Help educate me.....
I live in Southern Minnesota, where our rivers are mostly flatwaters combined with Class I, II and occasional III.
I currently own a Dagger Approach (got a great deal) and I'm well aware of the limitations of the kayak. I'm now looking to upgrade to either a Liquidlogic XP10 or a Jackson Rogue 10. I really have no interest in a crossover kayak that has a string-operated system for skeg deployment. (The string on my approach is wearing through after 3 mild seasons and I really don't want to deal with constant replacement.)...so the Dagger Katana, Wavepsort Ethos and Pyranha Fusion are out....
So, I've been told the Rouge is much quicker than the XP10 on flatwater. Is that true? I've also been told that the XP10 is better on whitewater. True?
Most of the runs around here are 10-14 miles long with lots of shallows (so a V-shaped rec kayak is not good)...so it truly is a great area for a "crossover kayak." The Approach has been decent here, and besides the fact that it's a tank (and uncomfortable after a couple of hours) ... I have no major complaints other than the string/cable skeg-release.
I'll admit I'm a bit biased towards the Badass outfitting on the XP10 when spending 4+ hours on a river, but if the Rogue is much quicker... I might reconsider.
So...thoughts? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
We have Rogues
I have the larger one and my wife has the smaller one. I have paddled the Liquid Logic on flatwater. It is probably a toss up. The Rogue will work fine for what you want. Would you be missing out on something if you bought the Liquid Logic. No. So you have a choice of comparable boats and it probably doesn’t make a difference which one you choose.
mostly flatwater with some Class I-II
sounds like you might be a good candidate for an Alchemy… then you’d be able to paddle the lakes too.
flatwater VS. still wter
Sorry, no experience w/Rogue so can't compare. Of course that doesn't keep me from typing something!
I love my XP10 in flat but moving water (especially fast moving water); still water on the other hand isn't fun for me if it is for much time. If I'm cruising along at the speed of the river, the maneuverability of the XP is joy (and moving water that isn't flat is also fun!).
Edit: As I said, I have no experience with the Rogue, so what I said about the XP may be the same for the Rogue -- perhaps a toss up as said above.
LL Stinger XP
I have not paddled the Rogue but have paddled the LL Remix XPs some. The XPs are very whitewater capable but pretty inefficient for paddling any type of water that is not moving. It would be hard to imagine the Rogue not being better in this regard.
But if you want a crossover kayak that moves along, why not look at the LL Stinger XP?
I demoed the rogue and own
an xp10. The Rogue would be quicker on the flats. Rogue had more of an old school feel- kind of quick and point and go in class II, III- reminded me a bit of the old perception boats that I used to paddle. xp10 more stable-I affectionately call it boating for dummies. Plows through the flats however. Interestingly, the rogue I paddled had skeg issues, and wouldn’t deploy properly. Hope that helps.
Thanks
Thanks all-
Yes, all this advice helps quite a bit. I’ve considered the Stinger XP, but in all honesty it’s probably more boat than what I truly need and just a little too long for the rivers I run. Same goes for the Alchemy. I’m trying to keep it at 10’.
So if the Rogue is faster than the XP10, what is it about the hull (?) that allows it to do so? The shape? The width?
I’m also thinking I would like the Badass outfitting more than the Jackson Sweet Cheeks setup… Of course there is nowhere near me that I could demo any LL kayaks since they’ve gone internet-sales-only.
Sorry for the questions, but you guys are doing a great job educating me.