Wenonah Wilderness or Northstar Northwind Solo

[Artistect]

Big Guy, 265#, used to paddle upstream and down on mild rivers. Attainments, Light surfing. Clear winner?

That's my Prism in the photo it works well for the upstream part, turning is fine on flatwater but in swift current it leaves a little to be desired. That is the benchmark I am working from.

 

[Tryin']

Any reason you don't want the NS Phoenix? It's kinda like the river version of the Northwind Solo. The NWS is more of a lake boat. There are many other river options than the Phoenix, i just mention that one because you are already looking at Northstar.

 

[Artistect]

Any reason you don't want the NS Phoenix? It's kinda like the river version of the Northwind Solo. The NWS is more of a lake boat. There are many other river options than the Phoenix, i just mention that one because you are already looking at Northstar.

I'm looking for a lake boat that will turn a little better than my prism. I liked the Phoenix but it felt like a downriver boat. I want something between that and my Prism

 

[Artistect]

Ive been chipping away on my local lake all winter and it has just warmed up enough to try out the local river offerings. Many of which I never bothered with in my whitewater days due to the mostly flat nature. I got out on the hooch this past weekend and it was awesome. I paddled the Prism 6 miles upstream and then bombed back down. There are hundreds of miles of stuff like that around here. I want to cover miles but while having slightly better control in must-make sections. Speed is more important than maneuverability but I do want to be able to make an eddy turn with a little work.

 

[Will Derness]

Suggest you look at the Polaris, set up as solo. It is about the same length as your Prism and has enough rocker to be responsive the turning strokes. The Prism is a more hard tracking canoe than the Polaris.

 

[Artistect]

Polaris seems huge? It's wider at the Gunwales than max. width on the Prism. I have a buddy that has a Bell Northstar (same boat) and he told me he doesn't like the way it paddles solo. He uses it for trips with his wife. I would ask him to bring it out but his is set up tandem only.

 

[Will Derness]

Being a tandem, the Polaris is wider than a dedicated solo, but it is narrow for a tandem. I’m 6’1, 230 and like to have room to move about in the cockpit so this works well for me.

I own a UL Wenonah Wilderness and a Blacklite Polaris set up as a solo, with foot bar and back band. My experience is the Polaris is easier to turn than the Wilderness and both canoes are reasonably fast, maybe more glide to the Polaris. So you might like the speed and maneuverability combo that the Polaris offers.

Group paddles on rivers these days have my Polaris surrounded by double blading kayakers who have commented more than a few times how impressed they were a single blade canoe could stay up with them. A fast, maneuverable canoe with good technique and river reading skills helped me with stay with the lead paddlers.

Good luck in your search, I’m familiar with your journey. I sold a hard tracking, fast, Wenonah Advantage to buy the Wilderness, looking for a canoe that would turn better.

 

[Black_Fly]

NC Prospector 15 works well for me up and down the rivers in NW WI. It responds well, but nothing like a Phoenix, which I found to be small and too tippy for fishing or use with a dog. The Prospector moves out upstream with a double blade real well. Wind is the achilles heel of the P15. I haven’t been out on a big lake in strong wind, but having some moveable ballast sure comes in handy on the river. This spring, I’m trying kneeling at times, and a longer paddle. It will certainly handle a larger paddler better than a Phoenix, which feels almost like a cockpit. Nothing wrong with a Phoenix, it’s just very narrow and responsive and I want a little more room and stability, and I’m not that big.

I owned a Wilderness and loved it. Wish I still had it. It wasn’t a river boat, but on gentle deeper rivers it would serve well. I felt it was a tad small for a tripping boat, and heavy in the tufweave layup, so I replaced it with longer kevlar solo for lakes. Neither of the boats you mention seem to be ideal for rivers, except maybe big slow ones. I can catch an eddy or power upriver with my P15, and tossing an anchor overboard in a current doesn’t feel like a risky proposition.

 

[Artistect]

The rivers close to me that I will paddle most are pool drop type, class I & low II at high water...maybe. So there might be a rapid like the one in the photo above and then a mile or more of super slow almost still water or sweeper hopping. We are not talking about anything harrowing here. I just need something that I can muscle a turn in a pinch and I don't want to give up a ton of speed.

There are a few down river races that I am finding on the same types of rivers. As an example the one I am doing next Saturday in a borrowed boat is six miles with (2) class I rapids and (1) class II at the end. The whole thing would be doable in the Prism if not for that one class 2 at the end that requires a few turns that I don't think I could pull off in the Prism.

I looked at the Esquif P15 hard already before I bought my Prism. I have a Mad River Explorer 16RX that I cruise down river (up to class III) and I felt like there would be too much overlap.

The Polaris is interesting. I have a buddy that has one he is planning to perform surgery on (previous owner had a tree fall on it...ouch!) so I will have access to one of those to try when he gets it back together.

Anyway, I'll post when I figure it out, it sounds like what I am doing is unusual. Inevitably something will either pop up used and look too good to pass up or I will get sick of waiting and buy a new one. An IXP NW Solo came up used a couple of weeks ago and we were out of town. It was gone by the time we got back...

 

[Woodpuppy]

I have a Prism, a Polaris 3-seater, and a Phoenix. I’m 6’3” and the length is in my legs, not my torso. The Prism is great for going fast and mostly straight. It really lets me down in the close windy/twisty stuff I love. The Polaris is excellent, I often have a kid in front and one in the stern while I paddle from the center solo station. She’s stable, maneuverable, and has all the capacity I need. I have the center seat hung high for kneeling, and even so it feels very good seated. I can also comfortably paddle up on my knees off my tush. It’s really a great boat. Tracks reasonably well due to its differential rocker, a spec shared with the NWS. The Phoenix is also set up for kneeling. Seated she is much more tender, and when you stop paddling (paddle out of the water) she yaws off course. With symmetrical rocker she’s responsive and maneuverable, light in the water and a joy to paddle in the twisty stuff. I had no trouble keeping up with a group of recyakkers yesterday on the Wacissa, but none of us were pushing it. I like the Polaris and Prism both for upstream paddling better I think, but I can’t wait for a nice long downstream paddle to play with the Phoenix more.

If I could have only one it would be the Polaris.

 

[Artistect]

I found a deal to go good to pass up on a bell rockstar. I pick it up next weekend. I think it will fit the bill pretty nicely. I will paddle that until I can't carry it anymore...lol. It's 49# so about the same as my tufweave prism. I am stoked but I will be nervous until I paddle it.