Has anyone paddled both these kayaks. Which one is faster? Which one in your opinion is the better everyday paddler and why? Any other opinions? Thanks, Jaws
Never heard of a "Looksha 2"
but for what it is worth,( and this is just my opinion) there is no comparison between the best Looksha composite boat and the QCC 700.
The QCC has a plumb bow versus the Looksha upswept. (they are two opposites)
The QCC is faster, narrower, longer, has more space in the compartments and handles better in rough seas than the Looksha.
I have a 700 and prior to getting it I demoed a Looksha.
I even prefer my tupperware Perception Eclipse to the tupperware Looksha 17.
cheers,
JackL
I’ve got both
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2685727250084634827emzCqe
Best everyday paddlecraft…for most people (average paddler) that would be the QCC between the two-it is just more stable.
I’d argue with Jack on the width. The Looksha II
is 20 inches wide, the QCC700 is 21 inches wide.
The QCC is faster based on my very amateurish experiment (picked apart in a good way by Greyak, look to the archives here). Some people don’t like the plumb bow-I’ve heard it called a ‘decked canoe’, your call on the looks of them.
Rudder dependency: the Looksha II is rudder dependent for turning, the QCC is not at all, but a skeg is a good thing in the QCC.
Alternatives? If you are one of those who dont like the looks of the QCC and are open minded about a different rudder design look at the Mirage 580. It’s not as fast as the QCC but just as fast as the Looksha II (again for an average paddler—this just might not be the case for a hardcore athlete), the Mirage is more comfortable than the QCC, packs almost as easily (volume wise but note the small front hatch) but the Looksha II is also voluminous for paddle camping.
Weight–it’s a toss up here. The Looksha II on my rack is carbon/kevlar (in the webshots album look for the inside cockpit view of the Looksha and look for the black bands) so its lighter than my QCC but I’ve tricked out my QCC and its just plain kevlar. The Mirage is in the middle weight wise only because I ordered it in a light layaup.
Best looking? to me its the Mirage and if I was paddle camping and I knew it was going to be rough water I’d choose the Mirage-why? because I’m inherently lazy and it would take far far fewer corrective strokes/leans than the QCC.
Which of these for BBB control (thats body,blade,boat)? Well neither-get a Tempest 165 if advanced skill developement is your goal.
which is better?
I paddled a Looksha II several years ago over several days for 1-2 hours a day. It was stable enough, but about the worst tracking boat I’ve paddled. The rudder just could not keep the boat in a straight line in waves over 1’.It was just awful.
The Q700, by contrast, tracks pretty well. The seating is rather typical sea kayak seating - meaning a lot of paddlers go numb in it. It handles a lot of conditions well, and is pretty fast. Definitely one of the faster sea kayaks out there. Plus the well known very high quality build that QCC has a well deserved reputation for.
Greg
haven’t paddled any of them
my $.02 is that the original Looksha series and it’s derivations are extrapolations of Necky aesthetic traditions and marketing less of a focus on what happens to water across a hull. There were Arluk I,II,III,IV,then Elaho and Looksha II,III,IV,V,and more Elahos.
If you look at racing hulls you don’t find the same kind of identification with a model line with a “racing version” tacked on the upper price range with “carbon/skin racing options”.
In other words West Side doesn’t make a short/stable/touring version of the EFT.
Looksha 3 vs. 700
I had the Looksha 3. It is .5 inches wider than the 2 and about eight inches shorter. It rode waves great but was a VERY wet ride. It was about as stable as Fenn’s XT (surfski). It was probably a great boat in the 90’s but it (Looksha 3) is just outclassed by the 700 in every way. The 700 is faster, more stable, carries much more gear, more appropriate for a heavier paddler, etc. My Looksha was nicely built and it’s kelvar with carbon stiffeners weighed about the same as my carbon/kelvar 700.
I had the Looksha for two years. I’ve owned the 700 for three years. I think the 700 is a MUCH better boat in every way and for every purpose. If you’re going to race go look at the new Epic, very fast.
Good luck!
Owned the QCC
and paddled the Looksha, so take this with a grain of salt (or maybe two), having not lived with the Looksha. I’d give the nod to the 700 in every way-faster, certainly more stable and well behaved, superb level of quality, etc. It is rather ‘Chevy Suburban-like’ in appearance, but most of your FSKs are; plumb bows are de rigeur in this class. It will do everything well. If you’re racing it, I’d give a slight nod to the Epic 18X, the Rapier 18, and definitely the EFT depending upon how classes are grouped. Jury’s out on that 18x rudder setup-a number of owners are modifying the integrated rudder by grafting on a deeper blade.
I was one of those who suffered in the QCC-the low foredeck and thigh braces force you into in a splay-legged sea kayak position-the keyhole cockpit is narrow at the front, so popping your knees out is not easy. Modified mine with a chair seat from Pat at Onnopaddles (Thanks, Franklin!) and a fabricated footbrace (Thanks, Canunut!) which made it bearable for a while. Ultimately sold the boat and was very sad to see it go.
Another really nice boat is the old style Epic Endurance 18. More open cockpit, K-1 style seating, and fairly tight catch make it a do everything boat-surfs wonderfully also. I have one of these, and aside from spotty QC it’s wonderful. Did everything from a downriver race to the Blackburn in it. This one’s a keeper.