Submitted: 09-27-2005 by TommyC1 
I've been paddling a standard (12') Outrage and loving it. But I've been wondering if my 190+ lbs was maybe too much for that boat in heavy water.
I had the chance to run the upper West in Jamaica, VT in a friends X the other day and I have to say I like it.
It paddles an awful lot like my Outrage but stays up on top of the water where the smaller boat will cut through. Wave trains where an effortless rollercoaster ride and the boat was pretty dry all the way through.
The X is longer and wider than the Outrage and that takes a little getting used to, particularly on offside strokes. But it really does paddle like the smaller boat which makes the transition nice and it sure does handle my weight better.
I gave it an 8 because there is seems to be problem with the orange (mango?) royalex delaminating. I know of a few boats with that problem though it has not made the boats unusable. The older brown (maroon?) hulls don't seem to have this problem nor do the new purple (plum?) Outrages. |