Submitted: 07-12-2010 by secondgear
My best friend had messed up her foot so we couldn't take our summer backpacking trips. We problem solved and she decided to buy a canoe. We had NO idea of where to even start. After spending hours of looking on craigslist, I found a Spirit II for sale. As I read all of the reviews, we figured that for $300 it was a good decision as an entry level decision.
The first time we put the paddles in the water, I turned around, and she had as big of grin as I did! Since we both grew up with "camp canoes" we didn't know a canoe could behave so amazingly well in the water.
We took a 7 day flat water trip in Northern Idaho. With probably 70 pounds of gear and neither of us are teeny people, the canoe handled superbly. We were even caught out in a summer blow up, and waited out the worst of the wind and took off to cross the lake in front of the rain.
Even in whitewater chop, the boat was so stable. I was in front, and there were times as I was driving hard, the bow came out of the water, and my friend was still able to steer and handle the boat in the wind and chop.
She would buy this boat brand new, and so would I. It's perfect for the kind of adventures we take. |