Hi all,
I recently purchased a second hand Think Ion. Prior to buying it I found it fairly hard to track down information about this ski aside from advertising material and a couple of reviews of the boat by elite paddlers. I thought I'd share my thoughts on the ski for any other non-elite paddlers out there looking for information. The ski is marketed as an intermediate to advanced big water downwind boat.
I am an intermediate paddler, no industry ties/conflicts of interest etc...
Prior to buying the Ion I was paddling a Fenn Elite, I was making reasonable progress in it but it was still a bit too much boat for me for the sort of paddling I want to do (big downwinds and long course races) and the cockpit did not fit me well, resulting in dead legs if I spent more than 30min in the cockpit.
I can also make some comments about the Ion in comparison to the Fenn Swordfish - my paddling partner has just bought a new vac glass Swordfish S (lucky ba$t@rd!)
Stability:
Exactly as advertised. It has quite a roll on it; when you first get on the boat you think 'this feels like an elite boat', but when you get used to the roll it is actually very forgiving. It gives you a lot of warning before you go for a swim. Once I felt settled in the boat I felt pretty stable in side chop too, much more stable than the Elite in those conditions. At speed downwind it feels VERY stable, much more so than the Elite. I find it a lot more forgiving at the end of a run when you start paddling and looking for the next one, this allows me to relax and conserve energy (I loved paddling the Elite downwind but found it pretty tiring). I think the stability increases a lot in the Ion when you are travelling at speed. It is tippier than the Fenn Swordfish though; I would put overall stability squarely between the Swordfish S and the Elite.
Speed:
This boat has a lot of rocker, so it gives up some flat water speed, especially if you are using the 9 inch surf rudder supplied. On flat water for me it feels a bit faster than the SF and slower than the Elite, as expected. The rocker makes for a very smooth and floaty ride upwind though, it feels quick heading into chop. Down wind it feels like a rocket ship, it will catch the smallest of runs and has a great glide on it. Acceleration is fantastic. For a paddler at my level any speed advantage from an elite level hull is probably negated by tippiness in anything other than calm conditions; I think for me the Ion is the perfect compromise between hull speed and stability. I reckon my race times will be better in this boat than the Elite (especially if no swimming is involved!)
Wave-catching:
Superb! This applies both to catching runs downwind and catching clean breaking surf at the beach. With the rocker and a fairly high volume nose you can take some steep drops and not nosedive. I LOVE chasing waves in this ski!
Comfort:
The Ion has the supposedly very ergonomic Evo 2 cockpit transplanted into it. I have found this cockpit to be extremely comfortable, and have had no issues with dead legs etc. It allows me to work on my rotation and leg drive (both need improvement!). It is much more comfortable than the Elite cockpit. The Swordfish S has a redesigned cockpit compared to the Elite and the original Swordfish, from my limited experience in the Swordfish S I would rate the cockpit as highly as the Ion; the design and shape look pretty similar
Other comments:
Build quality is superb, love the micro adjustment ability of the pedals, RAZOR-sharp steering with the type of rudder lines used
Overall I reckon this ski is exactly as advertised: an intermediate to advanced big water/downwind boat. It is exactly what I was looking for; I would highly recommend it to V10S/Swordfish/Evo 2 paddlers who want to step up but don't yet feel ready to have an elite level boat as their main go-to ski.
Hope this is helpful for a few ski-shoppers out there!
Takapuna Boating Club
Current: Think Ion, Think Evo II, Custom Kayaks Mark 2
Previous: Fenn Elite, Red7 Surf 70