Moving on from Epic v10s

First of all hi! New on this excellent forum and my first post.

First of all my background for surfskipaddling comes from multisports and Adventure Racing. Started out in a typical multisport kayak I bought an epic v10 sport performance in May-2013 after trying out alot of skis, not many that fitted my wide hips (im 187cm and 88kg). First weeks I could hardly put any power into the stroke and had alot of trouble staying in the ski at even calm conditions. Since I race a semi-professional team I paddled alot during may-august (4-5 times per week) and by the end of august I felt like I could handle the ski in any conditions even the very choppy bidirectional waves and boat wakes where I paddle the most.

Now I sold the v10s since I want a faster boat and a bigger challenge yet again, and my question here is if the v12 would be a too big step up , should I go for a v10 inbetween ? I think the Perfomance layout is best for me since it is more durable to rocks and rough handling etc (alot of that in races sometimes) and the weight 14.5kg doesnt really bother me, the v10s felt very light to me

So any advices on where to go next, perhaps I should look at other brands and models too ? I felt Epic was the only skis that I tried that had a nice fit for me, tried Carbonology Vault , Red 7 , Zedtech Griffin & Griffin ++, all too tight fit or too short bucket for me.

Welcome AR, sounds like our path to this forum is very similar. I started on a Plastic Finn Affinity then went to the V10 sport. Loved the learning I went through on the sport.

My next ski was a V10L but I didn't really ever feel comfortable in it in anything but flat water.

I surprised you don't fit in a Carbonology Vault. I have very wide hips and found the Vault a good fit. The Vault was my next ski after the V10L and the ski that led to me being able to paddle any of the elite level skis.

If you are indeed bigger in the hips than me maybe checkout the earlier Stellar skis, they are very roomy but with a wide catch ( where you put the paddle in the water) that many don't like. The SES and SEL are low volume quick skis.

The V12 is a great fast ski but if you are intending on racing it in multisport point to point races be aware that the large volume bow does get pushed around in cross winds and can be a handful.

I researched and paddled many low volume skis when I was moving up from the V10 Sport as I wanted a point to point ski that behaved well across and into the wind.

There are 2-3 times as many skis on the market now than there were then so its just a matter of finding one you fit.

The other consideration is lay-up. I like the hybrid layups for a good balance of weight, stiffness and durability. My last two skis have been a carbon/glass hybrid of 12kg and I reckon that's ideal.

Thanks for the reply, funny we got almost identical nicknames.

I did try an old v10 (perhaps 2007) and found it almost as stable as the v10 but with the narrow catch it felt alot smoother. One thing I didnt like with the v10s 2012 ( I know they changed the design for 2013) was the wide catch, I use alot of rotation and felt limited as I hit the deck alot especially when sprinting.

Im going to South Africa for the x-mas and new year and will be in capetown 2 weeks where I planned to do some paddling, been in contact with the paddlecenter in fish hoek and plan to try as many different skis as possible, not sure if they only have fenn skis though, will look around for all the brands and try to test.

Regarding low volume for multisports its a valid point, however I do paddle open ocean and trying to catch waves and boat wakes and I think the v10l would be to low volume for me, also I heard the new v10 is more stable then the old v10 (which I found very stable even with a small kick-up rudder). Well its hard to know what fits just by comparing specs, so I will try to test all of the skis that could fit my needs. Only problem is to find a decently priced one in Sweden, especially now when the lakes and rivers are starting to freeze up

I started in the old V10 performance 2 years ago, moved to a V12 ultra after 8 months, now back to new V10 elite and loving it !

My wife has a V10s (2012 model) and I sometimes paddle that.

Stepping up to new V10 won't be a big jump from V10s and you'll notice increased speed and downwind handling without being too tippy. Good all round ski for all conditions.

I've kept my V12 for flat and small ocean conditions.

If you have access to Vajda Hawx or Think Ion, give those a try - I did - just not quite right for me but might be good for you.

New V10L has just been announced, similar hull/stability as new V10, try and get a go - maybe next year before it hits the market around the world.

Matt

Curious to learn what you decided in the end?

Alfalund wrote: Curious to learn what you decided in the end?

Found an Epic v10 Performace 2013 for sale and grabbed it without testing (was winter and 1m of snow). Paddled it alot and simply love it. Perfect snug fit, volume and suprisinly stable.