EOS 660

I've been looking for a new ski for a few months now and I thought I'd update everyone on the latest ski I've been demo'ing.

My current ski is an old Hayden with extra glass weighing in at about 23kg (aka "the tank")

I've got a Demo EOS 660 at the moment which I've spent about 5 hours on and I'm hoping to rack up another 5 before handing it back. I believe it weights about 15.5kg, but don't quote me on that.

I did a few sprint runs last week (2min flat out -> 8min steady -> 30sec rest)x6. According to my Garmin 310 my acceleration was 50% faster than the Hayden and my top speed was 16% higher. Huge difference, for me anyway. I also did a short ocean run in small swell and was amazed at how nicely it cut through the chop and caught the runners compared to my tank. If anything it's got me more motivated to invest in a new ocean ski. Maybe the winter weather was de-motivating me before.

When it comes to longer runs, I've only done a couple of 10km paddles in flat tidal water and managed 11% increase in average speed over that distance. Stability wise it didn't seem much different to the V12 I tested a few months ago, if anything it seemed a little more stable. As for secondary stability, well I'm yet to fall out if that's any indication.

I'm looking forward to trying the V12 & V10 Performance versions again so I can do a proper comparison and come to some conclusion on which to buy. But value for money it seem pretty dam good and defiantly worth a look if you're in the market for a new ski.

Anyone else tried the new EOS 660? and what did they think compared to say a V12 or V10?

Mart

From what I can see it is a Red 7 Pro 70 with a different name basically so check out the review on this site of that boat!

I own a Red7Surf70 and have paddled the red7pro and one of the original EOS. I used the pro in a 12k race and then just a short demo of the EOS straight after.
IMO, the EOS was more stable than the pro. lighter and livelier than my RED7Surf70 and not too much tippier. The main thing that i noticed was that the EOS turned well as compared to my Surf70.

I believe the newer EOS is a lot better than the original one but I haven't paddled the older one. I also like the steering on the EOS but I have a feeling the seating position is a little too narrow for my hips, I have over sized hips so most people would be fine. I'm yet to try the Red 7.

If the weather holds up this weekend on the GC I'll go for a longer 10k+ Ocean paddle and see how I hold up.

EOS 660 v Red7 Surf70 Pro

I own a Green7 and have had the EOS 660 to play with for the last couple of weeks.

My initial impression too was "sh$t, they've copied the Red7" but on closer inspection, the boats are very different. Measurements, volume, rocker, hull cross section are different. This is no copy.

In summary: fast, turns very tightly on the flat, picks up runs very easily, quite tippy.

We'll be publishing our review shortly...

Hi Rob

Have you got your hands on a Carbonology Atom yet? Give it a paddle, it's awesome!

Cheers
Andrew

Yes, I did have a couple of goes on the Atom... In downwind conditions I found myself nosediving a bit (and broached quite a bit too) - it's quite a low volume boat.

But fast!

My opinion is that it's best for lighter paddlers (it was in fact designed for lighter paddlers) especially downwind.

The boat we had was a prototype so I didn't do a full on review until we got production boat (but that hasn't come yet!)

Hey Rob,

Thanks for the info and I look forward to reading your review on the EOS.

mart

I used the EOS in 1 race of the Harbour Series in Sydney . I improved 10 places from my usual 40th when on my Red 7 surf 70.Turning was great , it has an extra top gear and I didn't fall off! All good ,I'll be buying one soon.