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Why would having a dog rule out the Phoenix?

I've converted both my solo canoes to pack style. I ordered foam seats, back rests, curved thwarts and kayak style footbrace from Northstar. The advantage of converting is you can adjust the seat height by gluing a layer or two of minicell foam under the preformed foam seat. I added a one inch...

You might include the Northstar Phoenix in there.

Both look pretty nice. Especially like the Placid. A lot of boats available in the East aren't available in Colorado. I'm pretty much restricted to Northstar and Wenonah, as far as high end composite boats.

When I'm excited, animated, really into the conversation, I guess my volume goes up. On a trip in May, there were only three of us, and we were sitting around, having snacks and talking. The other guy in the group suddenly yelled at me, and yelled isn't an exaggeration, "Hey, you don't have to...

I have a North Wind solo, but the only river trip I've taken with it is Labyrinth Canyon. Having just taken a tandem canoe down a class II river, I can't picture taking my North Wind down a similar river. It's a little shallow and slow to turn. I'm not saying it can't be done, with float bags or...

Well, yes and no. A composite boat is much more expensive, though the Echo isn't cheap for a plastic solo. In shallow, rocky rivers, T-Formex slides over the rocks better. There are places I'd use my Echo that I wouldn't use my North Wind for fear of damaging it. The Echo may turn out to be fine...

I'm not sure I'd even recommend it for class II without a spaycover. I have a class II trip coming up, in the fall, and I've been debating on whether to use my Echo. Maybe I mentioned this before, but I had an ACA certified instructor take mine out for a paddle and she seemed pretty impressed...

Most (All?) kayak paddles come with drip rings. I've found them to be a long way from 100% effective. I tried the tape thing, a couple summers ago, and didn't find it helpful. I have a friend that made a cover to catch drips. I'm currently just using a large block of open cell foam to catch and...

I recently did a flatwater paddle on the Green River, Utah, in a North Wind solo. Thought the experience might be relevant to your decision making. I paddled it as a pack canoe, just so you know. The North Wind worked very well, except for one issue. If I'd stop paddling, to take a photo or...

Wow! That looks like a solid seat. It should hold a ton, not that you weigh that much. I would think getting the webbing through the holes would be a pain. I've heard some people complain that contoured seats don't allow for shifting your weight, if needed. I kind of like tractor seats myself...

Boy, that really is starting from scratch. I built a boat once, to prove a point. If I had it to do over, I wouldn't. In my view there are only two good reasons to build a boat. One- you want something that you can't buy. Two- the satisfaction of paddling (or rowing, or whatever) a boat that...

To be honest, I don't remember, for sure, what packs I used. Most likely a very large dry bag, like a 115 and a smaller bag, plus a 7 gallon jug. I'd drop it in sideways and then rotate it. I do remember one thing. On one trip, I brought along a ridiculously bulky sleeping pad, meant for car...

I've had several solo canoes. The first one I owned was a Wenonah Encounter in Tough Weave. https://wenonah.com/Canoes.aspx?id=129 Not very light, and doesn't turn very well, but otherwise I really liked that boat. Super stable, reasonably fast, tracks well, holds a ton of gear, sliding tractor...

I have a North Wind solo in Blacklite. It is perfect for stuff like Upper Missouri, Labyrinth Canyon, Stillwater Canyon, Meander Canyon. Last time I did Loma to Westwater, which has some easy rapids, there was some guy launching a North Wind in Blacklite with the expensive carbon rails. He has...

These aren't purification tablets. They are packets of powder. They settle the silt like magic.

P&G sells purification packets. You can buy them on Amazon. They work like magic. My understanding is you don't need to filter the water after using them, the water is safe to drink as is.

I'm headed there myself, but doing a shorter trip. I'm with you on boat size. I don't know how people do dessert trips in 16' boats. Two people, a minimum of a gallon a day for 10 days. That's a lot of weight. There is a way around that, P&G water purification packets, but I'd still go with...

I have two Esquif touring canoes. This one looks like a fishing boat or a good boat for taking your lab out for a paddle. Not something I'd buy.

I try to look at several attributes and not focus on one thing, like speed. I've paddled semi-whitewater boats on class I rivers and it's pretty frustrating. If you stop paddling, they come to a stop pretty quickly. Very little glide. Less glide means more work. Load capacity is a big factor...