LiquidLogic Mullet Initial Review

The wizards at LiquidLogic have been busy cranking out some new and exciting whitewater kayaks. Fresh off the introduction of the Braaap, an amazing slalom inspired river runner (check out our review of the Braaap here), they have now unveiled their latest creation, the Mullet. Yep, you read that right, it's called the Mullet. Liquidlogic is killing it in the names (and art) department as well lol. 

You can tell that the Braaap and the Mullet share the same DNA immediately. Both boats have that slalom inspired look. Take a closer look though and you will see that they are actually very different vessels. While the Braaap is a high performance progressive river runner, the Mullet is meant to play it's way down-river.

To help facilitate this, the Mullet has some key design differences in regards to the Braaap. While their overall volume may be similar (around 69 gallons in Braaap, 71 in Mullet), that volume has been redisttributed in the Mullet. It has been taken out of the stern and added to the bow/cockpit area. The added volume in the bow helps the boat stay on top of the water going through rapids as well as allows for great enders. That plus the Mullet's extra 2" width vs the Braaap, really helps it to be a stable river runner.  It is 26 inches wide, which puts it right between the Remix 69 and 79. 

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Now out back, the stern is wide, flat and has a bit of a dip to it to help catch some flow. This allows you to slice down it's tail for splats, squirts, etc. It also has a pretty hardcore stern kick rocker. It's more abrupt than the Braaap and older boats like the RPM. This make take a few minutes to get used to but it's pretty awesome when you do. At this point you may be starting to realize why the name the Mullet name was born. Business in the front, party in the back. It even has stickers on it pointing that out.

In addition to slicing the stern, there is plenty more fun to be had in the Mullet. The bow isn't quite all business as it is fairly flat with a shovel front to help with enders. The length (same as  the Braaap at 8'11") provides some serious speed and the overall design also allows the Mullet to surf like a dream. Talking super stable, fast and responsive. It's really hard to describe the feeling of paddling the Mullet but I'd say it's kinda sorta like a RPM Max, with a different feeling kick rocker of course. That old school slicey feeling but mixed with new school engineering and comfort. 

Speaking of comfort, the Mullet has the stellar LiquidLogic Bad-ass outfitting. While very comfortable as always, I also noticed that the backband seems to sit a bit higher than other LL boats. Something I have been asking for and am really happy about how it feels. In addition, the extra bit of volume in the front of the Mullet allows it to accomodate larger paddlers. I've heard from LiquidLogic that people up to 250lbs have paddled the Mullet. I can see them fitting in it but let's just say I'm pretty sure there would be a lot more party and very little business at that weight. In fact, when I first got in the Mullet, that's how I felt. Of course, I like to party and really enjoyed it for the first part of the creek we were paddling. However when we got to the harder section, I cinched up the backband, sat forward a bit more and achieved what I'm going to call "Business Casual" lol. That setup worked really well for the harder stuff, while still maintaining the fun factor.

I could go on about it but I'll spare you and go ahead and sum it up. Shane Benedict and company over at LiquidLogic have come up with yet another great whitewater kayak. The Mullet is an old school slicey boat with modern touches. I personally can't wait to get it back out there and play on every seam and eddy line I can find. With a little practice, I'll be splatting and squirting in comfort all over the river, smiling all the way. Head over to liquidlogickayaks.com and get your Mullet on!

TL;DR - Do you like slicey old school boats? Want a modern interpretation of one with the comfort that comes along with that? Get yourself a Mullet and let your hair down on the river. I bought one after testing it if that tells you anything.

PROS

- Party in the back

- Fast

- Roomy cockpit

- Comfortable

- Surfs really well

CONS

- Not as slicey as say a Loki, if that's what you're going for.

SPECS

Width: 26"

Length: 9'

Volume: 71'ish gallons

Height: 14.5" at the front of the cockpit

ON A SIDE NOTE

- You should really check out the Muddy Rivers Festival March 18-20 if you get a chance. Located on the plateau, near Cookeville, TN, this is is a really fun festival involving whitewater kayaking, live music, disc golf, great beer and more. We had a freakin blast last year kayaking Spring Creek in a prototype Braaap, hanging out with Pat Keller and Steve Fisher, jamming to the Last of the Flohicans, etc. Check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/MuddyRiversFestival and their website at MuddyRiversFestival.com for more information. Hope to see you there!