172 lb. Paddler Ready to Upgrade from V7: V8 Pro or V10 Sport?

Thanks Wesley. I just shot you an email and filled you in with a little more info.

The short of it is this, however: I've been paddling a V10 Gen 2 since Wednesday and the boat is really working out. I can't believe how much faster and efficient it is than the V7. There's no going back. After spending an hour in it, I felt as though the V8 Pro was a slight step up (in regards to performance), had almost no learning curve (coming from my current boat) but wasn't really worth the money I'd have to lay down for what would have amounted to a slight - moderate increase in performance. The V10 is night and day faster, and that's what I'm looking for. I've put about 40 miles on the boat so far am quickly adapting. No more racing for the year as I plan on training all fall in the V10 and getting used to it.

Thinking of going with a secondhand V10S as a cold water training/rough water boat and a V10 as my flat water/summer craft.

This was really useful, thanks for posting this. I am trying to decide on V8P vs V10S for my next season as well coming from a V7.
Took it to 2-3 ft waves yesterday and it felt like an Abrams tank no matter what I did. Based on what you said about a V8P it would be to little of a step up. Probably will keep the V7 for really big conditions.

I guess it comes down to your objectives. Wesley is 100% right: If you're putting the time in and committed and really motivated to push the performance envelope, the V8 Pro isn't much of a step up from the V7. I think that the biggest performance gain moving up to the Pro (from the 7) would be the massive weight loss (nearly 30 lbs!!!). Sitting in and paddling the Pro, I had a hard time telling that I wasn't paddling my V7.

V10S and V10 are most definitely more challenging, but like I said in a previous post, the gains in speed are substantial. For me, it'll be worth the short term frustration/capsizing to make the jump into the V10 boats. I'll be interested to hear what you end up doing!

Any thoughts on older V10S blue tip vs the current mode (club I am presuming)l? There are a couple of those floating on the used market here, reasonably priced.

After spending the last 8 sessions in a V10 Gen 2, I took a V10 Sport out for an 8 mile paddle today. Wow! A little slower than the V10 for sure, but so much more stable. Instead of being tentative when dealing with boat wake, I was able to power right through it. 100% power on every stroke for all 8 miles. Based on my average speed of 7 mph @ 140 bpm avg HR and the conditions on course (low tide with lots of slow speed shallow sections, windy, up and back x 2 in the Annisquam river), I'd estimate the V10S to be about .5 - .6 mph faster than the V7. I found that the stability was no different than the V8 Pro ... maybe a tad less stable, but I never once felt unstable. Seems like a great do-it-all boat for the intermediate paddler and one that I look forward to taking out into the ocean tomorrow.

Regardless, putting 60+ miles in the V10 has most certainly helped on the progression front. Looking forward to more bucket time in both crafts this fall. Seems like the V10S would be a great complement to a V10, which I plan on using for flat water training and racing next season.