Esquif Nitro....best of both worlds?

jatakasawa · Post by **jatakasawa** » Wed Apr 14, 2010 6:44 pm

I may acquire an Esquif Nitro this weekend. I've seen 'em on small water and big water. Saw one on the Lower Gauley this past fall. Spotted the same one on the Lehigh river and several on the Youghigheny. Now, short of steep-creeking, is it safe to assume a Nitro is a good boat for all around WW use....could I paddle technical and tight creeks comfortably and yet feel good about running the L. Gauley?

greybear · Post by **greybear** » Wed Apr 14, 2010 7:22 pm

I have had two Nitro before getting a Detonator, I ran creeks in mine and they did great. I did Wilson and Whitetop. Great boat I think. They play well two. If big water, small tight stuff a all-around good boat.
Greybear

jatakasawa · Post by **jatakasawa** » Wed Apr 14, 2010 7:37 pm

Thanks for the info. The Nitro will be by my only boat for a while. I just sold my Mad River ME and thought about getting a small playboat..ie.; Phantom, Prelude or Zoom...but then I thought that I'd be limited to creeking instead of being able to hit big water and creeks. The Nitro seems like a good balance for now. Thanks again.

djutzi · Post by **djutzi** » Wed Apr 14, 2010 8:21 pm

I wouldn't worry about a Zoom or Prelude not being able to handle big water. I've seen plenty of people running some pretty big stuff in boats like the Zoom, Prelude, Solito, etc.

marclamenace · Post by **marclamenace** » Wed Apr 14, 2010 8:29 pm

djutzi wrote:I wouldn't worry about a Zoom or Prelude not being able to handle big water. I've seen plenty of people running some pretty big stuff in boats like the Zoom, Prelude, Solito, etc.

Ditto on that. The big advantage of the nitro would be to me luggage capacity. You can do overnights easily in a nitro that's why so many people have them around here as a one boat do-it-all.

jatakasawa · Post by **jatakasawa** » Wed Apr 14, 2010 8:30 pm

That's new info to me. The guys that I know who paddle those boats use different stuff on the big water...so I made an incorrect assumption. Also, I tend to see the larger boats on the big stuff but hey, if a yak can do it, so can a skilled open boater!

golder · Post by **golder** » Wed Apr 14, 2010 10:23 pm

a nitro was the first open boat i bought, and my one-boat quiver for quite a while. i got into the boat coming from a borrowed encore. my skills weren't great, nor was my confidence level when i got the boat. i had a rather steep (read wet and inverted) learning curve in the boat and got my tail kicked a for a bit....then i finally got the be comfortable w/ the edges and the stability that the boat has to offer once you trust it.

i still have the boat, though i haven't paddled it much lately, since getting the fly. i like the boat, can't quite say i love it. it does lots of things well and it did work well as my only boat for a while.

hope those two pesos worth are helpful...[/b]

jatakasawa · Post by **jatakasawa** » Thu Apr 15, 2010 12:31 am

Thanks for ALL of your pesos. I like what I'm reading. I hope to be a man of many boats...but for now, I will be a man with one boat for many purposes. (One of those purposes is saving myself from an butt-kicking from my wife for spending more $$ on paddling!) Take care.

TonyB · Post by **TonyB** » Thu Apr 15, 2010 2:17 am

my opinion is get it!
It'll do fine allaround (leaning toward big water) and will be a boat you'll still wanna keep after you get your plastic creeker in a year or so.

oc ender · Post by **oc ender** » Thu Apr 15, 2010 2:58 am

Yup,what he said,i.ve got a nitro and a h3 255 c-1,good to go.Was looking to trade for a fly or something but in no hurry to get rid of it.Great boat for learning and playing,i find a little big for real small creeking,hence the c-1.But a great all around boat.Love it for western big water.Get it,and get a pump!!you won't regret it.

jakke · Post by **jakke** » Thu Apr 15, 2010 6:17 am

I happened to test a prelude and a nitro last weekend, paddling a viper11 as my own boat.
And I must say I really didn't like the nitro. It is soooo stable, you really have to pull hard to get that boat tilted.
The grain of salt is that I was mainly paddling a prelude

. And I didn't have my viper there for comparison.
What I do am sure of, is that the nitro is a rather slow boat, but in comparison with my viper it runs a whole lot dryer.
The Nitro wouldn't be my first choise, but hey, that's a personal preference!

philcanoe · Post by **philcanoe** » Thu Apr 15, 2010 11:35 am

if the question was...

Esquif Nitro....best of both worlds?

... I would not call it the best of both.

As for these two questions:

Now, short of steep-creeking, is it safe to assume a Nitro is a good boat for all around WW use....
could I paddle technical and tight creeks comfortably and yet feel good about running the L. Gauley?

1. yes - good for general all around use
2. depends entirely upon you

jatakasawa · Post by **jatakasawa** » Thu Apr 15, 2010 5:55 pm

Tony..I like how you added that note about getting a creeker in a year or so. I was talking to Tom and telling him I was thinking about looking for a C1 instead of an OC1...going from one extreme to the other. But I'm glad I'll be back in an open boat....the progression will feel more natural.

As for the Gauley....it beckons and I must oblige.

Brewbeer · Post by **Brewbeer** » Thu Apr 15, 2010 5:55 pm

I am new to solo canoeing, so take what I have to say with a helping of salt. Most of my modest experience is in tandem boats.

I acquired a used Nitro and started paddling it late this winter, and here are my initial thoughts after ½ a dozen outings. First time out, easy class II (first time solo paddling, too), the boat sent me swimming three times (likely my inexperience), and I had difficulty getting into all but the biggest of eddys. In flatish water, I find the boat to be squirrelly. The boat turns on a dime. If have found that if you paddle it too fast forward, it will spin around backwards (perhaps I am too far back?). In heavier water (class II+), the boat chews up the meat of drops with a stability that is confidence inspiring. It seems like the boat likes turbulence more than flats.

As I’ve become more accustomed to it, the boat is becoming more responsive to my steering inputs and eddy attempts. I am looking forward to getting it on some more continuous Class III stuff to see how it handles bigger drops.

FullGnarlzOC · Post by **FullGnarlzOC** » Thu Apr 15, 2010 8:52 pm

Bigger/more stable than the det. you'll be fine. grip it and rip it.