Thanks Sponsors!

I just wanted to give a shout out to our sponsors for our 2010 Trip! Thanks to Saturn Rafts, Frontierplay.com, NRS, and Brunton for helping us with our gear this year. Without your help things would have been a lot more difficult with our shoe string budget.

I wanted to highlight a couple of them here for ya...

Saturn Rafts is a company from the outskirts of Boise, Idaho. I used their boats last year on the Yukon and was very impresses! If you are looking into getting a raft you really need to check these guys out! http://www.staurnrafts.com/

Here is a little bit about their boats who they are:

SATURN rafts are exceptional quality workmanship products made by a leading manufacturer of inflatable rafts in Korea. Our manufacturer is a major supplier of inflatable rafts for the Korean military, and possesses over 20 patents in 12 different countries including: double wall fabric for high-pressure air deck floors and air safety valves for inflatable rafts and boats. The quality of SATURN Inflatable Rafts has been regarded as superior to its more widely known competitors but until recently was mostly imported to Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

SATURN inflatable rafts represent quality and durability at budget-pleasing prices. Our prices are lower because we keep our overhead and marketing costs to a minimum and pass on the overseas production cost savings directly to our customers. We offer our wholesale prices to all customers including outfitters, guide services and the occasional adrenaline junkie.

Easy to set up, SATURN inflatable boats and rafts will take you on a fun day of exploration at bay, river or lake. Once deflated, our inflatable rafts can be easily stored in the bed of your truck or trunk of your car.SATURN inflatable boats and rafts are hand-sealed at the seams for perfect seaming-the most expensive and reliable method used today. Each seam is strengthened with four layers of bonded fabric for maximum strength and durability. Heavy duty 1,100 Dtex High Strength PVC fabric coated on both side with 1100 g/m2, 0.9mm. Fabric is thick, puncture and abrasion resistant.SATURN inflatable boats are made with the same quality materials as many of the more famous expensive brands of inflatable boats.

The materials used for production of these rafts are very similar or often the same quality than most of our competitors. SATURN boats are made with very clean, hand-made seams with a double layer of fabric at the tubes top and bottom.The extra thick 1100 Dtex fabric with polyester support is a much thicker fabric than some of our high-end competitors. The largest concern our customers voice is the substantial price difference between our products and some of our other competitors.

There are several reasons why our prices are the lowest in US:
We import directly from the manufacturer, bypassing the middleman.
By conducting our business on-line we avoid expenses that retail stores must pass on to their customers.

We do not invest as heavily in marketing as our competitors and receive the majority of our business from repeat customers and customer referrals.

We don't have to maintain a large network of dealers and retail stores.

Our 2 year warranty does not force you to pay for extra years that otherwise are built-in to retail prices.

Many of our repeat customers are boaters that have had experience with other brand names as AIRE, Maravia, Vanguard, Hy-Side, Zodiac, Avon, West Marine, etc. and the most common remarks we hear are that our rafts are very competitive in terms of performance at 1/3 of the price.

Frontierplay.com is another company from Idaho - Twin Falls to be exact. They are a wonderful company that provides high quality river gear at a great cost! I also used their products last year and was very impressed, thus I have decided to go with them again. They have been very generous to us this year in providing us with one of their high quality dry boxes and set up for a frame.

Here is a little bit about them:

FrontierPlay was created as a way for our family to enjoy the outdoors. The gear we sell has been tested by both family and friends experienced in whitewater adventure.

Our background is in whitewater kayaking and rafting. Darren spent his youth kayaking the wild rivers of Idaho, most especially the infamous Murtaugh section of the Snake (which happens to be right in our backyard)! He also guided two years on the Middle Fork of the Salmon, and three years on Cataract Canyon on the Colorado. Now with a family, we have found no better place to raise our kids than in the outdoors. Our three kids are avid lovers of adventure, and we hope they grow up to find the same excitement, fulfillment and peace that we have found in the outdoors.

One of the things I love about frontierplay.com is their Clean water donation:

FrontierPlay is committed to excellent customer service and working with those who are in need of clean water.

We love water, which is definitely a part of our business. In 2006 we committed 10% of our Net Profit or 1% of our Gross Sales, which ever is greater to an organization committed to provide Clean Water. In the past couple years with your purchases we have donated over $10,400 to Clean Water projects through out the World.

The objective of the Clean Water initiative is to improve the health of communities by providing access to sustainable clean water sources. Depending on local needs and circumstances, these water sources include wells (or boreholes), water storage and delivery systems, and water purification systems.

One hundred percent off the money goes directly to the Clean Water initiative. No money is used for administrative or fund raising expenses.

Clean water projects since 2002 have provided more than four million people in 50 countries access to clean water. Some of the countries are Algeria, Armenia, Cambodia, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Fiji, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Laos, Liberia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Samoa, Serbia, Tanzania, Tonga, Uganda, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.

Please consider us when purchasing additional gear. If our website doesn’t have a whitewater related item your looking for shoot us an e-mail, more than likely we can get the items for you at a savings

I have nothing but good things to say about frontierplay.com and if you are in need of ANY boating gear they are the people you should be contacting! http://www.frontierplay.com/