Mullet

I'm 6'0" 225 lbs. 59 years young and I've been paddling for almost 20 years.

I've owned a lot of boats: Perception ARC, Dagger Redline, Wavesport ForPlay, Z & Y, Liquid Logic Session Plus, Riot Booster 55 & Air 55, Magnum 72, DragoRossi Fish & Critical Mass, Jackson Super Star, etc. just to name a few. Virtually every boat I've owned has been a free-running playboat with a planing hull.

My current free-runner is a Pyranha Varun (L), an absolutely awesome boat! Great to surf, spin and easy to roll. But over the last couple of years, my hips and legs have started going to sleep / numb after paddling for 30 minutes. I decided that my body needed some space and comfort. After a lot of thought and consideration, I chose a Mullet and it has been a revelation.

The Mullet is the first displacement hull boat I've ever owned. Initially, I was concerned that the rounded hull would be tippy. Not at all, it's extremely stable with huge secondary stability. The thing is that the design makes it EASY to initiate and maintain paddling on edge. It is also the easiest boat to roll that I have ever owned.

The first thing that struck me was the speed! Second, everything that happens is smooth. Dropping over a lip and punching a hole? No drama, the boat resurfaces with ease and control.

When I started doing eddy turns in the Mullet, I didn't see what the big deal was about eddy turns. It didn't seem to turn as well as my planing hull boats. But then I learned to really crank up the lean. The edge & parting line of the low-volume stern create a tremendous carving edge when you aggressively lean the boat. Edge the sucker hard into the eddy and the 9' boat snaps around with ease.

Surfing the boat is easy but it is not dynamic. If you're in to flat-spins, it's not going to happen in a Mullet. Looking for fast, dynamic edging from side to side? Again, you'll want a planing hull design. But if you are looking for easy, smooth, soul surfing, the Mullet is awesome. Big water or creeking? You need to keep an aggressive forward paddling posture and maintain good speed, but still, that low volume stern is going to get tripped up from time to time.
One of my friends who owns a Remix paddled the Mullet and commented on how much more agile the boat is; turns better, rolls more easily.

Final thoughts. Smooth, smooth, smooth river-runner with the ability to stern squirt and pivot-turn. Not something you typically find in a fast 9' boat. One small criticism. The bungies for the water bottle in front of the seat are not adequate. The water bottle falls out of the holder every time I roll. Not a big deal in the pool, but I lost a nice $30 water bottle when the boat flipped while I was getting out at the take-out. I have the Liquid Logic thermal bottle now and it is awesome, but again, the first time the boat flipped over the bottle fell out, got dented up and was almost lost.

This review was originally posted on liquidlogickayaks.com and was re-posted with permission.

Gives you slalom moves with a high volume bow to keep you out of trouble. As a bonus, you get the comfortable outfitting and high quality of Liquidlogic.

This review was originally posted on liquidlogickayaks.com and was re-posted with permission.

Shane and team have done it again! Just finished a 14 day Grand Canyon Trip and the Mullet was the BOAT. Plenty of speed to catch those glassy waves at the top of rapids while also having the stern to shred those steeper waves and squirt those eddy lines. Lastly it WAS comfortable for those long hours in the saddle (and I am 6'7"!).

This review was originally posted on liquidlogickayaks.com and was re-posted with permission.

My third run in my new Liquid Logic Mullet was on the Middle Fork of the Tygart River in West Virginia. The middle fork section starts as a creek and then when it connects with the main Tygart is becomes more like a big river. That day the middle fork section was running high but very fun in my Mullet, some great surfs, tight eddy hopping through the rock gardens etc. But the main Tygart was at serious flood stage, about 12 feet, where AW suggests 9' as the high flow cuttoff, when we got to the confluence. All this is to say that it was BIG Water. I didn't expect that the Mullet would perform well in these conditions, as the stern can be catchy. But Wow did it perform in the insane big wave trains on this massive flooding river. I did have to be super aggressive to keep the stern from squirting, but i expected that, meanwhile i could turn on a dime and catch the 15-20 foot waves in the trains just in time to surf away from school bus sized holes that just down stream. This wasn't a river for play that day, more just dodging and zagging. At this water level the usual rapids were indistinguishable, just large wave trains, larger wave trains with holes, and some fast moving water leading into wave trains. So yes in my professional opinion (25 years of kayaking) this boat rocks!

This review was originally posted on liquidlogickayaks.com and was re-posted with permission.

super fun boat. I have been waiting for someone to make this type of boat for a long time. What surprised me the most was how well it boofs. Super fast, great on a wave, and is so fun to hit pivot turns in.

This review was originally posted on liquidlogickayaks.com and was re-posted with permission.

great boat surfs great and very comfortable

This review was originally posted on liquidlogickayaks.com and was re-posted with permission.

We have seemed to have dried out here in Virginia this Spring. But initial impressions of the mullet are great. I've only been in it twice now, still working on getting that fine tuned fit down. No issues with getting it vertical, a little harder than the Loki to get it there but with a lot more room for the feet!! Surfs great and was surprised by the quickness and acceleration of it. I was hoping for a bit more of a planning hull. Not sure how that would effect above good qualities though, But happy with it. Overall a great boat. Definitely a nice edition to the already stellar lineup. Most likely taking it down the Grand Canyon this May!

This review was originally posted on liquidlogickayaks.com and was re-posted with permission.

It's been a long time since I fell in love with a boat, but I'm in love with this one. Quick, stable, balanced....The Mullet is fun to paddle. Feels like an extension of my body. The hull and length make it fast and smooth running the river. This is the best surfing boat I've paddled. Smooth carving and effortless control. If I could have only one boat, the Mullet would be it. New and Gauley dreamboat. I want one!

This review was originally posted on liquidlogickayaks.com and was re-posted with permission.

Upon paddling the Proto Mullet on the Green (Upper and Narrows) as well as the Upper Gauley, I was pumped to discover that the Business in the front was real and the Party in the back was real wild! I sit at 5'10" and 175-180 #'s. The Proto Mullet was great but a lil big so Shane listened to everyones feedback and its around 4-6 gallons smaller now. The bow is still roomy for all day comfort, big feet, or bigger footwear but is a lil smaller in volume making enders easier to slam the bow under. Big air enders are fun! I have paddled many boats that boof great (more bow volume) and have "stern squirt friendly" sterns (Slicy/low volume). Between the Whiplash/Whip-It, Sleek, RPM/Max, Hurricane, etc. the LL Mullet is the best of all these boat designs and so much more!
It has a modern slalom style displacement hull and its length make it very fast. What I noticed w the Mullet compared to other boats w Slicy sterns is that the Mullet will run the river way better. This inspires confidence in those must make moves. And vertically is the name of the game when you want it to be! There was a few more gallons taken out of the stern closer to the cockpit. This is was another clutch improvement for the production boat! Depending on where you are at with your stern squirting and/or splatting technique and timing, the Mullet will let ya get vertical on eddy lines and seams. For those of us at the higher end of the "weight window" it will require less work to get the stern under of course. Those of us that might be around my weight and have been working (and playing hard) on practicing stern squirt timing and technique, this will pay off big time w the Mullet. If someone is around 150#'s they can and will be able to get the stern under with great timing and technique. As we all know, learning to paddle whitewater wasn't easy and we had to do most of the work so be patient and practice, practice, practice that timing/technique. You may find that if you want it to stern squirt more/easier than you can just move the bulkhead/footboard back toward you and leave back band "not as tight"...this will adjust the trim of the boat in the water some. Then for some people (or for some burlier runs) you may want to have the stern engage less and more of the bow weighted, so you may want the bulkhead moved forward toward the bow a slot or 2 then just tighten up on back band a lil more. Make sense?
The boat is a little wider than most of the boats listed above which will help w stability and comfort. The more aggressive stern kick rocker takes away even more volume from the stern and lends to easier stern squirts and/or pivot turns. One of many great stats is: More knee/leg/foot room than the RPM Max BUT 4 gallons or so less overall volume.
The Mullet and the Braaap, while only 2 gallons different in overall volume are still VERY different boats. THIS IS ALL ABOUT VOLUME DISTRIBUTION. The Mullet is wider, more volume in the bow and less volume in the stern. Add the aggressive stern kick rocker in there and you have a different boat in so many facets. The stern is exponentially more playful than the Braaap stern as well. They are both very fun boats but very different. Demo both and see for yourself which one speaks to you the most. Be sure to play around with the bulkhead and back band some to adjust trim/stern loading vs bow loading.
The Mullet is a teaching tool for new schoolers to learn the downriver play of yesterday, for old schoolers to hop in the seat of their "first hot rod" again! It's a glimpse back to when the Mississippi Mud Flap first started when splatting and stern squirting was the name of the game. Top that off with the ever so comfy BADASS Outfitting/ratcheting back-band and you have yourself the hottest ride on the river!

This review was originally posted on liquidlogickayaks.com and was re-posted with permission.