C-Forum

If I could only have one boat for big water, creeking,etc it would be an Option or Lite L'Edge

Thanks for all the info, and particularly Aaron's comprehensive review. Good stuff.

Only thing that's missing is a comparative review of the Dropzone, by some who's paddles all the others.

Anyone???

Rick

You will hear a lot more from Option paddlers than Octane paddlers because there are a lot more Options out there. It is all personal preference so I suggest you try both the Octane 85 and the Option to determine which hull you prefer. The L'Edge is a planning hull and so it the Octane. As an Octane paddler I prefer the edges and flat bottom for creeking, although a lot of people don't. You will find the Octane has rock solid initial and final stability, more so than the Option I believe.

Pierre LaPaddelle wrote:Thanks for all the info, and particularly Aaron's comprehensive review. Good stuff.

Only thing that's missing is a comparative review of the Dropzone, by some who's paddles all the others.

Anyone???

Rick

I've paddled the Drop Zone too. At least the demo I paddled was as wide and stable as the Octane 91 , with more rocker in the stern, making it a cross between the big Octane in stability and the Option in agility. It is a very cool boat to be sure. The width makes it more of a stretch to do cross-bow strokes however it is incredibly stable and bobs like a cork through big water and drops.

boatbuster wrote: . . .I've paddled the Drop Zone too. At least the demo I paddled was as wide and stable as the Octane 91 . . .

Thanks, boatbuster!

Comments elsewhere say that the DZ is prob'ly a better boat for a bigger guy (given the width and stability) -- wondering how much you weigh (not to get too personal)?

Wondering also if you tried rolling the DZ -- does the width make rolling more difficult than, say, the Option or Octane 85?

Thx
Rick

Is the dropzone available in the US?

The Dropzone is available through William Ashton, "Red". He has a container of boats coming end of Jan. canoe and Kayak Imports of Western North Carolina. Contact info for Red:
Canoekayakimportswnc@ gmail.com ( 828)736-2993.

Pierre LaPaddelle wrote:

boatbuster wrote: . . .I've paddled the Drop Zone too. At least the demo I paddled was as wide and stable as the Octane 91 . . .

Thanks, boatbuster!

Comments elsewhere say that the DZ is prob'ly a better boat for a bigger guy (given the width and stability) -- wondering how much you weigh (not to get too personal)?

Wondering also if you tried rolling the DZ -- does the width make rolling more difficult than, say, the Option or Octane 85?

Thx
Rick

Hey Rick

I weigh about 185 right now but hope to weigh 10 pounds less in summer!

For the really big guys 250 and up I cannot speak to whether the 91 or the DZ would be better. I would bet the 91 is still the best for the truly big paddler because it is longer, but that is just a guess.

I paddled the DZ on the Upper and Lower Ocoee (class III+) and practice rolled it. It rolled very easily, just like the big Octane. I think the increased width makes both boats quite easy to roll...and extremely hard to flip over in the first place.

Thanks arhdc for the write-up of the models above.

History - I'm a relatively new boater. I'm 39 and in pretty good shape. I did some guided rafting and duckies 20 years ago in PA. I live in CO now and I have access to an Aire inflatable kayak (a tandem and a singe) and have a lot of fun in those. I was recently at Fibark in Salida and demo'd an Octane 91 from Blackfly. Class 2-3, pretty fast water. I had a great time and would love to get into this kind of boat. Was thinking Kayak or big oar raft, but now stuck on the canoe. Even though my cross paddle was sad, I could move it around ok. It did feel really slow - I could not keep up with the inflatable kayaks. Again, it was the first time ever paddling something like this and I know I would get better.

I'm 185, 5'8". I would like a boat for specifically the Arkansas and one that I could paddle for a few hours, but also that I could camp with (add 50lbs of gear). I really liked the Octane91 - but it did feel like a barge - but maybe that's the best part assuming I can get it moving with better paddling. I did read about someone doing the grand canyon and not overly excited about flat-water paddling, which might be extra tough in the octane91.

What else should I be looking for? Seems like the only option is plastic for the river I use the most.

... I really wish people were cool with using kayak paddles - I think I'd be good with one of those... : )

Check out the Kanu Fest in Buena Vista coming up, you should be able to demo the Blackfly boats: http://www.blackflycanoes.com/blackfly-blog/

kona wrote:Check out the Kanu Fest in Buena Vista coming up, you should be able to demo the Blackfly boats: http://www.blackflycanoes.com/blackfly-blog/

Thanks, I didn't realize that - I will definitely head up there that weekend. I want to try the option.

The L'edges don't crack like they use to - the new LL L'edges are holding up well from what I can pick up on.

If you are looking for total primary stability - the Octane 85 is going to be better. But quite frankly it's not about the Primary as much as it is the overall stability. Just because a boat has great primary, doesn't mean it will save your butt when you get past that...

Try them out...

I do want to correct something I've seen posted a couple times now - Covert hull is not displacement... It's full on a planning hull that cruises over boils, cross currents ect. Out of all the boats mentioned - Option is the only semi-displacement.. the rest generally plane over features.

In my biased opinion - Covert is the most all around boat on the market right now - factoring in glide, stability, forgiving nature, predictability - we've watched countless plateaued paddlers bust right thru the plateau they've been at for a while, and keep progressing due to the forgiving nature of the Covert. It's great to see...

Stephenson - Several long time OC ww trippers have switched to a Covert 10.5, as it has the speed/glide for flatwater, same hull design as a 9.3 except longer and wider.... so you have a super smooth boat that is stable with the ability to load it down with gear for multi-days. Not exactly a whole lot of demos out west yet, but doesn't mean I shy away from gettin the word out!

Cheers.

FullGnarlzOC wrote:Stephenson - Several long time OC ww trippers have switched to a Covert 10.5, as it has the speed/glide for flatwater, same hull design as a 9.3 except longer and wider.... so you have a super smooth boat that is stable with the ability to load it down with gear for multi-days. Not exactly a whole lot of demos out west yet, but doesn't mean I shy away from gettin the word out!

Cheers.

Looks very nice - it's a little higher in price point as well. How would you compare the octane91 and the covert?

I'm 185, 5'8". I would like a boat for specifically the Arkansas and one that I could paddle for a few hours, but also that I could camp with (add 50lbs of gear). I really liked the Octane91 - but it did feel like a barge - but maybe that's the best part assuming I can get it moving with better paddling. I did read about someone doing the grand canyon and not overly excited about flat-water paddling, which might be extra tough in the octane91.

At 185 you really should be in a smaller boat than a 91 or a 10.5 - but if one of your needs is often weighing a boat down then you can justify a larger boat. My primary purpose for a 10.5 solo is going to be just the same - multiday whitewater tripping. Loading the boat down, and paddling it similar to if I had no gear.. playing in waves, hitting harder eddys, working the river. Things that you can't do in a boat without as much speed, stability and smoothness. A 91 like you pointed out, can feel rather barge like, imagine with 30 lbs of gear. Add another 2 ft to it... now you have the speed to move the boat across the river vs the river tells you where to go. For river running you dont need so short of a boat. 10.5 is pretty short- 8'5 is really short.... people use to run the large steaming pile of dog doo in 14ft boats

If you've paddled a Covert 9.3 you'd have your mind made up. But... you haven't because there aren't many out west yet ... I'd say that I'm interested in getting more boats out west and I can be pretty competitive about the price and shipping just to see more Silverbirch canoes out that way...spread the word

We started importing Silverbirch boats because we believe they are going to be difference makers for a lot of people. So far we've been spot on and it's awesome to see. Hats off to Silverbirch for cranking out 4 of the most modern canoe designs out there; canoes that feel as good as they look. In the 9 years that I've been posting on C-boats... WW canoeing has never looked better. Silverbirch, Esquif, Blackfly, Hou Canoes all producing modern HDPE canoe designs. Cheers to that.