took out my burn today for it's first cruise. here's some initial impressions. it's a medium size with a Drakkar saddle, about 11 inch set-back from cockpit rim to the seat back, and about 8 inches tall saddle. I weigh about 150 lbs.
This is one of the first conversion creek boats that feels right from the very first time in it. It's got great primary stability, allowing you to take forward strokes in rapids rather than just bracing or correcting. There's a lot of rocker in the bow which allows for easy landings and keeps you on top of hole backwash, rather than burying deep. The bottom is a little bit flat, so I'm still a little skeptical about landing flat off anything in the >25 ft range, but it felt fine on some smaller falls. I think the way to play a tall drop in this boat is to let the nose drop pretty steeply and enter the water in a nose dive, allowing the huge rocker and volume up front to flatten you out on the landing. overall, this thing feels very similar to the blunt, maybe with some more well-defined edges for carving turns, and a bit more volume up front.
The boat is very comfortable except for a narrow cockpit right around the hips, which will require a little extra padding. I cut out some of the extra plastic on the cockpit rim where the kayak thigh braces would be attached. The overall weight is hard to beat for a creek boat, it feels about 5-10 pounds lighter than the blunt. (the trade off will likely be less durability, but it's worth it when your hiking uphill in WV.) another easily corrected problem is the grab loop up front which sticks up in the air about 2-3 inches. I'll probably replace this with a flatter grabloop to avoid the denied cross bow stroke. i've been pretty loyal to the blunt for the past few years, but i may have finally found something as good.
burn conversion review
Moderators: kenneth, sbroam, TheKrikkitWars, Mike W., Sir Adam, KNeal, PAC, adamin
Large Burn
I have had similar experience in the large Burn. I weigh 175#.
At my weight I felt that the chines on the medium Burn were a little grabby in the funky water so I shaved them down a little and everything was much better but felt the large was a better fit.
I replaced the bow grab loop with 1" tubular webbing.
At my weight I felt that the chines on the medium Burn were a little grabby in the funky water so I shaved them down a little and everything was much better but felt the large was a better fit.
I replaced the bow grab loop with 1" tubular webbing.