C-Forum

I was looking to get some input on the comparison of these two boats. I have heard that the Prelude is less forgiving, but it seems like a pretty sweet boat. How do their secondary stability compare? I have not had a chance to get these boats side by side and compare.

I have only spent limited minutes in a L'edge, but paddle a Prelude all the time. The Prelude is tippy getting into the boat, but has great secondary. L'edge is stable getting in and has excellent secondary as well. Prelude is lighter and narrower which translates into faster acceleration and a more nimble feel in the water. L'edge is dryer and bomber running the big drops. L'edge is better boat if you're more than 190 pounds or so. Prelude is the better boat if you're on a long hike to a put-in or from a take-out (just joking here ... kinda).

2 totally different boats, except maybe for their length.
Sidenote, I used to paddle a Prelude (length and weight do not match the prelude though), I only had a couple short spins in a L'Edge.

primary stability of the prelude is close to none, the primary of the L'Edge is simply stunning good.
For my weight/length the secondary of the L'Edge was better, but lighter paddlers seem to love the secondary of the prelude.

acceleration of the prelude is better
speed of the prelude felt better to me
I prefer the hard rails of the L'Edge, they give more feedback then the roundbottomed prelude
The l'Edge is spinnier then you'd say on a first glance (at least for me).
The l'Edge is surprisingly forgiving, even for wrong tilts. The prelude on the other hand will throw you over wit a wrong tilt, if you don't pay attention, even with the round bottom.

I loved the Prelude, but it's not suited for me on grade III and above. I had to learn to appreciate the L'Edge, it's a good boat, but here as well you have to adapt your paddling style (same goes for the prelude).

Try them both, I'd say, but don't get mistaken by some of their characteristics. You have to adapt to either of them.

Great topic, I currently paddle a prelude but i'm really too big for it (240lb fully kitted.)

Living in Ireland it'll probably be another 8 years before any of the latest boat designs make it here so i'd love to hear comparisons between older designs (prelude, spanish fly etc) to modern L'Edge, Octane, Option type designs.

I can backup what Jakke as said about the prelude, i love it for grade 3 and even some 4 but find i'm too low in the water when trying to step up to harder runs.

I'm in a Prelude since April 2012 and have been in a L'edge for a test run, on a class 4 slalom course.


the primary stability of the prelude is not there, but the secondary stability is the best I've ever seen!
For me, the Prelude is a very solid, reliable partner in class 4 whitewater and definitely has the potential to step up for class 5 rapids. I miss rails a bit, but though I'm so much in love with the boat and it's performance. You need to get used to it, but once you are, it's very responsive and fast, easy to accelerate. While having the potential for steep creeking, it is still fun on easy water!
Oh, and it boofs like hades!! Better than my creek C1

the l'Edge - it has great rails and is bomb-solid and more forgiving than the Prelude. But it is heavy and slow. For me personally, since I'm used to a progressive, active slalom paddling style, this boat does not work. I'm definitely not weak for a female, but this was a struggle to fight forward. At 125 lbs I might be too small for that beast, though .
As far as boofing is concerned, I haven't tried it in the l'edge, so I can't tell.
If you wanna just float down the river, it doesn't matter. If you wanna make the boat glide and style a clean line on harder water, you need a lot of strength in the L'edge.

Probably, the question between Prelude and L'Edge is, what size (and strength) you are and what performance pattern you prefer.

Both are great designs, especially for creeking, and both have the necessary potential if you wanna step up your game into hard whitewater.
The Prelude is great for lighter paddlers and/or those who prefer a quick, responsive yet a bit special boat, who want to have their boat being fast, gliding and flying and dancing.
The L'Edge is a good ride for heavier dudes and/or those who don't need the boat to be super-quick and who prefer a more direct response over the hard rails and primary stability.

These are excellent responses.

The weight difference cannot be overstated. The Prelude is among the lightest PE designs, a full 15 lbs lighter than a l'edge. Huge rocker, very responsive, it *will* demand that you be on your game and learn to throw the right stroke at the right time. Be comfortable being "on edge" and on your offside.

One more key difference is in how it surfs. it's sharp bow and length make it carve and surf in a traditional "longboat" style. A L'edge, Option, or Spanish Fly will plane across features and flatspin to your heart's content. My prelude wants to pearl off of waves as soon as the bow starts to waver.

The Prelude will reward you with a flawless, beautiful paddling style. The boat will respond instantly to every class II microcurrent. As the water gets bigger and pushier, the boat becomes more stable, evening out choppy class 4-5 cross-currents. She will creek and rockspin and eddyhop like nobody's business. She will also make you work for it. The L'edge is stable and--at my 130lbs--I find the chines difficult to engage and the boat is difficult to push around the river. I have paddled one only briefly, but it was difficult to get where I wanted to be on the river. The option was a bit less of a bear.

I haven't messed much with the L'edge, but the Option rolls like a champ. I find the Prelude hard to roll all the way up, especially the last 10%.

Very different boats.

Thanks for all the advice, I weigh 170lbs and tend to love boats with awesome secondary. I come from a kayaking background where I have always preferred full displacement to planing hulls. I started open boating in a Viper 12 and moved to a Taureau. I dig the Taureau but really want something a little bigger with some speed. I don't have many options for getting in different boats cause I don't know anybody with a prelude in town, I don't even know if anyone in town has a L'Edge

FWIW... because it is far drier, more stable overall and far more forgiving folks can paddle much more agressively in a L'edge. We also brought the boat to market to address the things people (including myself) didn't enjoy while paddling the Prelude. Lastly... you can make a L'edge more snappy/twitchy/faster but most people will rarely have an opportunity to try one that has been tweaked.

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Craig - can you post the send the link on your revised specs (facebook link not working). I think I'm going to put my L'edge under the knife over the Christmas Holidays

FWIW... because it is far drier, more stable overall and far more forgiving folks can paddle much more agressively in a L'edge.

I think that could be argued, particularly since the Prelude has faster acceleration, is more nimble, and has great secondary. But I'm not going to argue this point more than that. I've seen a lot of video of L'edge owners paddling stuff I wouldn't. Of course I've also seen Prelude paddlers paddling stuff I wouldn't and aceing it as well. Overall though, if you're looking to paddle really hairy, creeky stuff and waterfalls, the L'edge is probably going to make that easier. Of course, when has an open boater ever wanted it easy?

The other thing I'd say is that the Prelude is tuned and ready from the get-go. No mods necessary to lighten it, give it more acceleration, etc. There's been plenty written about how the design of the L'edge was compromised (perhaps "adapted" is a better word) to appeal to a wide range of boaters and that's cool. But Frankie Hubbard in designing the Prelude designed a boat he'd like to paddle. And that's cool too.

DougB wrote:Craig - can you post the send the link on your revised specs (facebook link not working). I think I'm going to put my L'edge under the knife over the Christmas Holidays

Wow, Thanks Craig!!! I'd love to try a tweaked one out. I'm a "tweener". I don't get to paddle very often, and the Prelude is a bit scary after being dry for 2-3 months. But I still love a challenge, so maybe a pinched L'Edge would be just right. Hmmm...

-Ray

insolence wrote: If you wanna just float down the river, it doesn't matter. If you wanna make the boat glide and style a clean line on harder water, you need a lot of strength in the L'edge.

Probably, the question between Prelude and L'Edge is, what size (and strength) you are and what performance pattern you prefer.

Both are great designs, especially for creeking, and both have the necessary potential if you wanna step up your game into hard whitewater.
The Prelude is great for lighter paddlers and/or those who prefer a quick, responsive yet a bit special boat, who want to have their boat being fast, gliding and flying and dancing.
The L'Edge is a good ride for heavier dudes and/or those who don't need the boat to be super-quick and who prefer a more direct response over the hard rails and primary stability.

Insolence, I think you're missing a bit the potential of the L'Edge here. True, you see lots of people enjoying the stability, the rails, ... .
But I also believe if you want to use the full potential of the L'Edge, you have to keep it moving, you have to paddle it proactive, search for the currents that can help your paddling. It is not as mandatory as for the prelude, where the lack of primary stability forces you to paddle more proactive. But you can definetly paddle the same way in the L'Edge. True, it will cost more effort then in a prelude, but maybe less then a day reactive paddling in the L'Edge and fighting yourself out of trouble sometimes?
The last test run I had in a L'Edge, it was really inviting for extreme tilts, driving deep in and out of eddies, keep it moving, short spins when trying to minimize momentum loss. But you have to learn how to do it, adapt to the boat. Just as you have to adapt to the prelude, learn the proactive paddling style.

And weight is crucial for the prelude, that can't be stressed enough, and paddler length. A tall upper body creates a lot of leverage with a head on top, making it harder to enjoy the secondary stability of the Prelude. In a prelude smaller, lighter paddlers are definetly having an advantage.

Just as one small frame of reference regarding hull speed and overall performance.

Dewey is a far better slalom racer than me (and most people) but for the last two years at one of our little local races I've been able to come pretty close to him in his modified Ocoee which is much faster and snappier than a Prelude. The L'edge is drier than the Ocoee and it turns much quicker but due to the Ocoee having an extra two feet in length (and Dewey being the paddler) it has a big advantage coming out of the start gate, in between the gates and on the flat stretches. Pete in a stock Ocoee is also an experienced OC Slalom racer and has beaten me down the course in the past which sort've shows where things stack up.

2011 Buttercup Slalom Race @ Wausau (OC1)

1 -- 140.65 -- 00 -- 140.65 -- Dewey -- Ocoee
2 -- 143.25 -- 00 -- 143.25 -- Craig -- L'edge
3 -- 148.00 -- 10 -- 148.00 -- Pete -- Ocoee

2012 Buttercup Slalom Race @ Wausau (OC1)

1 -- 146.09 -- 02 -- 148.09 -- Dewey -- Ocoee
2 -- 156.82 -- 00 -- 156.82 -- Craig -- L'edge
3 -- 158.29 -- 02 -- 160.29 -- Pete -- Ocoee

probably i didn't make myself clear, my fault


--> yes, you can paddle actively in a L'edge

--> if you wanna float and relax, the L'edge will tolerate that, the Prelude maybe won't tolerate it that easily

that's what I wanted to say

what I wanted to say as well:

the L'edge is more forgiving and for some folks therefore may open more possibilites into the gnarls than a prelude would.
But for me personally, it's just the other way round!
The sensitiveness of the Prelude to both current/paddler movements can make it harder to paddle - but it also can make great things possible and be a wonderweapon, if you are able to use it! For me personally, the Prelude will give me more opportunities than a L'Edge would do, cause the sensitiveness supports my personal needs better
it all depends on what you want



Both boats are really great designs, and both boats can handle the same tough stuff! You can't say one is better than the other, they are just totally different for different paddler styles and paddler physiques
- like there are different shapes of shoes for different sorts of feet




@ Jan: of course one has to adapt to each boat a little, but that's not what I'm talking about. Let's take two boats that are made for the same application. It's a fact that boat A matches a certain paddling style/technique better than boat B