Certainly in terms of weight. Not sure the Echo 2.0 has the capacity or the big water abilities of the Guide. Would be a fun pair to match off in a YouTube comparison video!
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New Esquif Solo for 2026, Echo 2.0
- Thread starter ABT
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Guide is actually even heavier than that at 58 lbs. Echo is a bit shorter so loses some capacity there, but the big thing is the depth. I love the depth of the Guide. The Echo is still more shallow than I’d like. Helps on windy lakes, but I prefer the security of the added depth on rivers.
I could pretty interested in this as not only a bigger guy, but someone who doesn’t have the budget to add say a phoenix to the roster for the less frequent river trips or as a gunk holing boat. I never even looked at the original echo in person due to my weight and it’s low freeboard and capacity.
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Pictures would be lovely,
This sounds like both hulls have a place in the world.
Found a bit here
keep looking forward to see one in the flesh.
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Little bit more comparison between the original and the 2.0 as well as some on-water paddling:
I watched this video about ten times and finally got to swing by the local shop today to see if they would be getting one this spring. Hope to get a test paddle in one sometime in may. Likely will try and buy one this summer if I like it. The pickings are slim for a general purpose solo for bigger guys, especially at my current budget. Pretty excited for it.
I may be making this up, but I believe I have seen (somewhere in my travels) an Esquif Prospecteur 15 set up from the factory as a solo. Not sure if they would draw in the sides a bit for you if so, but that would be a relatively inexpensive solo that cost 2/3 to 1/2 as much as a comparable composite boat.
I also like the idea of a Huron 15 for that role, which is a couple of inches shorter than the Prospecteur, but still taller than an Old Town Camper or Pathfinder, and in T-Formex Lite weighs less than 50 pounds. That is a very alluring boat IMHO...
According to the reps at Canoecopia, Esquif will set up several of their boats to solo spec. They just have to be ordered from the factory that way, with th e commensurate lead times.
I test paddled with my wife and solo a Nova Craft Prospector 15 last summer. It was a fall of the rack special that had been repaired, and it was pretty good solo. If I could convince any of my dogs to enjoy heeled over Canadian style paddling it would likely be a top choice.
The beam, rocker, and length, in addition to price point make the 2.0 pretty attractive. If it is actually 45 pounds it will still be a fair bit lighter than my fiberglass malecite which I currently solo.
