C-Forum

I know of at least one, maybe two people who are doing this, for various reasons.

Why would anyone choose a boat that weights 60+ pounds over one 10 pounds lighter? I have heard:

A. The LL is not quite as stable and may not roll quite as easily. This is the impression of one paddler, so it may just be an outfitting issue. On the other hand, the weight of the plastic on the bottom of the original makes it a boat that just cannot stand being upside down. It almost wants to roll itself.

B. Bigger paddlers like heavier boats? The fellow I know who is considering switching is 6.6 and over 200 pounds. Seems like having more weight under you might not be a bad thing. My own experience with the original L'Edge is it is a dog in scrapey, easier rapids, but in heavier water you can engage all that weight with a single paddle stroke and blast through anything. And, as I have said before, save money on gym memberships every time you load and unload the boat!

C. The LL is several inches longer than the original. How many? Not sure, but it looked like 4 inches when I compared the two side by side yesterday. Is it also narrower? If so, why was the design modified? (Don't get me wrong...I love longer boats!)

The LL seems to be holding up very well. I have not heard of any cracking. Some people who have upgraded to the LL believe the lighter plastic flexes a bit more than the original, making it less likely to crack. What's your experience?

Thanks for your feedback!

I have never compared them side by side but I am certain that both the Light L'Edge and the original L'Edge come out of the same aluminum mold so any differences in length must be due to differences in the post molding shrink factor as a result of the change in plastic thickness.

As most of y'all know, rotomolded boats shrink significantly as they cool in the mold. This is useful in that complex shapes can be molded that would be locked into the mold and impossible to remove from the mold without them shrinking themselves free. Because of this shrinkage rotomolds need to be properly over sized to account for this shrinkage.