Still looking at boats. I am close to buying either (or possibly both) a Simon River Sports DartX and/or a Simon River Sports Laser. I will use them primarily for offroad triathlon races in rivers, lakes, etc. as well as kayak races in ocean bays, tidal rivers, and estuaries. I would be unlikely to race in open ocean water. Has anyone had any experience with either of these kayaks?
Laser
I’ve had a thousand miles of experience in the Laser, and that isn’t an exaggeration.
The only important thing to remember with the Laser (and this is important) is that, if you’re looking to go in true open water, you can’t re-enter because there are no bulkheads and the layup is too light to climb back up on the deck. As long as you have a place to get back in, should you need it, the Laser can do just about anything. I surely would not take it in the ocean, but I’ve had it just about everywhere else, including down full Class II rapids. The Laser has handled everything I’ve done to it just fine. I joke that I’d like to be buried in it, but it’s really not far from the truth. 
Email me if you have specific questions, you can find my email address on my website. I can’t help you with the Dart, I have zero knowledge of the Dart, but the Laser and I are as one.
Susan
www.pennkayaker.com/ladyjustice
Slower,
than the ones you asked about before,Razor, Jet,etc., same set of issues. No appreciable performance gain over the 10X you had.
HEX
Yes, but
Yes, but it would put me in a different racing class and allow me to do sprints which is what I am looking for.
Racing class,
Razor, Jet, Laser, Dart are all in the same racing class per USCA, that is the Touring class. These boats will be at a big disadvantage against non-trainer ICF K-1’s when it comes to sprints. I was unaware of sprints for offroad triathlons. Offroad triathlons which usually have no differentiation between boats for classes are best with ski’s, lighter weight(for portages that are usually required), you can recover if you flip and have good speed.
There is no one boat to do all.
HEX
Main focus
I realize that. Main focus would be marathon racing and offroad tris. Sprints would be neat to try. Actually there is one boat that seems to come pretty close to meeting my requirements and that is the Think Fit. I am taking my time to make sure I get what works for me. If that means two boats eventually, then that is fine.
And…
none of the offroad triathlons I have been in require portages. Marathon kayak races, yes sometimes, but not the offroad tris I have participated in.
Around these parts,
around here the offroad tri’s or adv. races usually do have a portage here or there. Think Fit is the original Jet hull before they moved production to a diff. factory. Test the re-entry before buying, I have a Mohican with the same concept hybrid ski/kayak and re-entry is trickier than a ski.
HEX