Epic Ultra vs Elite

Is it worth the extra $$?
The look of the Carbon Elite is amazing, but am a little nervous about the lack of a gel coat - even though I am an extremely careful person..
Anything I should be aware of with the Elite?

Just an observation, almost all the guys I've known who have had that lay-up have sold them and not replaced them with the same lay-up.

any idea why? a 'longevity' issue?

Re the Stellar full carbon vs the Excel you pay a lot of extra money for a 1kg weight saving. I know a couple of guys with them and they look terrible with scratches where as my Excel with the gel coat still looks new after 18 months use. One of the paddlers with the full carbon version that I know wishes that he had got the Excel for that reason.

Does anyone have a 'pure carbon' elite and could offer their opinion/advice?

I may have said this too many times already, but I found the carbon Epic V10L, which I bought, much twitchier, more unstable and harder to remount than the performance version. I think this effect is magnified for small light people, because the boat is already floating higher in the water than optimal.

It was obviously lighter to carry around and noticeably faster to accelerate and jump onto runs, but this did not compensate for the stability issues. I wouldn't buy another carbon boat.

The market for reselling, and likelihood of getting much of your large investment back, is also smaller.

I had no issues with the fragility or otherwise of the construction or finish, but I tend not to bump my boats into things.

I'll say Epic Ultra is far better than Elite. The Ultra construction is very light and popular with the fitness and racing paddlers. It is light, stiff, and extremely strong in the water. I'll always prefer to use Epic Ultra.