Esquife Zoom comparison

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wetnobby

Esquife Zoom comparison

Post by wetnobby »

Hi Guys, I have a Zoom & apart from a Spanish Fly it is the only Spec boat I have had.
It has been great fun but I am now looking at doing bigger water & features. I would be interested to hear from people out there who have paddled Zooms and others as to how they compare, the kind of boats I am thinking of are the Detonator, Ocoee etc.....
Any thoughts would be welcome!!
Wendy
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If you do a search there are great comments on lots of boats

Post by Wendy »

Where do you live? The term big water vaires with the region of the country.
jim gross
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New boat

Post by jim gross »

Occoee is a great boat. Allthough any open boat is exactly that. It has 1 inherently trouble some feature, " the big hole on top" My running continuously bigger and more demanding water coincideing with a few near life exsperiences convinced me to close the big hole up. C-1 baby. JIM
Jim P
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zoom is a gret boat

Post by Jim P »

I've owned a Zoom a Detonator and an Ocoee. The Zoom and Ocoee got the most padding, the Detonator the least b4 it was traded out. The Zoom will take you anywhere. It is the dryest boat I've ever owned. At my weight 210 give or take a holiday, dryer than the Detonator or the Ocoee.

The Det is slow slow slow. Did I say Slow? Wettest of the three and really offered nothing special to me. If you were into Park and play - maybe.

Zoom - a hot rod Ocoee. You need to be 100% on your game all the time or you will pay. If you are on it, then it will perform. Edges do feel softer than the Ocoee but still cuts a precise line. Dryest rolling boat of them all by FAR!

Ocoee the old time fav. Precise lines, surfs well can't really say anything bad - perhaps they wear out too fast

Zephyr seems to be a good hull as well. I have not spent enough time in one yet.
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yarnellboat
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Post by yarnellboat »

Wow :o Very interesting that at 210lbs you found the Zoom to be good, even dry!

I'm that weight and (after brief test flatwater test paddles of a Solito and a Zoom) have been steering clear of small boats. Perhaps I don't need to. Maybe it was just the intitial stability that felt wrong to me.

PY.
wetnobby

Post by wetnobby »

Hi Wendy, your defintion of big and mine are probably two different things.... I live in England and paddle mostly in North Wales although I have been to Switzerland twice this year...Once for the C boat Armada. (And will probably go to Slovenia in October)Most of our rivers are actually quite low volume.
Normally paddling grade 3-4 water, bigger is the wrong description, I should have said technically more dificult and pushey!
If i was to get another boat I would be looking for a bit more speed and a bit more initial stability...
Jim P thanks for that....The Detonator was of intrest, there is no one in this country with one so its not as though I can even try before I buy one!...If its slower than the Zoom I will cross it off the wish list.
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the great gonzo
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Post by the great gonzo »

For pushy technical water, the Pyranha Prelude is hard to beat IMHO. as it's made in PE, it's away morde durable, particularly on low volume stuff, than any royalex boat.
And since you are from the UK where they are or were made, you should have no problem picking one up.

martin a.k.a. the great gonzo!
Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing - Henry David Thoreau
Wendy
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I second Martins vote

Post by Wendy »

The Prelude is much dryer than one would think- then add a pump. I like Esquif boats, but would vote for Prelude over Zoom for your needs. (my 2 cents) We can't buy them here anymore.
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Zoom thoughts

Post by NZMatt »

Hiya Chris,
I had a Detonator previously. Definitely slower than the Zoom. The Zoom is also dryer and higher performance (except in pillows :P ) Well, you know about the Ocoee already. For Speed plus initial stability I'm not sure where you'd look. The Spark is faster, but similar stability to the Zoom.
I forget, have you got hip pads in your Zoom? Thomas Finkenmeister was strongly recommending them and I think I'll put some in when I have time.

Cheers,
Matt
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Hmmm....new country, new rivers...-
Still not enough c-boaters....
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sbroam
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Re: Zoom thoughts

Post by sbroam »

NZMatt wrote:The Spark is faster, but similar stability to the Zoom.
I'm with ya on the speed but not on the stability. I can paddle a Spark (and liked it!) but can hardly get out of an eddy in a Zoom! Maybe weight is a factor - i'm 220#.
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yarnellboat
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Post by yarnellboat »

I agree with you Scott, which is why I found Jim P's comment on the Zoom interesting, and why I recently tried starting a thread on boats at 210+.

Anyway, I found the Spark's initial stability mildly noteworthy and interesting, but it certainly didn't make me twitchy/nervous the way the Zoom (or the Solito) did.

PY.
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zoom stability for the bigger folks

Post by Jim P »

Well the Zoom has little inital stability (at least for the bigger people), you just have to get used to keeping it on edge. Trying to sit flat is just asking for trouble. To paddle it you need to just commit and be agressive. Also it takes a little time to bring your reactions up to speed if you are used to a bigger more traditional boat. And while getting used to it you get some good roll practice! Heck I remember when the Shaman seemed like a hot rod after paddling a Scamp solo.

In fact Jim N thinks its a barge when compared to his X. But he does wieght a bit less :o So give it another try but spend more than a few minutes in it.
wetnobby

Post by wetnobby »

Hiya Matt & All,
I had a short paddle in Sandies Ocoee a few weeks back, literally 10 mins and was surprised by how stable and fast it felt! Folks keep telling me that a Zoom will out perform an Ocoee which confuses me a little, my limited experience says Zooms are slower, less stable and don't carve as well...So out on a river what does a Zoom do to out perform an Ocoee? or am I wrong?
I do have hip pads in my zoom and Fly, they made quite a difference...not all good to start with, I never fell over in it before I fitted them! I then went through some silly tip ups and now seem to have adapted my body movements. The boat is definately better with them.
I am not going to rush out and by another boat just yet but it is very interesting to hear other peoples views. And I am actually growing quite fond of the thing!!
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Zoom vs Ocoee and weight range

Post by NZMatt »

Hiya,

Well, I'm 150lbs or just under (65kg), and I find both the Zoom and the Spark responsive and edgy, but the Spark was definitely faster. The Zoom may be edgier in current due to the hard chines, but I'm not sure. I really like my Zoom, but I loved the Spark when I paddled it. OK, I don't need another boat right now and the Spark probably wouldn't handle the abuse I put my boats through, but it was dam fine to paddle. Because it's a larger boat, the Spark may handle a larger paddler better than the Zoom.

The Ocoee performance depends a lot on how it is set up. Pull the thwarts in and it's a completely different boat. I've only paddled one that was pulled in about 4inches(!) but I did like it. Fast and responsive.

For some runs I'd definitely consider the Zoom a better boat, but it also depends how you paddle and what you look for. It's very personal. I would agree that in general a Zoom will outperform an Ocoee....but I also own a Zoom, not an Ocoee and I don't want to think I need another boat....

Matt
NZMatt

Hmmm....new country, new rivers...-
Still not enough c-boaters....
wetnobby

Post by wetnobby »

Nor me!!! I am trying to stop buying new boats......At least for the time being!!
Its good to talk to other boaters about these things though...
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