(Another) Burn Review ** UPDATED**

[mgood]

Picked up a barely used Pyranha Burn from NC about a month ago. I previously was moderately content with my M3 but, due to gravity and a few hard hits, had to leave that boat behind.

I should start by saying that my burn came bare bones, having been paddled around 5-7 times. The guy I bought it from did a pretty terrible job outfitting it, so I had to rip everything out and start from scratch (which is what I would tell anyone buying a burn, karnali, or shiva to do anyway, since pyranhas need some outfitting loving to reach their full potential). I followed the outfitting tips found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyU85lXhgR4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; , and added Leland Davis's knee blocks found here : http://www.brushymountainpublishing.com/kneeblocks.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

I've had to opportunity to give the burn a test drive on Baker and the Tot, and I'm super impressed. It's shorter, faster, and tracks better than my old M3, and is geared towards performance (eddy hopping, turning edges to boof, spinning). This boat hits eddies like a dream, and I've found that a good lean (with no stroke) is all that is needed to eddy out if I'm on/near the eddyline. It boofs and turns with ease. Can't tell you how it rolls, because I've been so stable that I haven't had to yet.

I can say that I'll be looking to see this boat perform well for me in Class IV(+) to V(-). Disclaimer though: this is not the boat for everyone. It has hard chines and paddles that way- snappy. I'm a big hard chines/flat hull guy, having spent some time in my playboat, so that's why I'm stoked with the burn. Those who don't want that, or who are still learning, might steer clear.

I've got just two cons: Outfitting needs some loving to bring out the best. Hip pad design isn't ideal, especially for carrying a boat on the shoulder (nit-picky).

Will be taking this boat on some more AR runs and a few southeastern creeks within the next few months. I'll update this review when I get some more time in the boat. PM if you've got any questions.

Update:

Had a great chance to see what the Burn was made of over Memorial Day weekend. Took a couple days off of work and got 5 laps in on the Green Narrows, along with 1 run in on Section IV of the Chattooga.

I would now describe this as the boat an advanced creekboater should turn towards, but not something that a beginner should look into. You really should know what you want in a creek boat (hard chines and a flat bottom specifically) before you buy this one.

1). The boat snaps into eddies like a dream, but that snap is so hard and quick that some might not want that drastic of a transition. Luckily, it was exactly what I was looking for.

2). The primary and secondary stability are generally great (as i found out at the flume at gorilla), as is the roll-ability of this boat (as i found out at the speed trap at gorilla). Boofed extremely well (big air time at Frankenstein, Groove Tube, and Sock 'Em Dog) and I could anticipate how well the boat would respond to shifts in weight before I even moved.

3). The lack of padding around the cockpit, combined together with the position I have to put my hip pads in, left me green with envy when following all the other Liquid Logic boats down the trail to the put in. Creek boats will always be heavy, but I had to stop many, many times to reposition the Burn onto my other shoulder simply because 50+ lbs of a boat placed on such a small piece of plastic digs into the skin. My shoulder's were not happy- I'll definitely be rigging something up to help with carrying.

4). The Burn is quick. There, I said it. It gets up fast with three strokes- I was not complaining at all about speed.

5). Tracking is ok- this is the main reason I wouldn't recommend this boat to a begginer creeker. I did not find myself off line much (had some great runs at Go Left), but I sometimes found the boat to wander a little left or right mid-rapid. This is easy to correct (flat hull), but could weird out those newer to the art of creeking. You really need to be confident and drive the boat to reach optimal performance. Those who generally float and brace (not recommended as far as paddling technique goes) might have some trouble.

6). I am super happy with the outfitting job I did (links above). I would strongly recommend those with Pyranha boats to go that route. I was really happy sitting my boat for hours (i.e. the paddle out on the Chattooga).

7). I talked to a guy who bought a Burn and loved it for a few years. He then sold it to buy a Stomper when they came out, and after two weeks sold it (the Stomper) and bought his old Burn back at a loss (financially). He swore that there was no comparison between the performance of the two- the Burn won in his book, hands down. Having had no time in the Stomper myself, I can't comment on this. I will say that the Stomper looks like another tempting toy in the future.

Bottom line: I'll be paddling this boat until it breaks. After that, I'll buy another one. It does what I want and fits like a glove. I bet I'll be tempted by a Shiva or Stomper in the future, but when I go that route I'll definitely have a Burn as my go-to boat still. Any questions?

[Waterman]

I have had a Burn for almost a year now and agree with all of your comments. As for rolling, I have no trouble rolling my burn, but I find this boat harder to roll than the other kayaks i have paddled (old pyhranna micro 240 and crossovers pyhranna fusion and remix xp9), and several people have told me that they have trouble rolling the burn. I also agree that it is very hard to find a comfortable spot to carry the burn on your shoulder.

Thanks for sharing the review and the links on outfitting.

John

[okieboater]

I had a large Burn right after they came on the market and liked the boat design.

I am a decent kayak roll type. Just did not have a dependable roll in this boat.

Started working on the outfitting and I changed a lot of it. modifications of the hip pads, glued in foam hip supports, reversed the hip pads and made the hip pads into hip hooks. plus other things. End result was I fit that boat like a glove. Not hurting tight but zero slippage.

My roll became bomb proof. I had on one previous combat roll before modifications just fell out of the outfitting after putting a lot of adrenalin into the snap. did another combat roll after modifications in CO and zero problems.

I think the burn's edges and sides require a good setup and hip snap for sure, but if that boat is not outfitted to the point you can transmit the rolling knee force right as it should be - rolling is not as easy as other designs.

Other than that problem with outfitting, point that baby where you want to go, keep the power on and no problem it is a point and go kayak in my opinion.

[mgood]

Update bump for those who care.

[RomanLA]

Update bump for those who care.

Thanks for the update! It sounds like you've been having fun! I plan to get a Burn to replace my Mystic at some point.

[perspective7]

I've only had my Burn on Richland and Falling water plus a few other creeks, but I l love it compared to my Ammo. As for rolling, I've rolled up in some nasty stuff and sometimes I just miss it especially since i don't have an off side roll. The stern volume is what I like best and it hits eddies like a dream. I had some issues with displacement of my knees while upside down so I added some knee blocks and hopefully that will take care of the problem. There is a lot more room in the medium Burn compared to the medium Ammo....although I had the same problems with my knees in the Ammo. Great boat...hope to get it on the water some more...someday when there's water

[mgood]

http://www.mountainbuzz.com/forums/memb ... e6247.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Check it out. One reason to completely foam across the bulkhead, from side to side and top to bottom. Scary as hell.

[Eric Esche]

I have seen a couple of Burns where the owner glued in a plastic channel covered by a raft material cover also glued on over that and over lapping up and down 3" to prevent that from happening.

I have a similar strap set up on "my"(now Susan's) SavageV Skreem creek boat that I do not think would or could ever do this, as the material is a heavier and thicker metal strap.

If I had a Burn, I would get a metal strap made of a heavier, thicker material like that used in the Savage boats.

Eric Esche

[reedo]

http://www.mountainbuzz.com/forums/memb ... e6247.html

Check it out. One reason to completely foam across the bulkhead, from side to side and top to bottom. Scary as hell.

I know Chris and worked with him on the AR river. It is amazing he lived through this!! It also scares me when people wear paddling shoes with laces. Even all the pulls and cordes in the Hero make me a little nervous. I am very fearful of getting stuck in my boat!