Esquif Pocket Canyon ???

Anybody own one?



Would like to read a review, or read any positive/constructive feedback you have regarding this canoe.



Not the Canyon; the Pocket Canyon…



Thanks,

BOB

okay, positive feedback

– Last Updated: Jun-09-10 6:18 PM EST –

Aaron and I don't make barfing noises or wtf comments when we see them at the local canoe shop.Appears to be well named, easy to mistake for the Canyon in the stacks of both, just a bit shorter. Now the new MR's on the other hand...wtf did the Explorer turn into??

Super fun
I own a Canyon, and love it.

I am also fortunate in having access to a Pocket Canyon, which I have used for multi day trips as a tandem, and several times as a solo boat for day trips.



As you can guess, it is extremely maneuverable. Unloaded, with two paddlers, it is slightly more maneuverable than my old MR Synergy. Being beamier, it is not as quick as the Synergy, but it can carry a surprising amount of gear.

Cruising speed on moving water is ok with two and a load, definitely more work to cruise than my regular Canyon. It takes on less water in wave trains compared to the Canyon (if running them straight on). Easier to maintain a “dry line” in complex rapids.



It is very well built. I have been disappointed at the flexy nature of a lot of classic Royalex tripping boats of late. Not true with Esquif- they are stiff. Also heavier than most of the competition.



The designers of the boat intended it to be a tripping boat for short duration trips on class IV. I would agree. If your multi day trips don’t have any class IV, and in addition have a lot of flat/moving water, I am not sure it is the best boat.



I have been getting a lot of fun using it for what it was not designed for. Solo on class II and III, especially surfing. Compared to my saddled boats, I find I enjoy the ability to move around and drastically change the trim to change the performance.


More boat…

– Last Updated: Jun-09-10 8:51 PM EST –

My first thought was that with it's length, and 4 inches of rocker, it would probably be more boat than I needed.

For my inteneded usage; it would seldom see class 3. It would more likely be seeing some fast water shoals, small drops, doing some boulder dodging, and some fair sized wave trains.
I'd want to use it solo, with a multi day load of gear.
Doesn't sound like I'm on the right track.......
Now, if they would just cut it down to 14 feet, and 3 inches of rocker......

BOB

Bob, there were long comparative
discussions of the Pocket Canyon and related boats on myccr.com. Fairly recent, probably wouldn’t be hard to search out. Alan Greve, an Ontario ww paddler and boat dealer, contributed some of the info.

…maybe can still go shorter…
Have looked at that boat too Bob. Wish they’d roll it in both length and beam…with maybe a little integration of “L’Edge” design. Interestingly stable boof-capabilities(videos) of a “L’Edge”(WW) being tweaked for production(cboats.net). Possessing both semi-round bottom with edges. Looked like that edge could offer flatwater performance…just my guess/hope.



SteveD

I wonder, if you feel a pocket canyon,
does that mean your pants aren’t on straight?

pocket canyon
I have paddled Old Town Apps, Mad River Legends, (Formerly Dagger), Bell Alaskan, and Mohawks in my canoe club. I have to say it is my favorite of the bunch! So much so I just bought another. Perfect for two small paddlers (even novices), and great solo for big fat guy like me. Pretty light but solid like old school royalex. I LOVE the thing, a little spendy but worth every penny. I run mostly class 2’s and some easy 3’s,surf and play a little. Check one out for yourself.

I love my Pocket canyon, I have previously owned an Old Town Tripper 17, a NovaCraft Propsector17, NovaCraft Prospector 16, NovaCraft Prospector 15, and a Clipper Prospector 15. I am 71 years old and have had 2 Knee replacements. I found that my days of Paddling Canadian style (heeled over and knees in the bilge) were over and because of that I had switched to a Dagger Katana which is a whitewater crossover. Sadly I sold my 17 and 15 ft Nova craft Prospectors and bought white water crossovers for my wife and I. I have been paddling canoes most of my life and after making the switch I found that a kayak just didn’t do it for me. So I talked my other half into making one final canoe purchase. This was long after Royalex production had been , discontinued. A shop in Wisconsin had 2 Royalex boats left, a NovaCraft Prospector 15 and an Esquif Pocket Canyon. I told them that I had already owned the NovaCraft 15 Prospector but that I would like to test the Pocket Canyon. I knew that if I could drive a straight line with the Pocket Canyon that it would be a much more versatile boat for the twisty rivers here in Missouri. When I test paddled the Pocket canyon it was love at first stroke. I could drive nails with a J sroke but could really maneuver the boat with all of the other strokes. What a boat. I paddle a lot in the boat and even at my old age usually lead the pack whether with other canoes or with a variety of yaks. The pocket canyon is fairly fast and will carry a respectable amount of gear. I have taken it on several extended weekenders and it is great even when loaded with gear. My wife has been going through her own knee replacement so we haven’t taken it 2 up with gear yet but I would not hesitate to do that unless the water levels were extremely low. I have done lengthy trips at Bowron Lakes in BC , along the Rio Grande (139 miles) and others up to 10 days. This Pocket canyon would handle any of those quite well. Some people say that the Pocket Canyon is a lot of work on the straights but I disagree. It could be that their J stroke just needs a little tuning. I find that the PC does quite well in many environments and it is the most versatile boat I have ever owned. It even does well on a lake if you have a little ballast up front for wind etc. If you are an experienced paddler and want a boat that does everything pretty well then this is the boat for you.