South African consumers must remember that this particular ski is the light, (expensive) imported version – the Kayak Centre V10 Sport will be built in glass lay-up and will be somewhat heavier.

In my opinion though, the V10 Sport is a great ski both for beginners and intermediate paddlers.

What I like about the ski:

• The stability. This is a ski suited for total beginners
• The performance. This ski is streets ahead of the old hammerhead-type craft and will take a paddler from starting off through to intermediate racing.
• The finish: The extremely high quality sets high expectations – I hope Kayak Centre lives up to them for the SA market!
• The new rudder: The difference between the V10 Sport’s manoeuvrability and that of the demo V10 (with the old rudder) was striking.

The new rudder - 25% bigger area

What I don’t like

• The seat: The V10 and V10 Sport seats both rubbed my coccyx raw within minutes. (It must be said that no-one else I know has the same complaint and most paddlers give the seat an emphatic thumbs-up.)
• The width of the seat: The V10 Sport’s seat is designed for larger backsides and I was left sliding around in it. A bum pad should sort this out though and Epic will be offering an insert to reduce the width.

See Also: 

Joe Glickman's write up of his experience with the V10 Sport during the 2006 Molokai Challenge.  Click here. 

Comments (11)

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Wondering if Oscar will go for the marke
written by Guest, April 16, 2006

benefit of using the sport in the Molokai race or 'not take any chances' and use the V10

P.S. Rob thanks for the review but hate this security code hoop.

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V10 Sport for the Molokai?
written by Guest, April 16, 2006

I don't think so - Oscar said he has V10 Ultra (10kg or lighter!) lined up for the race.

Sorry about the security code - some b#$%^& in Canada who scams money from google-ads kept spamming us & it's the only way to stop him.

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Mike
written by Guest, April 17, 2006

Rob,
Please, what was the weight of the ski you paddled? Will the two deck hatches be standard equipment?

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...
written by Guest, April 17, 2006

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Nice
written by Guest, April 17, 2006

Looks like we got a hot one!

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Weight & Hatches
written by Guest, April 17, 2006

The weight was about 14kg, and no, the deck hatches are not standard; that was specially done for Oscar I believe.

Rob

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The Bomb !
written by Guest, April 17, 2006

Hi All,

Just my 2 cents worth: I managed to hop into the ski before Rob did his test runs.

I am currently on a Mark 1 which is a good ski and has been kind to me but as a 3 times a week paddler struggle a bit with the dreaded "side swell" when there is a big swell running. Not that I fall out but I often find my-self bracing which ruins your rhythm and obviously saps energy.

All I can say is that the V10S is the bomb. Really is a great ski which is fast and responsive but most NB felt, from a stability point of view, like I was in a Wedge !

Just felt so comfortable and solid as if you could not come out ... have E-Mailed off my order already !!

Any-one looking for a good condition Mark 1 in Cape Town ?? ;-)

Rob: I know you had your GPS on.. what were your speeds like ?

Cheers

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...
written by Guest, April 17, 2006

Yep, a good trial should include some measurement of acdtual speed. Better yet, speed relative to other skis. Thanks Rob!

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comparison between V10sport and Fenn Mak
written by Guest, April 18, 2006

I have yet to see any comments re: the obvious comparison between the V10 Sport and Fenn Mako XT. Which is faster? Which is more stable?

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...
written by Guest, April 18, 2006

Rob I can't beleive you missed it ! the two hatches are the access for unbolting the ski into 3 sections. The joints are so good you can hardly see them but they are there! look carefully at the pictures Cheers, Johann

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The Hatches
written by Guest, April 18, 2006

(and the amazing multi-part ski) As I said, they were specially done for Oscar... As I understand it, the ski's a one-off and they didn't want to highlight this aspect lest everyone on the planet ask for it. It's not available. (But I think it's a cute idea and the implementation is awesome.)

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