Name: Ron Hunt
Review Date: 5/16/2011 4:44 pm
Rating:

I was recently paddling alot of steep creeks and suffered a 6 inch crack in my boat halfway down The Middle Fork of the Tygart. Luckily I carry The Hippo Patch in my repair/survival kit. I placed a patch on the outside as well as on the inside. The boat did not leak at all while paddling the rest of the way out. As the boat was crosslink and could not be repaired by welding I thought that this was going to be the last trip for her. Therefore I decided to paddle it the next day down The Cheat Canyon and was prepared to stop, drain, and repeat. Well, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Hippo Patch completely held and that there was no water in my boat. I was afraid to take my cracked boat down The Lower Big Sandy with its large drops and multiple boofs so I used a boat that my buddy brought from home which was just like my boat. The following day I decided to take my cracked boat for one final paddle down The Cheat Canyon again and this time 'test' the Hippo Patch and to give my favorite boat a good going away paddle! With this in mind I told my buddies to 'not follow me!" I decided to hit every hole, surf every wave, boof every boof, and slide up against and spin EVERY rock on the river. And I figured that in doing this either The Hippo Patch would peel off or get ripped off or that the crack would expand. As the trip progressed the rock spin count increased and there were a few epic hole surfs but throughout the trip the Hippo Patch held and my boat never did leak. So, I can firmly say that The Hippo Patch is more than just a temporary, emergency patch! It will last for several trips especially if you are careful regarding rocks and such. But even if you have to bomb the rough stuff, have no fear, The Hippo Patch will get you home!

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