Epic V10 sport vs V10

I currently have a Epic V10 Sport. I am thinking about moving to the Epic V10 for a bit more speed. According to the Epic website I gain 1 feet in length but lose 1 inch in width. Is the V10 that much faster then the V10sport. Is the V10 significantly more unstable then the V10 sport? Anybody with experience on this?

Good question. I'm about to do the reverse and get a sport after paddling a current shape v10 for about six months.

For reference I am very stable on a carbon xt in all conditions including big offshore downwinds.

I love the v10 on the flat and small bump. However I don't feel comfortable on decent bump.in fact I can't get proper power down on a moderately bumpy day around Sydney harbour. I was hoping to get better on the v10 but I would need to paddle 4+ times a week which I can't do.

Based on my experience with the xt which I think has very similar stability to the sport, I would say the v10 is quite a big step up in stability.

In terms of speed the v10 is around .5kmhr faster than a carbon xt.

Based on many paddles the best I have got from the xt is to average about 10.4 kmhr over 10 Kms, whilst the v10 the best I have averaged is about 10.9 kmhr over 10 Kms. I am back of the intermediate fleet standard. I am expecting the new sport to be quite a bit faster than the xt making the speed difference against the v10 not so great.

I regularly race against v10s and v10 sports. The very good paddlers on the v10 are right up the front of the fleet amongst the elite boats. Their times are also at the elite level. The v10 sport guys are in the intermediate pack, but often up the front of that pack.

Based on all this I would say that if you are a good paddler with strong stability you should be on a v10. You will be able to push your times better than the sport. If you are an intermediate paddler the v10 is possibly too unstable in some conditions and you will be more competitive on a sport.

For me, and the conditions I enjoy the v10 is a bit too much. As a result I'm spending too much time wobbling which is not as much fun as being able to go for it.

Interesting topic!

I have an original Club spec V10S and am planning to buy a new ski, I rented a new V10 Ultra in Maui last year and really enjoyed it, particularly the ability to get my leg drive working, did some relatively mild (for Maui!) downwinders and had a blast. If anything I found the new V10 more reassuringly stable on the bigger bumps than I did on the messy flat and the ability to link runs and carry speed far superior to my V10S, I know all the Maui boats have the elliptical surf rudders on them. Flat water speed, felt faster than the V10S but for me flat water is more exercise and sightseeing than anything else.

But because I'm 5'8 and 68kg I'm waiting to try the new V10L before I make a decision, they are supposed to be in Australia this month. What I don't want to do is end up buying something too tippy and not enjoying the downwinders, the eternal dilemma of a 55 yo intermediate paddler letting ego and 'wanting a sports car' weigh into the decision making progress! Because I'm keeping the V10s for my family to use (not allowed to sell it!) I will have time to acclimatise.

Love2ski, wondering if you would mind sharing your height and weight and age with us.

this is very helpful.. THANK YOU

I have both skis. Sport in Ultra and V10 in performance. Love both skis but now that I am not training as much I paddle the Sport as it is much more stable as my core is not as strong. I concentrate on my stroke which is easy to do on the stable platform.

The speed differential is not that much between the two, I asked the designer of the skis and he says it should be less than 1min slower over 10km, that is all things being equal, but you will be slower on the V10 if you cannot paddle it properly.

Also I am not that proud to be seen on the Sport, I show them on the water, however if that is a problem, just remove the Sport sticker and you will be good to go. Most people will not know the difference between the two skis.

Jonathan,
I am a light paddler, (5'6" and 62kg's) and I find the V10L to be more stable than the V10. Bigger guys do not find much difference between the two ito stability, so I guess it is a result of us having the L in the water, where the V10 sits on it, at our weight. and it fits us better as well, and that helps with stability.
I would definitely wait to at least paddle the L before making the call.

Thanks Fuyang,
Are you talking about the new model V10 and V10L? I've paddled the old model V10L in Ultra and it wasn't nearly as tippy as I thought it would be. So yes will definitely wait to try the new one.
Cheers

Hi,
Yes, referring to the New models.
I have also done back to back paddles in the old L and the new L. The new one is definitely more stable, and a better fit. The hump is lower, and I found I was getting a much better leg drive.

Hi,

Im about 185cms, 90kg and 47 years old. I only started paddling 18mths ago.

I just got a sport ultra and had my first paddle. As expected it felt like my v10, only way more stable and a bit slower.

Abel, contact your Epic rep - trial the V10 in different conditions, speed test with your Garmin. It's a moderate step up from the V10 sport, not a giant leap like to V12/V14. I used to paddle a V12, touch too much for me in confused big swell, dropped to new V10 elite model, increased stability & now paddling more effectively in all conditions. If you can afford it, buy it - ease into it over 6 months, always handy having a stable ski for those really nasty days. Take a look a new Hawx 46 too, paddled this a few times, in between V10 Sport and new V10 model in my mind - pretty quick too - would have been on my short-list if it existed 6 months ago. Goodluck.

Hi Abel

If yours is the "previous model" V10 Sport, you will find the new V10 will feel very quick and efficient, and the step up stability will not be a difficult one. I've had 2 V10 Sports, and have a new V10 Ultra , which I've had for almost 12 months.
The new Epic cockpits are great , with narrower catches and lower humps, and the taller seating position of the new V10 puts you in a much more ergonomic position that I find really assists in good rotation and leg drive.
I have also paddled the new V10L Ultra , and I'm 183 cm and 80 kgs, so at the upper weight range for the L , found it a very lively little boats, less primary stability than the V10...but similar great secondary stability, it had a tendency to want to fall of vertical a little with every stroke. I did a few sprints back to back with my wife's carbon Swordfish , and found the sprint speed to be around 1.5 km/h faster, and I feel the Swordfish is at least as fast as the older V10 Sport.
I would whole heartedly recommend the new V10, with a little familiarity you will feel comfortable tackling any conditions

Abel,

How does the stability of the NEW V10L compare to the Swordfish? Thanks.

Ken

I think it is fair to say that you couldn't comfortably call the V10L an intermediate ski. Our Swordfish is very stable, even in the Carbon spec, and the V10L we tested was in Ultra spec, so a few kgs heavier, we were looking at it for my wife as an upgrade from the Swordfish, but she found it was much twitchier, she didn't fall out of it , but found it took far more concentration on balancing, rather than paddling! She felt that she would become accustomed to it after a while, and absolutely loved the fit of it, narrow catch , low hump and taller seat position. ( 5'2"55 kg)
As I mentioned previously it was certainly quicker for me, and only slightly less stable than the new V10, it has a different feel to its stability, were the first 5-10 degrees of sideways movement are more sudden , them from there it has vary reassuring secondary stability, were as the Swordfish has a smoother more progressive motion to it.
Under sprint situations it tracks very well , were I find the Swordfish will waggle its tail a little, although it still has its original shark-fin rudder rather than a elliptical one on the Epics.
The Swordfish is , because of its much higher volume and light weight very corky in a confused sea, more of a problem for lighter paddlers, were the V10L sits in the water well.
Like every boat, everyone will have a different opinion , and our sizes, conditions and experience all vary, so grab a test paddle and see how you find it!

Thanks! The new V10L hasn't made it to this part of the world (west coast of North America) yet as far as I know. I am looking forward to giving it a try when they show up.

Keep sharing such type of information.

Since Friday I've had three paddles on my sport. All were on a moderately bumpy Sydney harbour with some areas of bad bump. I have an ultra v10 as well.

For me the boats are quite different. The v10 is long and tends to wander off course in the bump. Also the v10 tends to stall out when I start to wallow. However it is quicker than the sport and provided you can fully get the power down it flies. The sport is much easier to handle in the bump due to its shorter length. It is also easier to turn and get up and running.

I like the bump so I will be using my sport the most. I am confident I will be faster in it than the v10 because I can paddle without wobbles. That just reflects my level of development.

For example I did squad from clontarf this morning at 5.30am. Most of the session was in the dark doing ins and outs off dobroyd. As a consequence we had a swell rolling and plenty of reflecting waves. I would have been in trouble on the v10 and would not have got much of a workout.

On the sport I hammered the whole session. As it went on I got quicker getting to 11kmhr and touching 12s in the bump. I also noticed I started holding my own with the group.

In summary I'm going to paddle the sport in the bump and up my work rate due to stability. On the flat I'm going to use the v10 where I can get the boat up and running.

I will be faster in the bump on the sport and faster on the flat in the v10.

After a week on the sport I paddled my v10 this morning on flat water. To my surprise I averaged 11.2kmhr over 9 kms! The best I had ever done previously was 10.8kmhr.
I also had no wind or tide assistance. I have done this course about 20 times over the last 18mths so I have very good data.

The only thing I think of for this big increase was the fact that I had been using the sport in the bump all week. The fact that I was so stable and could really hammer my stroke gave me a big boost in workrate.

That translated into a big jump in speed on the v10 on the flat.

Would be very interesting to hear your time with the v10sport

Have had my V10S (new model) since late September last year. In fact I believe it was the first performance lay up sold in Sydney. I too was contemplating getting a V10 rather than the V10S. However, since I was moving from a carbon Swordfish I was after stability in the bump as opposed to outright speed.

My problem, I am big unit that fluctuates between 108 to 112kg. The Swordfish was a tight squeeze that affected rotation and leg drive (wide seat model now available). Deep water remounts were touch and go. And as we all know, a couple of bad remount experiences offshore tend to put the brakes on things.

Anyhow, happy as the proverbial pig in poo with my V10S. Comfortable, stable and fast in the bump and not too bad in the flat either. And that bailer... great!

Not fast by any means, but up there in my level of paddling expertise. Got some mates into buying V10 Sports as well. One is a beginner too... ok, he is a pretty good sea kayaker.

Outcome, the V10 has its place, but the V10S is the better all rounder in my opinion.

Mick

Looking forward to a couple of downwinders with you in January Mick down at Merry... I'll be sure to bring the ski this year.

(this is Matt)