar head, you can use a 25 dollar helmet. I use a Grateful Heads Dropzone helmet, with good coverage of the front and back of my head as well as my ears. To that I have added a canoe polo face guard, which gives my face protection as well. Despite the possibility of snagging on a tree branch, I have yet to hear of anyone having that happen to them (in my 18 years of white water running).

Aaron Kilen - 12 years ago

Great video! What's the best style of helmet to wear while doing serious whitewater? Full face?

walthanas - 12 years ago

Yes and no: They sometimes use the foam bicycle helmets but I have also seen the foam with a thin layer of plastic on top version of bicycle helmets. Neither of which covers the head as well as a good full coverage white water helmet and neither of those bicycle helmets is designed for more than one impact (which you will quite likely get on a river).

psychedeliccheese - 12 years ago

Are you talking about the foam bike helmets because I often use my hard shell skateboard helmet on the river, If its designed to withstand concrete impacts I figure rocks cant hurt? This is mostly a safety question.

walthanas - 12 years ago

-blush- Thank you for the kind words.

jem mountainman - 12 years ago

i love the way you run saftey..awesome

walthanas - 12 years ago

Ben sinds kort geen clublid meer... Maar daarvoor was het "De Genneper Molen" in Eindhoven.

Marcin Okulczyk - 12 years ago

welke NL club?

walthanas - 12 years ago

Yes, I paddled sections of the New river during several visits to the U.S., as well as about 30 other rivers and creeks, such as the Lower Meadow, Green Narrows, Tallulah, Great Falls of the Potomac and the Upper and Top Yough.

rusty7two - 12 years ago

Beautiful River!

walthanas - 12 years ago

Tja Arjan, het amusement hoef je soms niet eens op te zoeken, het komt gewoon naar je toe in de vorm van allerlei carnage op het water. :-)

Arjan Blok - 12 years ago

Nou, je maakt wat mee he, op zo'n dag ;)

100. comment for Soca river white water kayaking, Bunker section. Slovenia 14-08-2011

walthanas - 12 years ago

Ich wuerde *nie* ein contour-Roam kaufen. Ist in mehrere aufsichten ein schlechter camera als ein 1080P modell. Fuer wildwasserfahren ist keiners Contour camera ohne wasserdichtes gehause geëignet. Mit das gehause nur wenn mann absolut sicher ist das mann kein stein beruehrt oder auf das boot schwimmt.

walthanas - 12 years ago

Natuerlich darf mann das fragen! :-) Ich habe dafuer eine Contour-HD 1080P (helm-)camera mit unterwassergehause (Ist das Deutsch? :-)) benuetzt.

zaboj666 - 12 years ago

@BPSPanzerknakker there is more turists in the season that there is kayakers- guides in Slovenija. There is inuf customers for any amateur to do busines. Othervise Slovenija has best kayakers and guides of the world ;) But sadley Hungary and Italians are taking over this beutifull waley of ours

walthanas - 13 years ago

@necramoniumdotc0m Ja, in de Ardennen is het kanoseizoen helaas vrij kort en vooral beperkt tot het nattere jaargetijde. Voor de meeste beekjes die je nog mag bevaren is het buiten de periode van halverwege oktober tot eind maart hopen op een paar dagen flinke regen, anders staat er niet genoeg water meer. :-(

walthanas - 13 years ago

@BPSPanzerknakker Yep, and you know what? They weren't even the worst company on the river. :-( Some raft companies actually give their customers bicycle helmets to protect them from the rocks. :-( Then again, most raft companies on the Soca seem to know what they are doing, have decent gear and do their work well.

walthanas - 13 years ago

@ShaGGyPBvids Tja, er kwam weliswaar ineens ruim een meter meer op de peilschaal bij (waardoor de lokale overheid ons de toegang tot de rivier verbood), maar tegen de tijd dat we weer wel mochten varen was er nog ongeveer 80cm meer dan normaal op de rivier. Ik ben nu de beelden aan het bewerken. Je kunt zien dat er toch nog een paar vaarders onbedoeld ondersteboven gaan (maar wel eskimoteren). Ik krijg ook even natte oren, maar ik ga net niet om. :-)

ShaGGyPBvids - 13 years ago

Mooie video, en ook zeker een toffe sport! Ben benieuwd naar de beelden van na de regen! :) Grtz ShaGGy

walthanas - 13 years ago

@HeIIrox Ja, ich finde das die farbe auch was besonderes hat. Sowieso mit die weisse felsen, gruen und graue bergen und der blaue luft sieht es da fast wie eine postkarte aus. :-)

HeIIrox - 13 years ago

Wow was ein geiler Fluss, diese Farbe :D

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