With the international riverboarding / hydrospeed / sledge community coming together more and more these days, people are asking:

"Why do some people call what they do hydrospeed and some riverboarding? It looks the same to me - what's the difference?"

The answer is simply: There isn't any difference!

While different parts of the world use different boards, it's all still the same sport. It's whitewater at face level (which is why you find them all here, at Face Level), and although cultures have different names for their boards, the sport can still be called "riverboarding". Or "hydrospeed" or "sledge" if you prefer.

But to ease confusion, and because the majority of the English-speaking world has taken to calling it "riverboarding", we're just going to use the term "Riverboarding" to refer to the sport, although we will call the boards by their proper name of Riverboard (the Carlson, the RMR, the River X), Hydrospeed, and Sledge.

The Different Riverboards 

American Riverboard 

This is an example of a Riverboard, and can be claimed to be the first actual "riverboard" designed.

Bob Carlson borrowed from the design of ocean boogie boards in the early 80's to make his riverboard, but it's quite a bit thicker and has handles, among other features.

The latest riverboards on the market, the Rocky Mountain Riverboard and the RIVERx Rescue Riverboard, are similar to this design. 

Hydrospeed 

This is an example of a Hydrospeed. Every hydrospeed is different, since most of them are made by the individuals for themselves, so they are made the correct size for the rider.

Hydrospeeds got their start in France and Europe is still where they are most widely used, and most Europeans call the sport "Hydrospeed" or "Hydrospeeding".

The early hydrospeeds switched from plastic to foam due to facial injuries, according to most historians. 

Sledge 

That's why you won't see a lot of these giant plastic bad boys on the market anymore. Actually, they're very hard to find at all (this is a rare old Prijon sledge) and weigh a ton.

The original designs the French guys used were from personal SCUBA submarine type hulls, and were hard plastic. But after bashing their faces and teeth in, they switched to the foam hydrospeeds.

Why the Sledge remained popular around the world is anybody's guess. They took on a slightly modified design in New Zealand, where the Kiwi's made them lighter and more ergonomic. The Ripboards which are used today are based on a New Zealand Sledge design, and are quite popular.

I think you know what a boogie board looks like so I won't bother showing you that. And if you're interested in seeing some of the "experimental riverboards" you can see them here. But you can see that the basic idea of the craft is the same, it's just the materials and ergonomics (not to mention the colors - some of those hydrospeeds, wow!) that are different.

The Solution To The Confusion 

So what's the solution to people in Malaysia using Sledges and calling their sport Riverboarding, or a new guide service in Boise using Sledges and doing what Americans call Riverboarding, only calling their trips Hydrospeed trips?

Well, I understand Cascade's dilemma (the company in Boise), there's a strong faction of "bungee-tethered riverboarders" as they call themselves in the Boise area, so they probably don't want to compete with them and confuse people in Boise. Personally (and this is my blog so I don't feel bad saying this) I think the bungee-tethered sport is stupid, it's a 4 second skimboard ride with a high potential for injury. If I want to skimboard I'll go to the ocean, and if I want to wakeboard, or wakeskate, etc, I'll get behind a boat. But that's just me.

Anyway (this must be my blog I'm all over the place!) my point was to find a solution. I think the only solution that's really going to work though is to educate people. Which is what I'm doing here. Now you know.

In Europe, South Africa, and French Canda, it's Hydrospeed. On the North Island of New Zealand, it's Sledge (the South Islanders call it Riverboarding). Everywhere else in the world, it's Riverboarding.

Which is why for our part here at Face Level, we're going to call the sport "RIVERBOARDING" and differentiate only between the types of boards, and only when necessary.

So when I rode Niko's hydrospeed on the Upper Gauley last week, I was riverboarding...my board of choice just happened to be a hydrospeed.

~Ice~