Rod's brother-from-another-mother made the decision to purchase a surfski, and he was gracious enough to let us put cameras on him as he test drove a number of Epic boats, and to talk to us about each from the the perspective of someone who is just starting out on the surfski.David matches a popular demographic for those getting into surfski paddling these days. He is a lifelong athlete who enjoys the challenge of learning and trying new things, and who is looking for a great low-impact way to work out and build fitness.
In this video, David test drives the Epic 14X kayak, which is essentially the kayak version of the V5 surfski, the V8, the V8 Pro, and the V9. Because he doesn't plan to compete in the surfski and because he was looking for something stable and enjoyable, David was leaning toward purchasing a V5. Until he actually paddled all the boats...Watch the video to get David's impressions of each craft, and to hear what factors effected his final decision. As always, if you're planning to purchase a surfski, we recommend you test drive as many options as possible. Your experience may vary from ours, so you need to get your own seat in the boat before laying down the coin for a new ride. But hopefully, videos like this can help you as you get into the sport!
Note: The demo V8 Pro we paddled was apparently out of spec, and was heavier than the standard V8 Pro in the performance layout, so when we are comparing weights, the comparison only applies to the specific craft we had on hand that day.