Esquif Adirondack vs Old Town Pack-Worth the upgrade?

[Whit30]

Hello all. Im an old guy retired from ww kayaking, but I still do a good bit of fishing and canoe camping on flat water & up to class II/easy/familiar class III.
Ive owned an Old Town Pack since the 90s and it's been my go to for light tripping, fishing, and just fooling around. But on flat water, esp open water w/ some wind, it's kinda a pig. So Ive been looking at the possibility of a new Esquif Adirondack in T Formex Lite. Is it basically a twin of my old Pack performance wise, or is there a significant improvement in speed and tracking? If not I'll prob go with the Esquif Echo. Thanks.

 

[M Clemens]

I would go with the Echo, the ADK is just a Pack clone, so expect the same performance. You don't say where you are, but if you are not far from Rochester NY, Oak Orchard Canoe has an Echo Demo for sale at $1499, same price as a new Adirondack. Lots of used Royalex solos at that price point, as well.

 

[billconner]

I test paddled the Echo. Very comfortable and reasonably efficient. Heavy is only reason I didn't get it.

 

[Whit30]

Thanks all.
Im in North Alabama. I paddle a combo of large open water impoundments, flat creeks/swamps, moving streams & rivers with current, shallow shoals, and mild WW. One to three day trips and some fishing, in all four seasons. Never any significant portaging.
I suspected the Adirondack was essentially same as the Pack so not really in need of a twin to it. My trusty local outfitter has 3 of them in
T Formax Lite so I was thinking about checking them out, but he's a couple hrs away. He can order me the Echo if I decide to get one.
Ive been keeping an eye out for used boats locally but all I typically see are heavy plastic recc tandems, old aluminums, and similar. Rarely does a Roylex show up and if it does its usually a old whitewater banana boat, cool but not what Im looking for.
Looking for something light as possible because I always solo and Im old. But I need durability, so I'm not really interested in a composite boat. I will encounter too many shallow shoals and rocky banks. Plus I need to be able to do a sliding entry and drag the boat out of the water without getting my feet wet in the wintertime. So I don't want to take the required precautions, maintain, or spend the money for a glass/kevlar/composite boat.
The Echo in T Formax Lite is almost as light as the old Pack and 2' longer so should track a little better on the lake.