C-Forum

Has anyone paddled an Evergreen Solito? What was your opinion?

I saw one in Colorado this past summer and visited with the owner, who turned out to be John Graye. The guy who designed it.
It looks like a boat I might like.

I've heard it compared to a Phantom, but with harder chines. Positive reviews.

It's a little twitchy for initial stability. If you're very heavy, you'll be sinking the chines pretty deep. At 220lbs, it doesn't suit me, but I know others who like it.

More here:
http://cboats.net/cforum/viewtopic.php? ... ght=solito

PY.

thanks for the tip and the link. I guess I coulda done my own search but didn't think about it.

I think I'll give this boat a try if I can find one to test.

Randy, the Solito is a fun boat. If you're comfortable in Ocoees and Phantoms, you'll like it. I hear it's now getting a stronger layup of Royalex. That's been its chief fault. The bow dents quite easily in the ones that first came out like mine. I hope it's a lot stronger.

It's hard to buy them in the States. I ordered mine from MEI in Canada and picked it up in Vancouver, B.C. The boat is really fun to surf and carves right into eddies. I'm happy enough with mine that I would buy a second one when this one wears out.

Hi milkman,

I'll bet I saw your boat at MEC... it was standing there with a sold sign on it, holding it for someone (I'm guessing you, can't remember the name), and all the local canoers were wondering - "who is this guy that we don't know who's buying the Solito?".

Next time you're coming to BC, maybe I can paddle with you (class III), or find you someone to padde with. I've paddled a little with the Paddle Trails Club in Seattle, but not as far as OR.

Cheers, Pat.

Yeah, that was my boat. What a fun day it was to walk into the store and see that mango-colored boat strapped to a pillar just waiting for me. I really couldn't understand why more people weren't hot to buy the Solito. A factory-shortened Ocoee with some improvements--what's not to like?

I don't get up to Vancouver often (though oddly enough, three weeks after buying the Solito I went up there again to buy a used Phantom). If you ever work you way down to Portland, contact me. The local club here, the Lower Columbia Canoe Club, is a really solid group of whitewater canoeists enjoying a year-round paddling paradise.

Thanks milkman, I was curious too as to why I hadn't seen more of them until I saw how few Evergreen dealers there were in the states.

Still I'm bettin the Solito will start gaining some popularity.

If I can't find one to try out in the SE, I'll try to look up John Graye when I'm out in Colorado this summer. Maybe he'll let me test drive his.