Any paddle a Rogue?

I mainly paddle whitewater. Only Class II/III stuff (Nantahala, Cartecay, etc…) However, I have times when I would like to just paddle the flatwater every now and then. Some weeks I can’t make the longer trips to my whitewater paddling places and in the summer, the only running river is the Nantahala which is almost 3 hours from me. I have a nice flat water river about 10 minutes from my home that I want to take advantage of…



I normally paddle a Jackson Zen for my whitewater stuff and I’ve been eyeing either a Rogue or a Journey for my flatwater paddling. I don’t think I’ll be on flatwater much… maybe once or twice a month, whereas I go whitewater paddling 1-2 times a week in the spring. So, I was hoping to take advantage of a crossover like the Rogue or Ethos.



I don’t want to be dog slow on the flats, but I’m not expecting to win any races either… I would be nice if I could use the boat in whitewater when my nephew comes to paddle with me as he does not own a boat and we have to rent one for him. However, I would mostly paddle my Zen for whitewater…



Does anyone think the Rogue is a worthy boat on the flats? If so, have you paddled it in some whitewater and was it worth its weight there? I’m sure it won’t be anywhere near as nimble as my Zen, but I’m hoping it can at least shoot down a Class II+ river and allow me to grab some eddies along the way. If it’s not good on either of these, I think I’ll just go for the Journey and keep it on the flats…

Friend has a Rogue 10
It’s got one tiny problem that is so annoying, I’d consider it a deal breaker: There’s a teenie plastic tab molded into the skeg control, that is intended to keep the skeg from accidentally depoloying. This tab will break if you look at it wrong.



He’s paddled it on the Nantahala once, but, has moved on to river-runner/play boat. He’d tried it in the local play spot, which was, of course, humbling. And, every time he’d get pitched off of a surf wave, and rolled up, the damned skeg was deployed! I tried the Rogue briefly in flat water, and found it better than a Remix XP9, but, that’s not a good direct comparison.



As far as a short-ish sea kayak, I get that it would not be used on your current whitewater runs. But, how about going with a Dagger Alchemy, which would have more playfulness, and could be used in certain downriver runs, better than the Journey.

I own a Rogue 10
and have paddled all of the competition. They all have their own tradeoff point. The Rogue and Pyranha Fusion both do better at WW and not as well in flat water compared to the other crossover boats. I haven’t had any problem with the skeg although I rarely use it, even on flat water since I know how to paddle a WW boat in a straight line. I like the boat for what it was intended to do.

I’d look
at the liquid logic XPs…

LL XP
I have tried the XP’s. I wasn’t completely impressed. It was simply slow… It was a comfortable boat, but very slow on the flats as it just plowed through water and slow to pick up speed on some whitewater. It was also much more difficult to catch eddies for me… doable, but difficult.

I’m in Atlanta, and even in a droughtish
year, I expect that the metro Chattahoochee, the Hiwassee, the Nantahala, and the Ocoee will be running.



If you have a Zen, you can have lots of fun on any of those. You will have less fun in a crossover kayak.



So, I don’t see your problem. The Zen is a better boat for surfing the few waves or holes on the metro Chattahoochee than the ones you are considering.



You might want to do your profile. It’s easier to give advice if we at least know about where you live and paddle.

I thought it felt “sloppy"
I also was looking at crossovers, I tried the Rogue line out and found the cockpit opening to small for wet entry in the Rogue 9 and the 10 felt so large I was worried about being able to stay inside of the boat. In both 9 and 10 I felt very loose inside of the boat and I am not a big guy. (5’11” 200lbs)

I compared them with the Fusions from Pyranha and went with the fusions due to the connect 30 outfitting.

I think they are pretty comparable in regard to speed and handling (in my opinion) I use a crossover more in rough water than WW however.

I agree, except
it is harder to store gear in a Zen. The Zen is definitely a better boat.

whitewater for your nephew and flatwater

– Last Updated: Apr-19-13 8:22 PM EST –

for you, that's what I get from your post. I have paddled the rogue once on the upper new- a mix of flatwater and class II and III. The boat has a real old school feel to it- pointy and quick but it may feel unstable to a beginner in whitewater. Its definately a lot quicker than the xp, it doesn't plow through the flats but glides a bit. The Rogue is not as idiot proof on whitewater as its liquid logic competition and the rudder mechanism was messed up on the Rogue I paddled. I didn't sit in the Rogue long enough to know how it felt after an all day paddle. My nephew and I paddled some lakes in a perception mirage and the xp. The xp was slower but we preferred it to the mirage because it was much more comfortable. Comfort is a very important consideration on an all day flatwater water paddle. Not sure how the Rogue stacks up for comfort?

Wanting to do some flat water too
There are times I can’t get anyone together to paddle with me and run shuttle, so, given those times, I like to either do attainments on the metro hooch, or run a flat water river near my house.



I think you’re right though, the crossover may not cut it… I may just get a real flat water boat like the Jackson Journey for those flat water days…

Here’s a nice antique for attainments
on the metro Hooch.



http://www.flickr.com/photos/ezwater/5615339420/



http://www.flickr.com/photos/ezwater/8656668618/



http://www.flickr.com/photos/ezwater/8656669550/



It’s a 1982 Noah Magma. It’s fast enough for cruising the flats, if you aren’t pushing. Treacherous chines, tho.