Blackfly Option Review

milkman · Post by **milkman** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 6:53 pm

As a very happy (but I don't think biased) Esquif Prelude owner, I got to paddle a decked L'edge for a few minutes one day. I had just enough time to try an upstream attainment, surf a small wave, then power down the river into an eddy. Not much of a test, granted. It was enough though for me to conclude that the boat is plenty stable (if you like that kind of thing), but rather sluggish. It made me happy to jump back into my Prelude, thank Frankie Hubbard for designing the Prelude, and thank Esquif for taking over the mold and continuing to make it. It's still, in my opinion and for my style of paddling, the best PE boat.

I agree with Creeker about the downside of carrying the L-edge as well. It's a heavy beast. I'd want a porter.

Alan S · Post by **Alan S** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 10:05 pm

After reading countless positive reviews and hearing no negative comments about the L'Edge, I placed an order (and I don't buy new boats all that often). The very same day, the first negative reviews emerge. Did I cause this?

But we really wouldn't expect a Prelude fan to be impressed by a wider, more stable boat, would we?

Wiggins · Post by **Wiggins** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 11:02 pm

I have been waiting to post my impressions of the L'edge until I had it for a while, but feel compelled to respond to Wayne's statement about L'edge owners being dissatisfied with the boat.

I will admit to being unimpressed with the chop job the factory did on the open L'edge I received, but that has been the only place I have found the L'edge wanting. It is about as fast as the K1 creekers I have paddled, is just as nimble, and it catches eddies all day long. The boat rolls up pretty dry, runs dry, but is very stable when it does get swamped.

I have been kayaking for over six years, canoeing for just over a year, and I have had the L'edge less than a month. I can already boof the L'edge better than any of my other boats.

The boat's stability is well documented. I was worried that the L'edge might fight me when I put it up on edge, but I have found the boat transitions from edge to edge effortlessly.

It feels like it weighs about the same as my Probe 12 and my Dagger Axiom 9.0, and less than my Wavesport Habitat 80.

I am not saying the L'edge trumps the Option for all paddlers. It looks like a great boat. I will say that I am very happy with my L'edge, and I doubt I am the only one.

I have bought a bunch of guns that cost more than the L'edge and a few of them I hated as soon as I got them on the range. I was selling them at a loss shortly thereafter. I have no problem admitting I was wrong.

Kyle

YTcanoe · Post by **YTcanoe** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 11:11 pm

OK - No more bad mouthing the L'Edge, Wiggins got guns!

milkman · Post by **milkman** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 11:29 pm

Hey, lots of people like L'edges, so there must be something to them for many paddlers. Look at how many were at ALF. But there's room for dissenters as well, despite the fact that one L'edge owner appears to be well armed. As for the boofing, part of that is simply being in a PE boat. It's a different world than Royalex.

Now this post was supposed to be about Options. It would be great to see some videos of Options in action.

YTcanoe · Post by **YTcanoe** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 11:31 pm

Seriously. I'm not here to bash any boat.

I personally don't like the L'Edge. My opinion mirrors Creeker's. I applaud him for expressing it. I expect many will take offense in our blasphemy. Just our opinions.

I'm looking for something a little more sporty than the L'Edge, but with more bow bouyancy and a little bit more forgiving than my remolded (hard chined) Prelude.

Maybe the Option fits the bill. Let's hear from Option owners/testers. Unfortuneately, comparisons are a neccessary tool and the other boats in this category are Prelude, Spanishfly and L'edge.

miket

RodeoClown · Post by **RodeoClown** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 12:04 am

I'm going to go on the record and say I liked the L'edge when I paddled it (but I think the one I paddled was a pre-production boat and was lighter than spec).

I'd say the Option is a little 'sportier' than the L'edge, but that's just my opinion.

Craig Smerda · Post by **Craig Smerda** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 12:55 am

I haven't paddled an Option yet but I do look forward to hopping in one at my first opportunity because frankly I love trying out different canoes of all shapes and sizes.

I consider Jeremy a friend and furthermore I applaud all of his hard work and his efforts to contribute to our sport... I also look forward to paddling with him again at our first opportunity.

As for one person's rather snide little comments on this thread I'll have to take it with a grain of salt because I don't believe that person has actually paddled a boat he's publicly lambasted. Someone once told me... if you want to go down that path you'd better have some thick skin... guess I'd better go pull out this sliver and slap a band-aid on it.

Please... by all means... back to the Option reviews.

Yukon · Post by **Yukon** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 1:43 am

I would love to be able to hop into the Option and Ion. Kickin myself for not trying a prelude in mexico but I know with me it would be a wet boat and I want dry.
I am curious to hear from those that have paddled the Ledge, Option and Ion.
the Option afterall came after the Ledge so should have some progression in design. Maybe the Option has come out a little too soon after the Ledge. The Ion is different.

I am sure all 3 designs are going to change the face of open boating. Another nice thing to do is to try new boats on your home river to really know the differences.

Keep the designs coming BUT please first nail a truly adustable (broken record) outfitting for PE boats

Creeker · Post by **Creeker** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 3:41 am

lots of people are buying ledges. I think they are a stable platform that help you much more easily push into class 3/4. If you have more Nutz than skill I think its a good crutch design to help keep you upright while you're leaning how to handle canoeing low volume lines where you tend paddle the rock geology as much as the water. The option seems to provide the same stable platform with an added predictability as you transition from primary to secondary stability, a huge selling point.

my apologies to all you folks that have a ledge and friends that paddle one. I really couldn't understand the private email and posts after my last post till I did a read back. I erroneously said as much as all you Ledge owners need a crutch design cuz you suck. In short I'm a little shocked you guys didn't get more PO'd. This forum isn't exactly known for its thick skin.

My intended point if it matters, was that I helped our good buddy Fullgnarlz get out to run the hardest class 4-5 gnar I could starting back in August. Self admitting he was just making it work, learning by huge leaps run by run if not even rapid to rapid. That learning curve is not recommended and is desired by few. In my key statement above I was trying to get to the point that the Ledge would be a good crutch design helping out a new bold Gnar boater to stay upright and healthy at the bottom of huge step up drops. I converted a positive comment into a slap in the face with style. I just didn't complete the thought adding the new class 5 gnar boater part at the right time. oh well, thats on me..pilot error at the keyboard. So I wasn't trying into piss off the entire Ledge community but I think I did a good job at it for some....it was a simple mistake. other than the above I don't think I said anything really amazingly new. The ledge is heavy, too heavy for me. I think thats the only opinion that I really set out there.

Back to the Option Thread and how awesome it is to see more good PE designs to choose from.

TonyB · Post by **TonyB** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 4:14 am

I don't know, If your looking for a PE boat Id go with my EXplorer.
It's been around for years, tracks better, and is more stable then either the Ledge or the Option. The boat carries more gear and you can paddle it tandem or solo. You can bring your own porter with you.

Plus.........(huh? oh, we're not Thread Jacking anymore?...sorry)

I will interject my (non Option paddling but has a friend who does, and I have a L'edge) opinion of what Ive seen.
The Option is another boat designed for the cookie-cutter sized paddler. Boat being a bit smaller than we were haering. With an Asymetrical hull shorter than the rocker on my bigger boats, I'm leary for my svelte size. I was actually hoping it'd be a little longer that than a ledge. Ive hear form the horses mouth reviews from an option owner who thinks he's found the boat for him, says it dont turn as quick as Ledge tho. And you have to pay attention to your forward back lean on the Eddy lines.

But who else out there has paddled both boats?? Friends of mine were hoping thed pass by The Tohickon release last weekend. I was gonna givem my Ledge to compare.

Larry Horne · Post by **Larry Horne** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 3:17 pm

Does anyone have good (non FB) pics of the option?

side by side w/ the ledge would be interesting too.

yukon. I have some ideas i'm working on.

RodeoClown · Post by **RodeoClown** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 3:45 pm

When was the last time you heard a kayaker say "I didn't like the boat because it was too stable and not edgy enough," especially about a river running boat???

These guys don't seem to need any 'crutches' http://vimeo.com/21453046

One thing to keep in mind when comparing the L'edge, Option, and Ion is that most of the boats they'd be compared to are over 10 years old. There's been a lot of progress in boat design theory- and paddling technique/theory- in that time. Until now, most of it hasn't made it into the canoe world, so obviously the new boats are going to paddle a lot differently than the old boats. If you're not used to it, it's going to be hard to really evaluate the boats performance by paddling it for a short period of time.

I posted some picture of the Option on the Blackfly website http://www.blackflycanoes.com/option.php

The pictures aren't the greatest, so I'm planning on re-shooting them next week. Let me know if you have any special requests for different angles, etc.

Smurfwarrior · Post by **Smurfwarrior** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 4:22 pm

For those of you concerned about blending in, standing out, or having your boat mistaken for the 'other'.. but are just too embarrassed to ask... The L'Edge and Option are both red but the Option is a darker red but they are both easily recognizable as to what they are on the water. Never once did I have trouble identifying which red boat was which..

Now back to the opinions.... which everyone knows are like A-holes.. everyone has one and some stink more than others.

the great gonzo · Post by **the great gonzo** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 10:54 pm

Can anyone compare the Option to the Prelude? Mainly from a creeking point of view, I use other boats for playing and surfing. My weight is about 190 lbs.

On a side note to sonme statements about flattening the Prelude, my second one has a flattened bottom (both 1st and 2nd are Pyranha), and I actually found the increase in stability to be only somewhat incremental, the overall handling has not changed as much as I expected. The most notable effectis that due to the flat bottom the draft is significantly reduced, and it gets much less stuck on rocks and tripped up on shallow slides. This alone makes flattening the bottom worth it in my eyes.

As far as the L'Edge being described as stable , forgiving and not edgy, nothing wrong with that. It's mainly a creeker in my eyes, and these are exactly the kind of qualities that are important to me in a creekboat. If I am pushing my limits I want a boat that is predictable, so that I can concentrate on the line I have to hit, without worrying about what the boat might do to me next.

TGG!