Can freestyle kayaks go through huge rapids?

I am going to get a freestyle kayak and I wanted to make sure they could go through class 4 and 5 and class 6 rapids. I wanted to make sure they could run rapids just as good as a river kayak. Can they?|||If you don't have the experience and judgment to answer this for yourself, then the answer is no.





Freestyle boats are designed to get stuck in holes. This is part of what makes them play and do tricks. That's fine on Class III, but on harder water, it's not what you want. River runners and creekboats have more volume and are faster, so you have a better chance of punching through a bus-eating hole or avoiding it altogether.





Skilled boaters can do some Class IV in a freestyle boat. Some pros might even do a Class V run in one as a stunt. And Class VI is generally considered unrunnable in any craft.





If you have an interest in playboating, by all means get a freestyle kayak, but stick to Class II and III until your experience catches up with your ambitions.|||Boaters are regularly killed running or trying to run Grade V and Grade VI rapids. The boat is not the problem, the skill level of the boater determines the result. Read an ACA description of Graded Rapids. Discus your concerns with other boaters and especially ones that operate on Vs and VIs. A reasonably skilled kayaker in almost any kayak can manage rapids of Grade IV. Running the rapids under control and making the eddies is one thing...simply bombing through is another., Sit at a Grade V rapids and watch the action. Why are there boaters standing by with 'rescue ropes'? Have you been to a kayak school? Do you race slalom or downriver?