Jackson Villian??

[BooF4FooD]

I am kind of curious as why this hasn't been a discussion on our board yet.... I know many of you are jackson paddlers, and seeing that the boat is going to hit production this month... Figured I would start up the discussion... (or debate)

http://jacksonkayak.com/villain/

http://jacksonkayak.com/blog/2010/03/11 ... villain-s/

http://jacksonkayak.com/blog/2010/03/04 ... n-s-video/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_SGzZj7RlA

[Fish]

Looks interesting. My Huck won't last forever, and I'm gonna hate to see it go. I'm wondering if I'd fit in a Villain S... It's about 10 gal more than my Huck, which might not be too bad a deal. The other boat I've been thinking about is the Dagger Nomad 8.1. It's almost the same dimensions as the Huck. The 8.5 Nomad is acutally about the same volume as the Villain S, so those two might be more comparable.

Hard to find a boat that performs well for me at 180 lbs and 6'3". Seems like I'm always at the very top or very bottom of the weight ranges for creekers.

- Fish

[RandyJ]

Got one on order...should have it in a few weeks...will agree to post a personal review if you'll agree to guaranteeing enough rainfall to make a creek run go. Deal???

I think first week of April these will start shipping. I've been VERY happy with my Hero...but also anxious to get the Villain (S) and compare it.

[Cowper]

I've been awaiting the release, but was trying to not get too wrapped up in a specific release date that may or may not occur. Also, I wanted the chance to see and paddle one before making a decision.

From the team paddler hype reports, it is obviously everything I'm looking for and more.

But just in case, I'd like to give the new Burn a chance to compete, and haven't really ruled anything totally out.

I'm also kinda scared to buy one. Some of my best boats have been the ones that never touched water until they touched Richland. Last time I bought a new creek boat, I think it was almost a year before Richland ran on a day I could get loose from work.... I can't handle a dry spell like that too often, and if word got out my friends might me too

[ckuntz]

Jeremy, will you have any available to demo?
Chris K :)

[BooF4FooD]

yeah, seeing that the larger of the two sizes (one i would need) is going to be 8'8 & 92 gal... im prolly not going to give it much thought... ready to give the new large burn a whirl... it is only 8'3 & 80 gal...

[okieboater]

Was at Creek Week last weekend.

Boyd Ruppert one of the Jackson team kayakers was there for the Jackson boat auction.

He did not bring a Villian. I asked Boyd for his opinion. He said he had not received a personal Villian yet but based on what he had done so far testing, that he was about ready to swap in his Hero for the Villian. Mentioned that it held the line very well thru swirly water.

I have a Mega Rocker and a Super Hero and like them a lot. The Rocker is for sure a forgiving creek boat for me. Turns on a dime and boofs well. Not much for surfing and you have to stay alert to go straight on the flats.

Super Hero has been a lot of fun for me as well. Good surfer and that is about what I do these days for play. Lots of foot room. Carves a turn as if on rails. A very good all around river runner for boaters like me.

I asked Boyd if I should get a Villian since I have the Mega Rocker and Super Hero already. He smiled and said I need to demo and make up my own mind.

Looking forward to hearing more about the Villian from boaters I know or getting some test runs in. But if class 5 team kayakers like Boyd are excited about the Villian, it should be a very good kayak.

[RandyJ]

Bunch of new pics and short write-up on EJ's blog today...some great pics!...sure hope I can boof like that some day.

I'm a biased JK fan, but I think it's fair to say EJ's done a pretty good job of building excitement around this boat. I'm tempering my own expectations...pretty sure I'll like it...maybe a lot...but as long as it's been since I've boated quality whitewater, pretty sure I'd be thrilled to bang down Class II in a metal washtub right now.

Will get out with the Villain as much as I can this spring...happy to share/let ya'll take test drives. Canoe school should be a good chance for that, too.

RJ

[Regud]

I just saw the cockpit dimensions on CKS, even the S has a huge opening.

Is that going to take an XL skirt?

[Mike_P]

Thanks in advance to Randy & others for posting their reviews on the Villian. I think the only way to know for sure if you like a WW kayak is to buy one & paddle it about 6 mos to a year (depending on how much you get out) to see if you really like it. I think the reviews are just a staring point as there are so many variables in the equation unique to each paddler (paddling style, types of rivers you like to paddle, and paddler size & how the outfitting feels). Like Fish said the boat could be great but if you don't quite fit the size right it may not work for you.

I'm still trying to figure out after about that long whether I like my SuperHero or my Diesel 75 better. Overall I think I like the SuperHero better but it's not easy for me to know right off the bat.

The nice thing is boats like these tend to resell pretty well if you don't like them. Certainly demoing them when you can is helpful. Thanks to the guys at OOO for bringing demo boats to canoe school!

[ckuntz]

Alright, it's almost May.. Has anyone paddled a Villain yet? Wish the Villain S weight cut off was more like the Rocker's. Curious to compare to Hero, Burn, Karnali.
Chris K :)

[RandyJ]

Don't have mine yet. Hoping for mid-May. Won't have it at Canoe school.

[Karla]

I will have my 2010 Burn at Whitewater school Randy. Anyone is welcome to try it out. I really like it and it is faster, ferries well and eddies quickly. Anxious to try it out on faster moving eddies. I love the way I can manuever it comparing to the Hero I had for 2 years.

Karla