Do you own either?
Do you paddle either on a fairly regular basis?
Do you have a well reasoned opinion(not a 15 minute test paddle on a lake) of positive/negative attributes of either boat.
I am considering purchasing either the Bell Nexus, or the Esquif Vertige X. My intention is to use whichever one I choose for 2 different purposes. I understand that neither boat will be perfect for both purposes, but I am not interested in a dedicated whitewater solo. My last whitewater solo was a Mad River Outrage X.
#1 To use(solo)with a 2 to 5 day load of gear down rivers that are class 2 or lower.
#2 To remove the seat, and drop in whitewater outfitting (saddle with foot pegs, air bags, and thigh straps), that I have prepared for easy installation. Knee & ankle pads would be previously, permanently installed. Would then use the boat(solo)to run class 3 rivers.
Difference in cost is "not" a concern.
Weight: Esquif 50lb/Vertige X 62 lb. "might" be a concern. 62 lb. is a little on the high side to me.
Difference in length of 4" is "not" a concern to me.
Rocker: (6"/5" Vertige X vs 5.75"/5" Nexus) "might" be a concern when considering purpose #1.
If, in your opinion, neither boat is worth a tinker's damn for intended purposes; what boat do you suggest? Don't want a 15 footer. Already own a Bell Wildfire, Mad River Guide, and Mohawk Odyssey 14; so those are not options.
BOB
Vertige X
Do you own either?
Vertige X - bought last summer
Do you paddle either on a fairly regular basis? Almost daily in the summer
#1 To use(solo)with a 2 to 5 day load of gear down rivers that are class 2 or lower.
Did an 11 day trip in July. CII loaded, CIII empty. There is a write up the tripping forums on that trip - http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=wtrip&tid=217808
#2 To remove the seat, and drop in whitewater outfitting (saddle with foot pegs, air bags, and thigh straps), that I have prepared for easy installation. Knee & ankle pads would be previously, permanently installed. Would then use the boat(solo)to run class 3 rivers.
Installed seat but with the extras - thigh straps, knee pads, 60 inch bags, no foot pegs.
Weight: Esquif 50lb/Vertige X 62 lb. “might” be a concern. 62 lb. is a little on the high side to me.
I weighed mine when I got it home - 62 pounds without a seat. The added skid plates and that mentioned above brought it to 71 LB. Used a bathroom scale so may be out a tad.
Rocker: (6"/5" Vertige X vs 5.75"/5" Nexus) “might” be a concern when considering purpose #1.
Didn’t find a problem with tracking when loaded for tripping. Empty on the lake took getting used to but still not any problems.
I would consider this boat ideal for what I wanted it for - solo river tripping. It can carry a load, quite manoeuvrable, good stability, forgiving and all that. It will surf and I can get a roll out of it. Sometimes 
A true WW playboat? No.
Paul
Caption comparison?
To the two reviewers - Have either of you paddled a Caption enough to make a comparison between it and your Vertige X or Nexus? Pretty much every manufacturer these days claims that the "[insert boat name here] steps up to fill the void left by the Caption." Well, of course they're going to say that. But I'd like to hear a more detailed comparison.
I'm actually kind of surprised that Bell didn't pick up the Caption along with the Ocoee when Dagger went out of the OC business. But I guess they were already committed to their own competing design.
Thanks.
My
guess is that Esquif's Blast genuinely fills the void let by the Caption. I'd love to get my hands on a used Caption though...
David Nickerson here, Esquif Guy
Hello Canoeists,
I’d love to show you photos of the boat that “EricNyre” (without ever having seen the boat or photos of the boat) claims to be defective.
Not that it matters, but he claims the boat is a Canyon, when in fact the boat is a Detonator.
When I first saw the photos, the damage was a dead-on match for a brand-new retail boat that came off of my trailer and was punctured after tumbling into a guardrail upright on I-95.
The paddler claims that this damage occurred while on a portage. I’d like for you to judge for yourself.
I’ll pass along the photos to anyone interested.
Happy Paddling!
-David Nickerson
Eastern US Sales
Esquif Canoes
david@baystatesound.com
I just saw
the pictures of the damaged Esquif that Dave has. From the looks of it, the boat saw some serious blunt trauma and was pierced by a spike or ribar in the water. I have serious doubts that the boat was damaged on a portage.
mohawk
Seems this thread has been selectively pruned.
Anyway, for what it’s worth, amongst the people I’ve talked too, they would favour the Vertige X or Probe 14 over the Nexus.
I’ve been thinking about a boat like this too, I’m giving some thought to the Probe 14 or even XL 15, depending on how much I think I might solo it.
Pat.
depending on your needs
I’d definitely go for the Probe 14 over the XL-15. The 15 is sloooow.