Re: V10 Sport: designed for overweight paddlers

Hey,
As far as I know, all China V10 Sports have the big buckets. At first it seemed that the Sport was designed as an intermediate-level ski, but it also seems that its been designed for BIG paddlers. Nothing wrong with such a compromise but it still doesn't make sense that Epic does not offer this boat with the standard bucket.

I thought the idea of Epic's velcro-ed seat padding was cheesy and bogus. Perhaps they are selling all of their production so fast that they do not feel the need to address this issue. The paddlers in SA seem very fortunate in that their builders know what paddlers need and actually give them the proper options.

I am looking at acquiring a backup boat, and am at that crossroads where perhaps it might be better sell my Sport and look into another boat such as the Mako6. This is sad because I really love the way the V10 Sport handles big downwind conditions, and with the addition of the new rudder the boat has gained significantly in terms of steerage in big swells.

From: Greg Barton - Epic Kayaks
Sent: 07 August 2007 09:51 PM
To: Rob Mousley
Subject: Re: forum topic

We sized the V10 sport seat to fit a wide variety of size people. We now have special adjustable inserts that custom fit the width to the paddler. They are neoprene pouches with variable size pads that go inside. The feedback from those who have tried them have been extremely positive.

Regards,
Greg

From Greg Barton at Epic:

"Here's a couple photos of the prototype [of the hip pads]. The final version was increased slightly in size with white insert pads that are cleaner cut."

(sigh)

Hi bluesea
I see your "sigh" re the pictures of the padding!!
Still I must be honest if I was you I would keep the V10 Sport despite having to use the padding - it is such a great boat I would never part with mine even if I had a wide seat.