v8 Pro vs v10 Sport

I paddled a V10 Sport Gen 2 for 2 years and then went to a V8 Pro. In rough water the V8 Pro is definitely a lot more stable. It's a great boat for offshore paddling.

What's your feeling on the differences between the 2 boats when it comes to flatwater speed? Did you ever test for speed (i.e. 1 hour time trials over the same course) with both boats?

I've never tested them but from all accounts there is not much difference. Once it gets rougher the difference would be marginal.

This link is good for comparing speeds but bear in mind they are based on flat water. Once it gets rougher the more stable boats will be faster in the hands of intermediate paddlers EG a V10 Sport will probably be faster than a V10 in difficult conditions when paddled by an intermediate, and a V8 Pro faster than a V10 Sport. Even on the flat a V10 Sport will likely be faster than a V14 when paddled by an intermediate because of stability issues.

www.surfskinews.com/news-2016-decjan-201...son-with-greg-barton

I'm certainly fast enough in my v8pro in the flat to keep up with the Fenn Elites, v10, v12, v14 etc in our squad. The boat has enough speed in it.

The difference is in the amount of effort to hold those speeds over time, so being fit helps me a bit too.

I'm also paddling a g3 v10 at the moment. I don't notice too much difference in stability in the flat, although I'm tentative once the wind blows at more than 15 knots, especially on the side, which slows me down. I also slow down on turns in the v10.

My data shows the v10 to be about 10%-15% faster than the v8pro in my hands, if I could paddle it comfortably. Something to aim for

I would definitely keep the v8pro for downwind. I think it's plenty of boat downwind for me at the moment.

feeny wrote: I'm certainly fast enough in my v8pro in the flat to keep up with the Fenn Elites, v10, v12, v14 etc in our squad. The boat has enough speed in it.

The difference is in the amount of effort to hold those speeds over time, so being fit helps me a bit too.

I'm also paddling a g3 v10 at the moment. I don't notice too much difference in stability in the flat, although I'm tentative once the wind blows at more than 15 knots, especially on the side, which slows me down. I also slow down on turns in the v10.

My data shows the v10 to be about 10%-15% faster than the v8pro in my hands, if I could paddle it comfortably. Something to aim for

I would definitely keep the v8pro for downwind. I think it's plenty of boat downwind for me at the moment.

If you could only have 1 ski, you're V8 Pro or G3 V10 (you had the G2 V10 Sport?), which would it be?

Good question. I love my v8pro. Racing in the ocean was humbling, but most of my racing is on rivers and bays with moderate chop. I'm thinking a g3 v10 would be a nice upgrade and the speed would be an improvement on the flat. I'm pretty sure I could only keep one.

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I am very fortunate to have a stable of surf skis and k1's. If I has to sell all but 1 I would keep my G3 V10. It is truly a great ski, especially Downwind. I still marvel with it's ultimate stability. 
It is nice to see that manufacturer's are putting more Rocker in surfskis.

I had a carbon V10 Sport for a little more than a year, then changed to a black tip V8 PRO. Best thing I did.
My previous V10 Sport weighed 11,7 kg and my current V8 PRO weighs 14,7 kg. Once on the water I don't notice much difference.
Yes, the V8 PRO is MUCH more stable than the V10 Sport. I don't understand why some people claim that the difference in stability is small. Actually, the difference is quite impressive even on flatwater.
As for the flatwater speed, it is difficult to measure a difference because it is so small, if ever, that could be credited to virtually anything, like mood, current, wind, fitness, technique. One time trial that I use to do sometimes is paddling 1 km all out on the river, with the current. I scored a best time of 3min:56sec with my V10 Sport (15,2 km/h). My best time with the V8 PRO in the same course was 4min:8sec (14,5 km/h). But I didn't do it enough times to conclude that there is a 0,7 km/h speed difference.
Moreover, this difference seems to shrink as the distances build up. There is a apecific race on a lake in São Paulo, 20,6 km long. I raced this course in 2017 with my old heavy V8, in 2018 with my light V10 Sport, and 2019 with my new V8 PRO. My best time in this race was 2h:1min with the V8 in 2017! Then 2h:2min in 2018, and 2h:4min in 2019. Wind strength played a big role in all these races. Although my closing times increased year after year, my average speed as a percentage of the winner's average speed improved steadily from 2017 to 2019, reflecting my work on technique. My conclusion is that the boat selection played a very minor role in these long races.
All in all, in the contest between V8 PRO and V10 Sport, the V8 PRO is clearly the winner for me. It is a superior boat, with a more modern project, ergonomically perfect, lower hump, has carry handles and bottle holder, and it is fast. The V10 Sport is a little faster, yes, but at the cost of a decent amount of stability that any intermediate paddler will miss dearly when the conditions get rough.

Out of interest what is your weight and does paddler weight play a  role in choice of V8 pro vs V10 sport? In my case that would in the range 90-95kg

Certainly in rougher conditions I think the V8 Pro will be as fast or faster than the V10 Sport for an intermediate paddler.

waverider: I am 1,76 m tall and weigh 85 kg (5'9'' - 188 lb).
Some people on this thread said that paddler weight should play an important role in the decision between V8 PRO and V10 Sport. According to their view, my previous lightweight V10 Sport would have a big volume, and my current "heavy" V8 PRO would be a low volume boat which sits too low in the water. But that's not my perception. In fact, my V10 Sport was much more prone to nose diving. I asked Jasper Mocke in a Facebook post if the V8 PRO would sit low and nose dive easily because of its reduced volume. His answer was: not at all, the volume reduction in the V8 PRO is in the stern, not in the bow, and the V8 PRO cockpit is proportionally further behind.
Before I got my V8 PRO I didn't have the chance of a "test paddle". But the bucket in the V8 PRO is just 1 cm tighter than in the V10 Sport. It does make a difference, although not very noticeable. People say that the V10 Sport's bucket is roomy and the V8 PRO's is tight, but the fact is, Epic buckets in general are roomy. If you don't fit in a V8 PRO, you won't fit in a LOT of surfskis. The V10 Sport won't feel that much better.
The best thing, of course, is to paddle before you choose one over the other.