Josh is a customer of CKS, and recently purchased a
Liquid Logic Stinger XP.
He bought the boat specifically to paddle down the Grand Canyon on a solo self support. When He returned from his trip, he emailed this to us. We all knew that the Stinger XP was going to be a cool boat, and reading this letter just confirms our opinions!
Hey CKS,
I thought I’d take a few minutes to sing the praises of the Liquid Logic Stinger XP you sent me. I recently had the opportunity to properly test this boat on a Grand Canyon self-support trip. I’ve always wanted a boat for self-support trips that would handle any grade of whitewater I might paddle and also be fast on flat water. I’m so glad I went with this boat! The Stinger is LL's Green River Narrows race boat concept similar to Dagger's Green Boat.
The XP version has a rear hatch and spring loaded skeg. It seems like cross over boats have really taken off lately as most kayak companies offer something with a rear hatch.
Upon closer inspection, I believe the Stinger XP currently stands alone.
Finding open water in December for a test paddle wasn’t easy…
Many of the crossover boats are marketed for flat water through class III paddling. I have seen a few that are proper class V creek boats w/ rear hatch like Fluid’s Big Bang, and would deal with hard whitewater well, but would then have to plow through the flats. LL also has the XP 9/10. These boats make for a very comfy ride with plenty of storage space, but from what I've gathered, they aren’t very nimble and are still pretty sluggish. The Jackson & Pyranha boats look somewhat similar; a stretched river runner/creek boat with a hatch. With these designs you have to choose between calm water efficiency and river running ability. The Stinger XP gives you both!
Camp 2- All the comforts of home, better views…
The Stinger is long (12.5 ft) and narrow. The
length provides stability, and the
narrow width makes for impressive agility & easy rolling.
Because of it's length and the hatch, it will hold more gear than you probably ought to bring. I filled all my extra space with cans of Ska Brew’s Euphoria. The hull shape is a nice combination of designs ideas. It has lots of rocker in the front with soft chine. This is nice for boofing in more technical rapids.
Behind the cockpit, the hull becomes completely planing and stretches way back to a narrow stern. This makes for
great carving and surfing, and
the length helps to carry speed punching through waves and holes. When I first jumped in the cockpit I looked forward and saw a sweet looking creek boat. I turned over my shoulder and giggled at how far away the stern was. The drop down skeg was amazing at keeping the boat on line in the swirly flat water in the Canyon, and definitely saved me lots of paddle strokes along the way.
Fresh out of the box, I was a bit concerned about the skeg durability. There is a small amount of play in the skeg from side to side. Once on the water this is completely unnoticeable. It's also spring loaded so it retracts when you push it in (run over a rock) then pops back out. There is a handy lever that makes it easy to have the skeg in or out.
Once or twice I forgot to retract the skeg before landing and dragging the boat onto shore. It didn't cause any damage. Obviously you can keep the skeg in if you know you'll be bouncing off rocks or making quick turns.
I'm really looking forward to another trip in this boat. I’m thinking of all the possibilities of long, fast, self support trips.
I can only imagine how much fun this boat will be empty on a day trip or raft support trip. It surfs glassy waves like the long boats of yesteryear! Anyone who’s been thinking about a crossover/self-support boat that handles flat water as well as challenging whitewater should definitely check out the Stinger XP. She's Fast!
- Josh, Flagstaff, AZ
