Thoughts on canoe laminates; Colden vs…

[BurkeJ]

Love my Colden canoes. I’ve been considering a Swift Dragonfly, before they’re gone.
Any thoughts on Colden’s Carbon/Kevlar vs Swift options? Specifically, considering their Expedition Kevlar w/Epoxy. Wondering about weights and durability for river tripping, up to Class III.
Would love to get a lighter, more durable boat. Not sure if saving 3-7 pounds is worth the $$$
thanks!

 

[Tryin']

No input on Colden, but I have a Swift in kevar fusion. It's seen its share of knocks, and shows them. Based on my experience, and having talked to Swift about the differences between their layup schedules, I would not consider Swift for Class III river running. Their expedition kevlar still relies on a foam core for structural stability, vs most other makers running enough cloth to make up the strength. From my testing, Northstar IXP is the top of the heap for durability.

That said, Swift boats are the finest finished boats I have seen. Absolutely excellent.

If you run deep water, pushy rivers, Swift will be just fine. Not my choice for cobbles and drops.

 

[gumpus]

I agree with Tryin's assessment. I haven't beaten on a Colden but my strongest/toughest composite boat is an older black/gold Bell Merlin II with a thick gel coat and no foam core. I remember that the Bell brochures stated the Black/Gold was OK for "light whitewater". Mine has shrugged off lots of light to medium rock hits and only required minor gelcoat repair on a couple of bad hits, but I'm on quieter rivers with generally roundish rocks...not Class III. I came close to ordering a Swift Wildfire last year and I'm just not convinced that any of their lay-ups are as tough as an older black/gold Bell.