i had my epic 18x for 10 years every year i try a different seat or seat cover even had the air max seat cover i used for years but places me way to high and now paddling without a back rest i also have a epic v7 that the seat is excellent no problem in the v7 for 20km but the 18x legs and foot go numb and then the sciatic nerve get affected to the point a cannot perform after a 10 km outing
I’d be interested in your legs and feet as you’re paddling both. Is it really the same? Is the foot contact the same? Do your knees rise higher when you’re paddling the V7? Is the pressure the same on your foot on the stroke side in both? Do you fully release the pressure on your foot and leg on the non-stroke side every single stroke, and do this the same in both? Are your hip bones equally free to move, and move just as easily and freely as you paddle on both the left and right side? Is that movement equally free in both? My thought is that there may be more to your paddling position than simply what you’re sitting on.
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I got a Redfish seat for 18X Sport to replace the factory seat and it is reasonably comfortable.
https://paddling.com/gear/redfish-custom-kayak-canoe-co-custom-foam-seat
Could your leg numbness be caused by a raised front edge on the seat cutting into the back of your thighs?
yes i think about the edge of the seat putting pressure on the back of the thigh when i used a foam to fill the seat cavity the leg does not go numb but only get a few more km before the sciatica nerve gets in in my bum i will look at the seat you mentioned
Good thing about foam seats is you can always rasp away the offending part. I think a lot of seats are formed for people with, ah, well developed gluteus maximi. My wife says i have no butt.