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Canoes

Read Trailspace's Guide to Canoes and Paddles.

The best canoes, reviewed and curated by the Trailspace community. Stores' prices and availability are updated daily.

Recent Canoe Reviews

rated 2.5 of 5 stars
Old Town Penobscot 164

Poor quality Have bought three canoes from Old Town within three years, all with issue shipping and defects. First, with the Saranac 160 bottom of hull has warped in the middle old. Town blames it on it's an entry level canoe and its one-layer poly allows it to flex and form due to heat, the way it's stored etc. I was under assumption they back the hulls 100% for a lifetime. Don't seem like the case. Canoe has only been on water about a dozen times and stored upside down on the gunnels as required… Full review

rated 3.5 of 5 stars
Bergans Ally 17 Flatwater

A lightweight, sturdy folding canoe that performs well on flat-, quick-, and easy whitewater. Packs down small enough to take on a plane as special luggage. Will take a moderate beating and is readily repairable with hull patches and a full range of spare parts. You're on your own if you want to add a yoke for portaging. When we moved to Norway from Vermont way back in 2002, we loaded up a shipping container with a substantial proportion of our worldly belongings mounded up at one end, and our six-year-old… Full review

rated 5 of 5 stars
Dagger Caper T

I agree with Average Joe on the greatness of the Dagger Caper T. I have one fitted with a Preception saddle for solo. I have run a lot of class 3 and 4 ww in MT, ID, and WY. It has been amazing. It's also for sale! Won't go into lengthy discussion, but as Joe said they don't make like they used to. My friend and I did class 4 ww that only a very few people have done in open canoes. He had the smaller Dagger (can't remember the name) and got through the mad mile on the Gallatin w/o swimming.  I… Full review

rated 3.5 of 5 stars
Coleman Expedition 146 dlx

This is your utility workhorse canoe... It's not going to win any races, and it certainly won't portage well, but you'd be hard-pressed to find another canoe that will tolerate as much abuse as this one. This review is for the Coleman Expedition 146 dlx, also branded as the Pelican Excursion 146 dlx. Pelican acquired Coleman's canoe division in 2000 and continued making RAM-X plastic hull canoes to Coleman's specifications. Some canoes were branded Coleman, and some were branded Pelican. They eventually… Full review

rated 4.5 of 5 stars
Old Town Saranac 146

I chose the Old Town Saranac 146 canoe because of its quality, features, size, and price. Not too small or too big (needed to fit on roof rack w kayak). It's fairly stable and can easily be paddled with a kayak paddle! The padded seats, rod holders and extra storage are nice for extra gear. Plenty of room for 2-3 passengers, poles, tackle, cooler, etc. A quality compact canoe (for the price) that seems very durable. You can't go wrong with legendary Old Town brand quality. My wife and I were looking… Full review

rated 4 of 5 stars
Nova Craft Prospector 16

Rigid construction and classic design make this the SUV of the wilderness. It makes friends on every trip. Taken my 16' Novacraft Prospector canoe down rivers and on week-long lake trips. Loaded it up and still had 6" freeboard. You will bulk out before you weight out—and we take cast iron dutch ovens, charcoal, fuel cans, watercubes etc; we camp heavy. Paddles well with two, although the Clippers pass us on flat water.  We pass them ashore on rough water because they are taking water in over… Full review

rated 5 of 5 stars
Wenonah Escapade

A very nice tandem/solo fast canoe. I have the Escapade in a kevlar/flex core layup. The canoe weighs 51 lb in this configuration. It is also available in kevlar and also in Tuf-Weave. It is a shorter touring canoe in a performance hull. This means it holds a bit less gear for touring than the longer ones. Since I am a backpacker I have the lightweight gear that suits this canoe very well. I was surprised at the stability with the two young grandkids; I was expecting the worst but was pleasantly… Full review

rated 5 of 5 stars
Dagger Caper T

Now discontinued for some time, this was Dagger's original whitewater Royalex boat. If you are able to locate a used one, I would encourage you to purchase this fine piece of a legendary canoe maker's history and use it! I've owned my Dagger Caper for over ten years now and couldn't be happier with it. I am not an expert paddler and have only used this boat on up to Class III+ whitewater. I frequently paddle this boat on mild whitewater and it is a joy. I paddle mainly on the Hiwassee River, Nantahala… Full review

rated 4.5 of 5 stars
Wenonah Spirit II

Great handling and stability loaded for two weeks on flatwater; light enough for 60-year-old to portage. We've owned our Kevlar ultralight Spirit II with the clear skincoat (yellow kevlar color) since 1997. Named the "B-Attitude" after Bea and Barb of Wilderness Paddlers up in Ely, Minnesota, we bought her as a "blem" from the factory on the way back to Michigan from Ely.  The Spirit II is a little shorter than some of the other touring/tripping models by Wenonah and has a slight bit of rocker. Full review

Other Types of Paddling Gear

Find more paddling gear reviewed in these related categories:

Kayaks

Rafts

Stand-Up Paddle Boards

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