New V10

www.epickayaks.com/news/news/strongthe-all-new-v10strong

Looks very appealing!
Not sure if this is the speculated V10 pro to be released in March 2013 or if there is another update of V10 sport in March 2013? Suspect the former!
Either way it is a ski I look forward to trying out...........
Well done Epic!
We have been spoilt with new ski options in 2012 from the Ski manufacturers
Exciting to see our sport growing & evolving!!

V10 Strong? So I'm assuming there will be the V10 Pro also.
Epic are almost as secretive as Apple!

Just like opening Christmas presents!

This is nothing other than the new V10!

Thanks Wally, looks good. I think we all have the same question though - is this the V10 Pro that we have been waiting for? Given it's beam of 17.7 inches, which is identical to the Swordfish, I suspect that is the case. The new V14 is Epic's elite ski, the new V10 is the intermediate / advanced intermediate, the V10 Sport is the novice and the V8 is the beginner. Am I close?!!!

Bonus points if you can tell us if there will be an "L" model in our future!

The new V10 is way above the Swordfish, it has the same hull speed as the current V10.
Yes the V14 is super fast and generally only for the top end paddler, the Sport is a way underrated ski for its speed and stability, I love my Sport.
The V8 is also very underrated, it is super stable but deceptively fast, I did a race on the weekend on one and averaged 14.1 km/hr, not bad for a beginner ski! I would have done around 14.7 km/hr on the Sport. The guys in Europe in Tarifa are doing over 16 km/hr on the V8. surfskicenter.com/downwind-records/
As for the L version wait and see!

OK I give up. I'll call Epic to find out if this is the purported V10 Pro (and I think most of us suspect that it is). If anybody gets the answer in the meantime, please update the group.

I think the preceding post really just ends up hurting a brand. Presumably we should all be on a V8 if they are doing 16kph. Or maybe a Sport, but the only number I see there is 14.7. Does it matter that I have been paddling for 15 years and have a K1 background (neither of which happen to be true)? Better I think to leave the rhetoric behind and communicate clearly about a brand's line up and where the various boats (or bikes or skis or ...) fit in with the target demographic. If consumers are confused about what to buy from a company, they are just going to look to the next company. I suspect that my original line up is true - V14 elite, new V10 advanced intermediate / intermediate, V10 Sport intermediate / novice, V8 beginner. If that's the case then Epic appears to have a great set of boats.

Oh, and we get it - the Swordfish sucks. Sigh .....

I thought the speeds looked a bit strange. I assumed they were massive downwind runs, where the elite boats would to 20kph+

I worked out in the 20 beaches on Saturday Murray Stewart and Tim Jacobs averaged about 17kmh over 25km. That was in sloppy light downwind conditions. Thats scary.

Hi,
I find it amazing that when you explain exactly what skis Epic have and their uses you get shot down because you obviously have a some problem with something.
I will say it for the third time, it is the NEW V10!!!!
I also wanted to highlight my experiences I have with the other models to let paddlers have an INFORMED idea of the speeds that can be attained on the various skis Epic make. I thought this would be informative but obviously not what you want to hear, the Tarifa figures speak for themselves.
(My paddling ability is not top end either, I don't train enough although I have been paddling for over 30 years in the ocean, I strictly only do downwind if at all possible.)
Just a note that in good downwind conditions Oscar Chalupsky has achieved 21 km in one hour.(conditions are everything)
By the way the Swordfish is shorter and is the same length as the Sport, that is all that I said, if you don't like it why don't you just say it!

Wow this is super painful.

There is a thread on this site titled, "Epic V10 pro". Wally, you were the person who had the most information in that thread, and I believe you are associated with Epic. We now have a boat from Epic that they are calling the new V10. Easy question: Is the new V10 the boat that we (and other sites) have been discussing as the V10 pro? Fine if it is, nobody cares about naming and Epic can call the thing whatever they want. It would just be helpful to know for those of us considering a new ski. If you don't know Wally, that's fine no worries. But if you know if this is, or isn't, the previously discussed V10 pro and just keep saying, "It's the new V10" - well that isn't helping us and it certainly isn't helping Epic.

I'm not hostile to the Epic brand (I own an L, Sport and Double), I'm honestly just trying to figure out what this boat is, should we be expecting a subsequent "pro", etc.

i suspect it's safe to assume the new v10 is the speculated v10 pro ?

in considering it's purchase, it would be most useful to know if epic plan to update or tweak v10 sport as they have done to v8/10?

Yes! sorry for the misunderstanding re the Pro and V10. As for the Sport I am not 100% sure when the new one will be out.

Wally:

Why no love for those of us with big hips / When looking for my first ski both the V8 and V10 sport pinched my hips. My local rep found a V10 sport with wide bucket sitting in Charleston. Fits like a glove.

Now in looking for a second skiI wanted to "step down' a notch. Something more stable for bigger conditions. As they say stability before speed. It's no fun spending the day remounting.

I will be getting a Fenn Blue Fin with 44 c.m. bucket. Why not another Epic? Too snug !
As you have an inside look at Epic could you tell me why there are so few wider bucket skis?

There are many of us who are big but still quite athletic and enjoy the sport.
Is it simply economics? Not worth the money to produce a mold for the say 10-15 % of bigger paddlers who might buy the ski?

Thanks

Kayaker Greg wrote: www.epickayaks.com/news/news/strongthe-all-new-v10strong

Looks nice.

But is Epic admitting the previous "two piece" V10's were a weak version??

provocative superted - but not my impression at all!

appears like an evolution of design & function

"to make a great boat even better"

this model appears to fill a gap in the epic range to compete with swordfish / vault / evo2

i look forward to trying it out ...........

Just to clear up any confusion, the new V10 that was just announced is being called the "V10". It is not the V10 Strong or V10 Pro, neither of which exist nor will exist, though Pro was a name that was thrown around on the forum a while back by someone; they were referring to this boat. And it looks like the word 'Strong' is simply an HTML error ('strong' '/strong' being used to bold the title text). Happy holidays!

ahhh, good. V10 'Strong' sounded like a pretty stupid name.

I hope there will be a new release of the V10 Sport. I'll be maturing out of my V8 shortly, and the V10 sounds a bit advanced.

They better announce it before I go and buy an EVO II !

I'd like to see ski manufacturers' seriously improve their marketing. This thread clearly indicates that I'm not the only one struggling to understand what this boat is, and who it's supposed to appeal to. A selection guide, or a value proposition (i.e "why buy this product, instead of any other in this or a competitive range") is sorely lacking.

So Epic apparently now has a V8, V10 Sport, V10 (& V10L still?), V12, V14. As a buyer looking for an intermediate level ski, I haven't a clue whether Epic has a suitable boat for me - despite there being a vast range to choose from.

A while back the V10 Sport used to be regarded as an entry level boat, but somehow it became an intermediate boat after the V8 came out. The V10 was always an elite boat, but now people seem to be referring to it as an intermediate boat too - presumably because the V12 and the V14 sit above it? And I've never understood why the V10 Sport and the V10 share the same model designator, despite being two completely different models! Throw in some talk about a "V10 Pro" from Epic management, and the whole picture becomes even more difficult to fathom.

I expect someone will tell me to go and test them all to see what I like. I think that's becoming a pretty patronising expectation. There aren't a lot of industries around these days where the consumer is expected to do that sort of legwork, in the absence of clear product positioning from manufacturers.

From the image on the website the new V10 look as if the cockpit has a modified hump lowered under the legs but not in the centre. Understandable for drive but maybe it is just a shadow on the image?