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I'm looking for a new canoe and am looking for some guidance. We have an Old Town Discovery 158 that is about 25 years old. It has held up super well over the years (and is still going strong) but we want something that is lighter. The Old Town comes in around 87 pounds and feels like 200 pounds when portaging.
The majority of our tripping is rivers and small lakes and we don't do whitewater anymore. Having said that we don't want something we have to baby. I want to be able to drag it over beaver dams fully loaded, and ram onto shore when coming up to the campsite.
I see all sorts of materials that are lighter but I question the durability of them, and also note the cost. Can anyone suggest a canoe and/or material that might suit our needs? I've been looking at the Esquif Prospecteur that comes in T-Formex (about 67 pounds) but would be open to something a bit lighter as well. What about an expedition kevlar?
Thanks!
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Hey Steve
I take delivery of an H2O 16.4 Prospector next month in their Brute Force ( Basalt/Innegra) layup. It is their most durable lay up and what they build their WW boats out of.( see video below)
Went with this layup on a Prospector as i wanted a more durable versatile boat for rivers and running some small WW. Saving my Kevlar Fusion Keewaydin 16 for flatwater trips only.
I can't really recommend the Brute Force yet. I haven't used it. but its what my research lead me to.
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Thanks Shawn I hadn't seen this boat in my Googling. If you don't mind me asking, what's the weight and rough price of a boat like yours? Interesting no gel-coat eh?
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Right no gel coat.. penalty is you can't have a white gel coat bottom to hide scratches with this layup.
Weight of mine should be between 40 - 45 lbs. that was Jeff's( guy in the video) estimate to me.
I added their ICG gunwales to mine which should lighten it up a bit. so on the lower end of that maybe..
Cost - I added about $450 worth of options and Jeff threw in a few things. Kneeling thwart, skid plates, finger grip handles.. Got a winter build discount too. All in with taxes was just under 4K.
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That's a sweet looking boat you're going to have there! Love the weight...wow that would be a dream compared to what I have now. I'd love to hear your feedback once you get it out onto the water and stuff.
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For sure Steve. Will do.
Mine will look very similar to the boat on the left. 
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That is one great looking boat! I really like that!
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The Nova Craft in Tuff Stuff is supposed to be a pretty durable boat. I can say that they do carry well, and I was pleased paddling it while doing a little solo fishing in a 16’ prospector on a calm day. All gel coated boats will need some maintenance, but it’s really not hard to do and I was impressed with how well the gel coat was attached to the fabric on that boat. I don’t have any long term experience with the boat however.
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I was looking at the Nova Craft as well as that Tuff Stuff did look really good. I was a little concerned however, about a few reviews I saw on the boat on the MEC site...I'll have to look a little deeper because that does look like a good option as well. Thanks!
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Ya, I had seen that as well. I kind of wonder if those reviews are distorted by one disgruntled purchaser with multiple profiles...
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Portage Store Spring Sale is coming up!
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I've never heard anything bad about Novacraft.
My favourite is still Swift. Great service, great quality, and great handling. My Temagami in Expedition Kevlar is still holding up really well after about 15 years now.
Last edited by RobW (4/16/2019 9:41 am)
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Rob how does that expedition kevlar hold up against stuff like dragging over rocks and stuff? In my mind I always think of kevlar as being light but not strong enough for the kind of tripping we do....
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Maybe you'll deem this a no-go based on your "nothing too delicate" criteria, but it's a lot tougher than it looks and the weight is amazing!
We have a skin-on-frame boat from Backcountry Custom Canoes (). It's a ballistic nylon skin over a wooden frame and it's super lightweight (ours is 36 lbs).
I was worried about how robust it would be cuz I'm not all that careful and I've been pleasantly surprised. I watched a bunch of Camper Christina's Youtube videos before buying and watched her drag it over a few beaver dams and drop it on some portages. We've done similar and it's all good.
We got Jon to put kevlar skid plates on at bow and stern as well to help with portage landings.
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Steve E wrote:
Rob how does that expedition kevlar hold up against stuff like dragging over rocks and stuff? In my mind I always think of kevlar as being light but not strong enough for the kind of tripping we do....
hmmmm if you're thinking kevlar isn't robust enough, I'm thinking my suggestion of skin-on-frame is not for you. I would say it's as tough as kevlar in my experience but certainly not tougher.
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Thanks CanoeClaire that's another one to consider. I have no real reason to believe kevlar isn't robust enough...it's just something I've always assumed but I realize that may be totally incorrect!
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Hi Steve .... I owned a Kevlar and if your kids are old enough to be a little careful around the canoe (especially on land) then that's the way to go. It still has decent strength but mine was about 50 lbs. My kids are around 13 and 11 and know how to care for a canoe so I would not be averse to going with the super lightweight Kevlar ... I think they can shave around 5-10 lbs off the regular Kevlar. Personally I dont know brand names that well .. .the one I owed I bought from algonqiion portage and it didn't even have a brand name .. but was sweet ride. (I sold it a few years ago)
if you can go as light as possible ... my 2 cents ...
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