Shop ↗
The open-canoe library
Everything
OC1
Practical guides for discovering, setting up and paddling a freestyle open canoe—from your first kneeling position to your first competition ride.
Photographer unknown
Learn the craft
One blade. Open canoe. Water. A whole new way to paddle.
OC1 freestyle combines open-canoe tradition with modern whitewater moves. These guides are written as a clear starting point, with safety notes and links back to the events and venues where the community meets.
01What is an OC1 freestyle canoe?
A practical introduction to the single-seat open canoe, how it differs from a kayak and why paddlers choose it.
Read the guide →
02The history of OC1 in Freestyle
How open-canoe designs evolved from 12-foot river runners into short, highly rockered competition boats built for fast drainage, vertical moves and aerial tricks.
Read the guide →
03How ICF freestyle rules shaped modern OC1 canoes
How OC1 equipment rules shaped modern freestyle canoes—and how the 2027 shift to 30 litres and separate women’s standings could shape their future.
Read the guide →
04Choosing an OC1
What to look for in a freestyle canoe, including fit, volume and construction.
Read the guide →
05Outfitting and fit
A sensible guide to saddles, thigh straps, foot blocks, foam and building a secure but releasable connection.
Read the guide →
06Single-blade fundamentals
The essential strokes and body movements that make an OC1 accelerate, carve, spin and stay on a freestyle feature.
Read the guide →
07OC1 freestyle moves explained
What is currently possible in an OC1—and why there is still so much waiting to be done.
Read the guide →
08Your first freestyle competition
What happens at an event, how scoring works and what to bring for a relaxed first competition.
Read the guide →Put it into practice