Bell Prodigy X ?

[Mark D]

I'm looking at buying a Prodigy x used oc1. I am currently paddling a Madriver Legend 15 solo . What do you think about the Prodigy x
I weigh around 200lb.

[ezwater]

I think the Prodigy X would be an excellent transition for you. It will still cruise well, but will give you much better whitewater handling without any vices.

[milkman]

Several friends of mine around your weight or weighing much more have switched from paddling the Esquif Blast or Mad River Outrage X to paddling the Prodigy X. The consensus is the Prodigy X is more stable than the Outrage X and has better acceleration than the Blast. All are happy they switched.

[Open Gate]

Several friends of mine around your weight or weighing much more have switched from paddling the Esquif Blast or Mad River Outrage X to paddling the Prodigy X. The consensus is the Prodigy X is more stable than the Outrage X and has better acceleration than the Blast. All are happy they switched.

Used the Blast as a solo boat ?

Blast and Prodigy are completely different beasts.

Prodigy X tracks well and is fast for solo use(good boat for your size),

Blast is a tandem white water beast !!!(best on the market in my opinion) Or good solo tripping boat(for carrying gear).

Hard to make comparaisons, I would not use them in the same environment or for the same functions.

My 2 cents

[Atucky]

There is a prodigy x for sale in the boats and gear forum on this site. It's in AL which I think is where you are to.

http://cboats.net/cforum/viewtopic.php?t=6581

[Jan_dettmer]

I had a PX for testing. I paddled it for a bunch on all kinds of whitewater, including multiday trips with quite q bit of gear. I liked it. It is quite fast and an excellent big water boat. On tigther creeks it does not handle that well which is expected at that length. Very forgiving but has a descent carve.

It is fairly dry as long as you are on high volume rivers. On choppy water, it takes over quite a bit. It really excels on high volume with big lines where you can use the speed of the boat. On that stuff it's an awesome boat. It still boofs OK for the length and handels steeper drops as good as you would expect for the length.

I agree that it does not compare to the Blast. The blast is by far the best tandem for difficult whitewater and experienced teams.

Hope that helps.
Cherrs, Jan

[Oci-One Kanubi]

I used to paddle a Rival for big water and an Ocoee for technical water. Now I use the Prodigy X for everything.

It is fast, dry, and maneuverable. I've never used it on anything tighter than the Uper Gauley at 600 cfs or Chatooga IV at 1.2', but it is absolutely maneuverable enough for those situations, and fast enough to make a piece of cake out of those must-make ferries on bigger water like the Lower G at release, or the Nolichucky, French Broad, etc.

Ititial stability is great, for getting in and out of the boat in tricky spots, and it rolls as easily as any open boat I've ever owned.

I've lost 40 pounds this year, down from 215 to 173, but when I ordered a replacement Prodigy a few months ago for my 2.5-year old Prodigy X (I love creeky runs, so I'm hard on boats), I went with another X, even though I am now down in the weight range for the regular Prodigy, because the X is so fast and handles so well, and I didn't want to risk losing any of that performance.

Of my three all-time favorite boats, two were designed by Bob Foote (Rival and Prodigy) and one by Frankie Hubbard (Ocoee).

[Mark D]

Atucky that is the one I am looking at. I thank everybody for the help. I may have some set up ? later .

[milkman]

Yes, the Blast can be a good solo boat if you're really big. The guy I'm talking about is 6'8" and weighs around 280. Actually, I know a guy who weighs less than 200 that paddled a Blast solo down the Grand Canyon. Nonetheless, I think the Prodigy X would be a much better solo ride. For the record, I have a Blast I use for tandeming.