Gear Review: Liquid Logic speedloader throwbag

The new throwbag from Liquid Logic, aka the Speedloader, was billed as the best thing since the wheel with regards to the speed and ease of repacking the bag after use. After Colm at I-Canoe got a shipment in, I got a chance to put this product through it’s paces on a number of Swiftwater Rescue Courses I ran in March and April of 2010 in Co. Wicklow and Co. Clare.

As I run a number of SRT courses and thus use a lot of throwbags in demonstrating and instructing throwbag techniques I try to expose students to a variety of throwbags so they can make informed judgements about various pros and cons of the different bags; thus when a new bag comes on the market I try to ensure I have it for the next course. In the past this was the case with WRSI Hail Mary Bag and, now is the case the the LL Speedloader Bag.

Well, returning to the story: how does the bag fare in trials? In my personal opinion, like all throwbags and most gear I have used, it has its plus points and its minus points.

The most important factor in any bag is how well it throws and how accurately and true it sails to its intended target, and how well the rope tails out of the bag. On this I found the bag threw reasonably well, both underarm, sidearm and over arm, and true in comparison to most of the other bags used, yielding an average score of 7.5 / 10.

Turning to the major selling point of this bag the speed of repacking (hence the name: Speedloader) how good is this bag in comparison to most other bags? My answer is good but not as good as expected, yielding a score of 8/10. It was quick, and certainly far quicker and easier than most bags, but not much quicker than for example the HF Weasel. Maybe with more practice the speed maybe increased, but I found that you had to place it on the ground to reap the maximum benefits of a fast repack, whereas I could repack the HF Weasel almost as quickly still standing up.

The thickness of the round rope for me is the biggest drawback as it is not very user friendly, yielding a score of 6/10; it is a bit like handling cheese wire when the load comes on in comparison to some of the thicker and flatter ropes. However the thinner rope allows a greater length to be packed in a compact bag which means a greater range of people can more easily throw the bag to its full length; which is after all the most important factor. On the plus side the rope, for its diameter, seems stronger than some of the alternative bags with flat ropes, as well as some of the ‘larger’ diameter ropes giving larger, more unwieldy bags. On the negative side this rope is quite pricy, especially if cost is an issue, in comparison to some throwbags and this may be a deciding factor for some paddlers!

Overall I would score  this bag 7/10; it is a decent alternative to some of  the bags out there and is worth considering, especially for people with smaller hands as it’s lightweight, compact design means that it is easy to throw and easy to pack.

In the future I would like to see developments such as a thicker rope, although not at the expense of a too large a bag (there is a fine balance!) and a waist mounted belt system.