Fenn Carbon hybrid vs Carbon

Hello,

Tossing up between a Carbon Fennix elite s or a Carbon Hybrid.

Has anyone had experience in either of these boats, and could give me some advice on whether the slightly lighter, stiffer boat is worth the extra money for a middle-of-the-pack paddler, and whether the carbon hybrid is stronger, or a bit more stable due to the extra weight?

I'll be interested to see what others say on this thread, but to me for a mid-packer the 1kg or so that you save with full carbon is difficult to justify in terms of the cost!

The hybrid boats tend to be a little more resistant to dings too, I think.

Ultra-light carbon boats can be a handful (more of a handful) in wind too!

As a fellow mid-pack paddler I suspect you are spot on.

I'm personally more inclined to a carbon hybrid as I love my hybrid swordfish, and I like the idea of a little more durability. I only worry about regretting not spending the extra money in a few month's time.

A full carbon Elite S is about as fast (and demanding) as you can get. That doesn't sound to me like the best option for a mid packer.
A full carbon Swordfish S might not give you the same "new boat" excitement. However it would be a small but manageable step up in performance. The extra stiffness would give you a bit more "pop" onto runs without costing you too much in stability.

Guilty as charged! I am definitely looking for a shiny new boat. I paddled the elite S for a few years before I got my carbon hybrid swordy and didn't find it too much of a challenge unless it was very rough.

So you do think the hybrid would be slightly less demanding than the full carbon?

Yes. You got me there: I think a hybrid Elite S would be slightly more forgiving than the full carbon; but not by much.
I'm not paddling at the level that you are. I'm more towards the back end of the middle third. However I'm commenting because I've had experience with different layups of the same designs in two different models of ski. In one example I had a full carbon and a hybrid layup ski of exactly the same hull shape. The full carbon was just a little bit more lively. The difference was subtle and I only noticed it in rough and or downwind conditions. I really liked the way it bounced out of troughs and onto steeper waves. The hull design perfectly matched my (limited) ability so stability was not an issue. As a result I would always go with the lightest / stiffest layup of whatever design I thought suited my paddling.
Of course there are other perfectly valid considerations which may influence some people more than others. Speaking (only) for myself however, a few hundred bucks either way doesn't bother me. I'm very careful with my equipment and once I find a design that works for me; I stick with it for a long time so I get good value out of what might otherwise be considered an extravagant purchase. Other peoples experience, preferences and opinions will of course differ.

I've got a Fennix Elite S hybrid and for the reasons mentioned above agree this is a great option for the midpacker.

Re. the boat itself, it's got a lot more rocker than the previous version which, for me, makes it the best downwind boat I've ever paddled but not as good a flat water or upwind boat as the previous versions.

It's a little slower than an old model Spark I've got on the flat but a lot faster downwind.

It's got quite a steep seat back which can make it a little uncomfortable unless you maintain good posture.

On the flat the extra rocker makes it wander about a bit but also makes it very manoeuvrable downwind.

However my opinion will quite likely be different to others and suggest you try it in all conditions before buying.

A few years ago a traded my hybrid Swordfish S for a Carbon one (a birthday present to myself) but it only lasted around three months before I managed to stress fracture it in the cockpit area. I had paddled the hybrid fir around three years before that and put it through much worse without incident.

I then paddled a Fennix Elite S Hybrid for a year and a half, but never managed to feel confident in bigger conditions and ended up going back to a Fennix Swordfish S Hybrid, which checks all the boxes for me.