Ed Smith

Hometown Fort William

Where did you last paddle? Up in the frozen north

Where will your next big boating mission take you? Norway and hopefully Nepal

Do you have a favourite spot/drop/rapid/move? Fav rapid is the Dutchman on the Nile, fav spot is a tie between the Finna gorge in Norway and New River dries WV, fav move is either the flash back or freewheel.

What paddling trip should everybody make at least once? Africa… although there’s no chance of doing it just once.

What advice do you have for anybody wanting to take their paddling to the next level? A lot of paddlers aren’t keen, but getting in really good shape through gym work and running helps things come a lot better on the water.

Who are your paddling heroes? Alex Nicks

All time favourite piece of Palm kit? I had a Symbiant PFD which I really rated as a versatile vest for traveling but the new AMP Vest is the best thing since sliced bread!

Favourite type of Pie? Pecan pie… CostCo do the finest in their bakery and the best bit of all is that it’s about 15″ in diameter. I always buy 3.